Thriving Families Planning Committee and various Story County organizations are joining together to make $19,000 available, in the form of mini-grants, to Story County residents or groups with an idea that promotes the family.

Individuals or groups with an idea are encouraged to apply, through a written proposal, for a grant which can be for an amount up to $3,000. Grants will be awarded to those with the best ideas as to how to use the money for the benefit of families.

“Families that are not functioning properly are at the heart of most of our social problems. Whether or not they are thriving has a lot to do with our social situations, and there are plenty of families that are in trouble today, ” said Scott Miller, facilitator of the Thriving Families grant program.

The grant applicants may interpret “family” in nontraditional ways.

All funding requests should address one or more of the following issues: ways of increasing community awareness of how family life can be enriched, ways to make it easier for families to connect with resources and services, building a greater collaboration in the interest of families and providing families with opportunities to interact with their community.

Funding requests will be accepted through Jan. 1, 1996, after which the submissions will be reviewed. Awards will be made so that the project activities can be conducted between Feb. 1 and June 30 of next year.

To help think of solutions for families that are in trouble, the Thriving Families Planning Committee has set up learning teams to study and come up with solutions for problems like a lack of affordable child care, a shortage of affordable housing for low-to-moderate income families and the absence of ongoing programs to support family life.

These learning groups are made up of representatives of agencies which provide relevant services, public officials and other interested people in the community.

“If we stay together as a group, we’ll solve the problems. We’ll get there. We accept the fact the we don’t know how to do it, and because of that we’re open to ideas and are more humble,” Miller said.

For additional information about the mini-grants contact Maureen Harter at 232-0066. Applications for the mini-grants should be submitted to Youth and Shelter Services’ Young Parents Center.