news article
Cady Grant Award recipients for 2023
May 23, 2023 / By Blenda Smith
Five Cady Grants have been awarded this year, totaling $20,000. Awardees have demonstrated creative ways to support, educate, and enhance the lives of African Americans and Native Americans and their unique cultural values.
- Music Educators Wind Ensemble is commissioning a Native American composer to write an original classical piece to honor and commemorate the International Wampum Exhibit at Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, NY (March-September 2023). This exhibit is displaying 300-year-old Native American artifacts originally given to France and now being loaned from Musee de Quai Branley in Paris. Educational aspects of the exhibit and composition will foster cultural appreciation for Native American and all students.
- Church in the Wild is a fairly new church start that is creating new experiences for worship at Sky Lake Camp & Retreat Center. In addition, there is a significant focus on reaching out to various populations through mission projects commonly in black and brown communities. Service projects such as Buy Nothing Markets, Free Laundry Nights, and transportation to Sky Lake worship experiences for those who have no vehicles are some of the ways this ministry lives out social justice.
- Lincoln Memorial UMC is addressing the health needs of its church and community with a project through the month of August called “Let’s Get Healthy.” Dedicated to the promotion of healthy habits and lifestyles, this is an opportunity for individuals to prioritize their physical and mental health and make positive changes in their daily lives. Various activities and workshops are centered around healthy living with the goals of wellness awareness, encouraging individuals to take control of their health, and providing the necessary tools to do so.
- Brown Memorial UMC’s Lori Wyman has specific goals to work with the black and brown communities after seminary. This award will help her complete seminary work.
- Woodwind Ensemble & Daystar Contemporary Dance for Native Americans has been awarded a grant to support Native American youth to attend classical music and contemporary dance performances that reflect their cultural heritage. The mission of the Daystar Dance Company is to teach and encourage Native American youth (and adults) cultural values and the skills of the performing arts (dancing, singing, creative writing, performance, and storytelling).