VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 2/19/16)—Congregations, regions and community ministries related to American Baptist Churches USA are invited to apply for 2016 Justice for Children Initiative Children in Poverty (CiP) grants from American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) for support of projects that address the needs of children in poverty.

At least 10 grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 each will be awarded. Projects should address at least one of the following three areas: access to quality public school education, access to quality health care and livable wages. Deadline is April 27, 2016.

The CiP grant has been supporting the child-empowering projects of American Baptist congregations and related organizations since 2009. In seven years, $372,000 has been awarded to 90 projects that have sought to improve children’s math and literacy skills, provide nutrition and basic needs, raise awareness of children’s needs, prepare youth for college, provide English as a Second Language classes and job training for parents, address bullying and partner with schools to benefit children.

Read more about CiP grants online. For a grant application, visit http://www.abhms.org/ > Ministries & Programs > Children in Poverty, or contact the Rev. Lisa Harris Lee, ABHMS national coordinator of the Justice for Children Initiative, at lisa.harris-lee@abhms.org or 1-800-222-3872, x2158.

Applications can be submitted online or printed and sent by postal mail. No applications will be accepted via email or fax. Applications must be received by or postmarked to ABHMS by April 27, 2016.

American Baptist Home Mission Societies—the domestic mission arm of American Baptist Churches USA—ministers as the caring heart and serving hands of Jesus Christ across the United States and Puerto Rico through a multitude of initiatives that focus on discipleship, community and justice.

American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.