The Eau Claire Community Foundation (ECCF) announced the allocation of $100,000 in grants from the newly established William A. Bingham Family Endowment Fund, an unrestricted Fund that aims to benefit the Eau Claire community.
Grants have been awarded to The Wellness Shack, the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office, and the Eau Claire Police Department. The Wellness Shack has been granted $20,000 to bolster its staffing and capacity-building efforts, enhancing its ability to provide crucial mental health resources and peer support to those who may otherwise lack access to such services. The transformative work of The Wellness Shack has the potential to be lifesaving, particularly for individuals in crisis.
The Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office and the Eau Claire Police Department will each receive a $40,000 grant to acquire Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and support mental health initiatives for law enforcement personnel. The UAVs are a significant tool in locating missing children and vulnerable adults. They will play a pivotal role in supporting the Eau Claire County Child Abduction Response Team’s search and rescue operations in cases of abducted children.
A minimum of $10,000 from each grant to the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office and the Eau Claire Police Department will be dedicated to initiatives that address the mental health challenges often faced by officers due to the unpredictable, stressful, and sometimes dangerous nature of their work. By enhancing the well-being of these officers, the grants will also improve their ability to serve the community.
