Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Sept. 23, 2025 – The Craighead County Community Foundation (CCCF) announced the 2025 Giving Tree Grant recipients during an award ceremony on Tuesday morning.

Focus areas of the grants were determined by data reported through Aspire Arkansas, according to CCCF Chair Ty Jones. This data showed two of the largest gaps in Craighead County to be food insecurity and early literacy programs.

“We were really trying to make sure that not only were we trying to find individual nonprofit organizations, programs and services that fit that, but all of these are kind of working together against a shared goal to try to work to alleviate two of the biggest issues in Craighead County,” Jones said.

This year’s grants totaled $48,500, which are listed below:

• Altrusa International Inc. of Jonesboro received a $3,000 grant for books for second graders at Leadership Magnet School.
• Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry received a $5,000 grant to process and distribute snack sticks for school food backpack programs withing the county.
• Arkansas Imagination Library received a $5,000 grant to buy books for Craighead County children.
• Brookland Elementary School received a $5,000 grant for its weekend food backpack program.
• Fisher Street Community In Action received a $3,500 grant for the expansion of the FSCIA Community Garden.
• Fisher Street United Methodist Church received a $3,000 grant for the church’s Pasmore Summer Lunch program.
• Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas received a $2,500 grant for fresh produce and meat.
• Imagine Arkansas received a $1,000 grant for its graphic novel and comic book distribution program.
• New Life Empowerment Development Center received a $3,000 grant for its “Empowerment on the Go” Literacy Lab.
• Northeast Arkansas Humane Society received a $1,500 grant for the Martha Barber Animal Welfare Fund and Higher Ground.
• Provision 88 Food Ministry received a $5,000 grant for the distribution of essential fresh food items.
• Riverside West Elementary School received a $5,000 grant for books and Family Literacy events.
• St. Bernards Development Foundation received a $4,000 grant for food and supplies for its Silver Support Network.
• Temple Israel received a $2,000 grant in memory of former CCCF executive director Barbara Weinstock, who died earlier this year.

CCCF executive director Melissa Ayers said Temple Israel’s grant was a special grant through the Barbara Weinstock Foundation, an endowment the CCCF created in her name. Weinstock was the executive director of the CCCF for 20 years, retiring in 2020.

“She was very involved in Temple Israel and when she passed, we created an endowment in her honor. It was gifts made by everybody in town… former board members… former grant recipients… friends… relatives… neighbors,” Ayers said. “We were very pleased that we were able to create an endowment in her name, and she would be thrilled to know that the first grant is going straight to Temple Israel.”

Rev. Dr. Charles Coleman, Fisher Street Community In Action (FSCIA) director and Fisher Street United Methodist Church pastor, said he didn’t know the church applied for the grant until after FSCIA received the award letter for its garden, which grows fresh produce to give to the community.

The organization and the church are two separate entities, but work together to help those in need, Coleman said, and the two gave out both groceries and vegetables.

“Over this summer, between July, June, and August, the church fed almost 150 people to 170 people a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. So, we got close to 5,000 people fed this summer,” he said. “There’s more people out of food than you can imagine.”

Although he is a CCCF board member, Coleman noted that he was not on the selection committee to avoid any conflict of interest.

Founded in 2001, the CCCF aims to create a higher quality of life for Craighead County residents and has awarded over $994,000 since its inception.