YELL GIVES GRANTS, BECOMES TAX EXEMPT

Money raised last fall during the annual YELL for Newspapers has been awarded to 23 literacy projects, and the newly formed YELL Foundation has received tax-exempt status.

"This is an exciting day," said Kim McDowell, who coordinates YELL projects for the Southeast Missourian.

Each September volunteers hit the streets to sell a special edition of the newspaper and to raise money for literacy efforts in the community.

The YELL campaign previously operated under the auspices of the Area Wide United Way. Businesses and corporations that made YELL donations could write them off as business expenses but not as charitable contributions.

Establishing the YELL Foundation enables those contributions to be written off as charitable donations. The foundation received designation as a 501(C)(3) tax-exempt organization formed for public benefit.

The foundation also enables YELL to conduct fund raisers the campaign previously could not.

Half the money raised from sale of the YELL edition funds the Southeast Missourian's Newspaper In Education project. The newspaper is delivered daily to classrooms throughout the area.

The rest of the funds are distributed in one-time grants. Each year the request for grant funds increases, said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the United Way.

Jernigan and a committee select grant recipients based on the merit of the proposals. "We also like to fund new approaches and innovative ideas," Jernigan said. "And we're looking to cover the community geographically and across the age groups."

Reading the grant applications gives an insight into the literacy efforts in the city. "Literacy is so important," Jernigan said. "And there is so much to be done."

Grants this year range from early childhood reading readiness program at Riverside Regional Library in Scott City to GED preparation books for the Jackson Public Library. Grants will buy novels to encourage fifth-graders to keep reading and will fund a high school book club.

YELL Grant Recipients:

Southeast Missourian Newspapers in Education, $29,750.

Alma Schrader Elementary School, $300.

Cape Girardeau Adult Basic Education, $700.

Cape Girardeau Public Library, $1,400.

Franklin Elementary School, $300.

Jefferson Elementary School, $200.

Jefferson Elementary School, $50.

May Greene Elementary School, $50.

Rolling Readers of Cape Girardeau, $400.

St. Mary Cathedral, $200.

St. Vincent de Paul, $300.

L.J. Schultz, $400.

Cape Central High School, $500.

Clippard Elementary School, $$300.

Riverside Regional Library in Scott City, $300.

St. Joseph School in Scott City, $300.

Chaffee R-2 School Libraries, $300.

Immaculate Conception School, $300.

Jackson Public Library, $500.

Riverside Regional Library in Jackson, $300.

Jackson South Elementary School, $300.

Jackson North Elementary School, $300.

St. Paul Lutheran School, $250.