Meet the Joseph Maley Foundation – 2021 Give Back Finalist

How long has the Joseph Maley Foundation been serving the Indy community? 

The Joseph Maley Foundation has been serving the Greater Indianapolis community since our establishment in 2008. Our Disability Awareness program, however, was created in 1998 by Executive Director and Co-Founder, Vivian Maley, serving the community for over 20 years.

Describe the impact your organization has had on the Indy region. 

The Joseph Maley Foundation celebrates differences while cultivating an inclusive community through service and education of youth in Greater Indianapolis. In 2020, we served over 45,000 students in public, private, parochial, and independent schools.

It is critical that students learn how to interact with all members of their community with kindness and respect while developing the tools to advocate for themselves and others. We provide students with those resources through the following programs and initiatives:

EDUCATION

Our educational programs teach acceptance, respect, empathy, and dignity for the diversity of life. All three programs are educator-developed and standards-based. Developmentally appropriate lesson plans incorporate puppet shows, children’s literature, guest speakers, and hands-on activities.

• Disability Awareness builds understanding and awareness of people with disabilities.
  Hope develops students’ social-emotional competencies and builds awareness of the importance of mental health.
  As You Are provides an awareness and understanding of gender and family diversity while emphasizing that we are all valued as we are.

SERVICE

• Fitness programs such as run2gether, tri2gether, and adaptive athletic camps, offer opportunities for athletes AND their families to participate in healthy and inclusive activities suited for their specific needs.
• Sibling Support Groups are workshops addressing the unique needs of siblings of individuals with disabilities.
• Junior Board of Directors consists of students in 8th through 12th grade who serve as ambassadors of the Foundation while gaining an understanding of nonprofit management and leadership. Each year, Junior Board members manage the Foundation’s adaptive fitness initiatives, including an adaptive athletic camp serving as their capstone project.
• Young Professionals Board members serve the Foundation while gaining the knowledge and leadership skills necessary to serve on a nonprofit board in Greater Indianapolis and beyond. This Board is in development to be launched in January 2022.

Talk about the impact that $14,000 could have on your organization and for the communities you serve.

A donation of this size will have a significant impact on the Joseph Maley Foundation, by:

Providing resources to expand our educational footprint to additional schools.

• Primarily focused on partnering with underfunded schools, and schools who serve a diverse population.

Supporting an inclusive adaptive athletic summer camp for no or low cost to families. Developing new initiatives like As You Are, our gender and family diversity program.

• School-based equity programs
• Young Professionals Board
• Sibling Support Groups that align with As You Are (family and gender diversity) and Hope (social-emotional health).

Expanding our curriculum to reach high school and college students.