IceHogs Community Fund Awards $20,000 Grant to Life Decisions

Grant funds purchase of vehicle to expand Life Decisions programs

The Rockford IceHogs Community Fund has awarded a $20,000 grant to Life Decisions, a Rockford-based nonprofit organization that provides relational mentoring for local at-risk youth ages 15-23. The grant funded the purchase of a vehicle that will allow the organization to expand and enhance three of its key programs: Day Home Drop-in, Primary Mentor Sessions, and Work Now.

The IceHogs Community Fund and Life Decisions jointly announced the grant and unveiled the vehicle at the Life Decisions 815 Fun Fair event on Saturday afternoon at Dahlquist Park.

Many of the youth served by Life Decisions reside in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of poverty, instability, and limited access to essential services and opportunities. The absence of dependable transportation creates significant barriers to their participation in programs designed to support their development and success. With the transportation barrier removed, Life Decisions anticipates being able to provide 150 youth with mentoring services over the next year while increasing participation in educational support programs, work internships, and other essential Life Decisions programs.

“Acquiring a vehicle is crucial for our nonprofit as it directly addresses one of the primary barriers faced by overlooked and undervalued youth – lack of reliable transportation,” said Jake Rogers, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Life Decisions. “Many of the youth we serve are unable to participate in our programs simply because they have no means of getting to the Day Home where our activities and mentoring sessions take place. Thanks to the IceHogs Community Fund, we now have a dedicated vehicle that ensures consistent and dependable transportation for youth to have the opportunity to engage in a variety of enriching projects, while allowing us to provide the necessary support and resources that these youth need to thrive.”

“The IceHogs and Life Decisions were able to partner on a few initiatives last season and the more we learned about the great work they are doing the more we wanted to invest in helping them continue to grow and make an impact,” said Dave Costello, Manager of Marketing and Community Relations, Rockford IceHogs.

This grant is part of $133,000 in grants the IceHogs Community Fund will award to nine organizations and ten unique programs for the 2024-25 grant cycle.

Previously announced IceHogs Community Fund grants for this year include:

• $20,000 to Rockford Hockey Club to help reduce costs at the 8U level with a goal of adding 20 new 8U players, and additionally to help fund the formation of a new Rockford Hockey Club girls program for 8U, 10U, and 12U players

• $20,000 to Rockford Area Arts Council to support SPARK!, the Arts Council’s summer art program that provides an apprenticeship program to youths who demonstrate an interest in the arts

• $10,000 to Rockford Raptors Soccer Foundation to support scholarships for low-income youth in the Rockford region who wish to play competitive club soccer

• $13,000 to Rockford Park District to support the RPD’s Junior StreetHogs, an outreach program designed to eliminate barriers that often prevent children from learning to play the sport of ice hockey

• $10,000 to Rockford Park District to support the RPD’s Buddy Hockey program which is designed to introduce the sport of hockey to individuals with disability related needs

Additional grant award announcements from the IceHogs Community Fund will be forthcoming this summer.

About the IceHogs Community Fund

The IceHogs Community Fund (ICF), is invested in making a positive social impact by supporting initiatives that will help make the Rockford region a better place to work, live, and play. Through partnerships with local organizations, the ICF is dedicated to growing the game of hockey by working to broaden exposure and reduce barriers to the sport.

The ICF raises funds throughout the year in a variety of ways, including specialty jersey auctions as well as gameday sales of 50/50 raffle tickets and Chuck-A-Pucks.

About Life Decisions

Formed in October 2020, Life Decisions creates opportunities for relational mentoring to transform lives by building a tribe of mentors for youth aged 15-23. Life Decisions’ mission is to invest in these youths, while creating a community of restorative life-on-life relationships in Rockford and beyond. The six pillars of programming provided are safe and stable housing, self-care, service opportunities, work experience, leadership training, and adult internships, with relational mentoring at the core.