22 Recipients Awarded Total of $12,000

Champaign, IL (March 6, 2023) The Dads Association at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (“Illini Dads”) recently announced the recipients of the 2023 Dads Association Grant Program.  For >100 years, the Illini Dads has donated >$1M in grants and scholarships benefitting our students and university. This year, 22 recipients were awarded at total of $12,000 in grants this year. 

Please join us in congratulating this year’s grant recipients:

• Emergency Management for the Division of Public Safety, $800 awarded for helping the campus organize and anticipate any potential hazards and disasters. They both prepare for, and deal with any dangerous events that occur in order to ensure the safety of those on campus.
• Illini Solar Car, $550 awarded. Illini Solar Car is comprised of a group of over 150 students from across the University with the goal of building and racing the world’s best road-legal solar electric vehicle.
• Design for America @ UIUC, $550 awarded. DFA teaches human centered design and completes social impact projects for the campus and broader CU community.
• Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations (SCNO), $500 awarded. SCNO is a registered RSO that provides pro-bono consulting services to nonprofits while developing the professional skills of its members
• Jubilee © a free weekly meal and pantry, $550 awarded to support serving meals to food insecure students from the University of Illinois, people from Community United Church of Christ (their host space), and community members who do not have a permanent address.
• UIUC Udaan, $400 awarded. Udaan (meaning flight) is the University of Illinois’ premier Bollywood Fusion Dance competition where collegiate dance teams from all over the nation will come together on UIUC’s campus not only to compete for a title, but also to spread awareness of South Asian Culture.
• Geotechnical Engineering Student Organization (GESO), $600 awarded. Every year the Geotechnical Engineering Student Organization (GESO) sends a team comprising of both undergraduate and graduate students to compete in various competitions at the annual GeoCongress conference.
• Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers, $650 awarded. Our club plans to provide UIUC students the opportunity to take the Lean Six Sigma Certification on campus by working with the National Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE).
• Global Medical Training, $700 awarded. Global Medical Training (GMT) is an international, non-profit organization that provides medical and dental services to low-income communities in Central America.
• Habitat for Humanity, $750 awarded. In 2023, students will work on a student-sponsored home built in the Champaign-Urbana area. We are building a home for single mother Corisna Carter and her two sons ages 12 and 20. She works at CSL Plasma as a quality specialist.
• BioScience Journal Club, $400 awarded.  We host 2 types of events: first type of event we host is called a journal club meeting. And the second type of event is a faculty panel.
• iDegrees Graduate Business Association, $400 awarded. The iDegrees Graduate Business Association is a newly founded organization which represents the interests more than 6,000 online graduate students in the Gies College of Business distributed globally. The investment from this request will help support the iGBA’s professional development initiatives, which will help students, advance in their careers.
• Engineers in Action Bridge Program, $650 awarded. Our organization empowers today’s students to become tomorrow’s global leaders by building bridges to connect communities with schools, markets, and healthcare.
• Illinois Men’s Rugby Club, $450 awarded. Our club competes year-round– in the fall semester, the club plays standard 15s rugby, while playing 7s in the spring. We host games at our own home turf field on campus and also travel to play against other Big 10 Universities.
• Pre-Dental Club, $500 awarded to provide alternative social programming to create community on campus and among ministry membership, providing a space for clean fun for students who aren’t interested in the typical campus party environment.
• Illini World Taekwondo (IWT), $400 awarded. IWT is a non-profit, registered student organization at UIUC. As one of the oldest and the longest-standing martial arts club on campus, we strive to preserve the traditional aspects of taekwondo while also pursuing taekwondo as a modern sport everyone can participate in and enjoy.
• The Orange Krush, $400 awarded.  The Orange Krush is responsible for managing the student sections for Illinois men’s and women’s basketball games.
• Illinois Space Society, $400 awarded. The Illinois Space Society is an organization of space enthusiasts with the goal of spreading a passion for space to the UIUC community and beyond.
• Illini 4000, $600 awarded The Illini 4000 is a student run non-profit organization. Every year we fundraise money for cancer research and patient support through a cross country bicycle ride from New York City to San Francisco. In addition we collect stories from those who have had experiences with cancer and create a series of video interviews called the portraits project.
• Fighting Illini Triathlon Club, $450 awarded. We are looking for funding to help the team finance their Nationals trip to Georgia. We want to take as many people as possible since the more people whom race the more points we earn for the University.
• IlliniThon – non-profit organization, $400 awarded IlliniThon is the largest student-run non-profit organization on campus that raises funds for sick children at St. John’s Children’s Hospital in Springfield. Our goals throughout the year are to ensure that the miracle kids receive the best medical care available and create a future free of pediatric illness and injury.
• Student Affairs – Office of the Dean of Students, $900 awarded The Emergency Dean Fund is an invaluable resource for all Illinois students and families. The Emergency Dean Fund was created in 2009 to provide immediate assistance for unanticipated hardships resulting from emergencies or crisis situations.

The University of Illinois Dads Association is proud to support these organizations and their worthy endeavors.

For more information about grants and the Dads Association, please visit the Dads Association website at www.illinidads.com or call the Illini Union Parent and Family Programs Office at (217) 333-7063 or email at uiparentfamilyprograms@illinois.edu.

About Illini Dads

The Dads Association at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1922, is one of the nation’s oldest and continuously running collegiate parent organization. In conjunction with the Illini Union Parent and Family Programs Office, the Illini Dads Board Members plan, organize, and operate all facets of Dads Weekend, the net proceeds of which fund its philanthropic activities. In addition to awarding annual grants, each year the Dads Association also awards scholarships in the amount of $2000 to exceptional students with financial needs.  The Dads Association is dedicated to supporting programs, services, and activities that promote the health, safety, and well-being of the University community. For more information, visit our website at www.illinidads.com.

A copy of the press release can be found HERE.