DAFT is pleased to announce the six recipients of the first John Prusak Educator Grants--supporting media programs across the state of Michigan.
Background: Following the April 2023 Celebration of Life for DAFT founding father John Prusak, donations continued to come in through the rest of the year. In 2024 members of the Prusak family met with DAFT educators and board members to help streamline assistance for media programs--particularly in the areas of additional gear, field trips, guest speakers, and programming support.
One important goal was to make easier the often cumbersome process of traditional grant applications. Another important step was to streamline how the grant money was allocated and getting it earmarked directly to the educator's program.
This fall, media educators from across Michigan submitted their grant requests along with cost-estimates and the committee reviewed proposals, selected the recipients and grant-awards, and notified the selected educators in late December.
Grant Recipients:
We would like to congratulate the 2024 recipients and wish them well on their goals. DAFT will follow up throughout the year as these great projects move along.
- Detroit School of Arts (Detroit Public Schools): Beverly Morrison: The grant money will support vital field trip expenses (buses, substitute teachers, etc) for the broadcast production students to travel to local professional media studios and production houses. Another smaller grant was also awarded to support the school's annual film festival to offset promotional costs (such as flyers, posters, crew t-shirts, etc.)
- Downriver Detroit Student Film Consortium: Scott Galeski: The grant money will be used to support this nationally recognized program. The program supports and trains students who are referred from the courts, schools, and counselors in Southeast Michigan and is free for the students and it runs solely by volunteers supported by donations. The program began in 2016 with 12 students and now serves 40-50 students annually.
- Everett High School (Lansing): Jason Kaye: Documentary production equipment support for the cultural and historical organizations of Lansing titled "Stronger Together" which will focus on the Newcomer Center at the Refugee Development Center. Productions plan to be entered in the PBS News Hour's focal theme category of "Exploring Immigrant Experiences."
- Fitzgerald High School (Warren): Brooke Smith: Out-of-state field trip support for 5 students to attend the Student Television Network Convention and Competition in Florida this February. Students are raising their own money for the trip and the grant money will help with their expenses considerably.
- NorthPointe Christian High School (Grand Rapids): Jon Den Houter: For three years, Jon's after-school film club has been operating without a budget and has been borrowing cameras, microphones, and other gear. They will be using the grant to purchase a digital camcorder with manual focus options as well as lighting, which will also be shared with the school's broadcast class.
- West Middle School (Rochester): Kara Foutz: Five 32" monitors will be purchased to add to Kara's students’ existing Chromebooks and allow for an improved editing instructional experience and viewing for the 800 students who will have access to this needed upgrade.
We can't thank you enough for continuing John's lifelong mission of media education and doing what he did so well for DAFT and so many teachers and students across the globe.
Continuing to honor John Prusak:
If you'd like to continue to support DAFT and John's vision please follow this link – it includes a pull-down where you can select the John Prusak Visionary Award for Best Documentary at the Michigan Student Film Festival – or you can earmark it to be directed to a number of other programs we offer each year.
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