Chicago Community Trust Grant helps expand ITA's Reach
January 10th, 2013
This fall, the Music Institute of Chicago's Institute for Therapy through the Arts (ITA) received a $50,000 grant from The Chicago Community Trust to support and expand its programs with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC).
For the past 12 years, ITA has built a relationship with the RIC, growing from a weekly, one-hour group in music therapy to multifaceted programming. Music therapy now is available to groups on five different units of the RIC as well as through individual sessions throughout the entire hospital for patients referred by physicians and other RIC staff. ITA has also provided services to the Aphasia Center and to the RIC’s summer camp, Caring for Kids. These programs aim to speed the recovery process for patients suffering from brain injury, complications due to stroke, physical injuries, and neurological disorders or other impairment caused by accident or disease. ITA’s clinical services provide opportunities to engage in a creative arts process while designing therapeutic approaches to target specific rehabilitation goals in the areas of mobility, cognition, communication, and psychological adjustment.
The grant from the Trust allows ITA to double music therapy services for RIC’s general population and continue drama therapy groups on four units of the hospital. The funding also allows ITA to continue providing a creative arts therapy group with the aphasia program and supports ITA staff presentations and trainings for RIC staff with the goal of increasing referrals for music therapy and patients’ access to services.
About the Chicago Community Trust
For 97 years, The Chicago Community Trust, our region’s community foundation, has connected the generosity of donors with community needs by making grants to organizations working to improve metropolitan Chicago. In 2011, the Trust, together with its donors, granted more than $130 million to nonprofit organizations. From strengthening community schools to assisting local art programs, from building health centers to protecting the safety net for those hardest hit by the recession, the Trust continues to enhance our region.