August 30 2018 0comment

Success By 6 Offering Early Childhood Literacy Project Grants

United Way of the Wabash Valley’s Success By 6 initiative is offering early childhood literacy project grants to local educators and organizations.  The goal of the Success By 6 Grant Program for Early Childhood Literacy Projects is to provide funding to early childhood educators, child care providers, and/or early childhood focused community organizations for the purpose of conducting an experience that will nurture a love for reading and learning in young children (0 – 5) and their families.  Each grant program will require an activity focused around a book(s), and each child must receive a copy of the book related to the activity.  It also requires parent/family activities to be included in the event.  The United Way will award multiple grants with each at a maximum of $1,000.

This grant program supports groups who have an interest in developing innovative literacy based programming and experiences for the families they serve, as well as those who want to provide increased exposure to early literacy.  Parents are their child’s “first teachers,” and it is imperative to help build a strong connection with parents.  Learning happens not only at preschool or child care, but also at home.  Research shows that promoting reading in early childhood development promotes brain growth and helps to prepare students for kindergarten.  This grant opportunity is just one of many ways that Success By 6, an impact council for the United Way, mobilizes community resources to ensure that young children are provided with nurturing learning environments during the critical development years of birth to 6 in order to ensure that children enter school ready to succeed.

Holly Curtsinger, the grant chairperson, stated, “There are many people-individuals and organizations- that are working to support early learning and to provide high quality literacy based experiences for the families they serve. This grant opportunity supports those initiatives, and assists those applicants who demonstrate the ability to accomplish creative endeavors while at the same time being fiscally responsible with United Way donor dollars.”

Grant applications will be due to United Way by 4PM on November 9th.  If anyone would like assistance with the program or needs help filling out the application, the committee will be holding a training session on Wednesday September 12th at 6:30pm EST at the United Way office, 100 S. 7th Street.  For more information and to review the application visit www.uwwv.org/funding or contact Mark Johnson at [email protected] or 812-235-6287.

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