Community Services for Children receives Community Partnership grant from Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
ALLENTOWN — Community Services for Children recently received a 2017-18 Community Partnership Grant from Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF). The $5,000 grant, part of $250,000 awarded to 29 local nonprofits, will support CSC’s innovative literacy/technology lab for one year.
“Congratulations to Community Services for Children’s technology lab,” said Bernie J. Story, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. “Grants are reviewed on a competitive basis and approved by the Foundation’s Board of Governors. We are pleased to help support this important project this year.”
CSC’s technology lab, initiated in 2009, enhances early literacy, math and digital skills among high-risk preschoolers by helping them learn the alphabet and letter sounds through a technological approach. During visits to the tech lab, children are able to have an individualized experience using touch-screen computers, iPads and smart boards while mentored by a technology coach, in addition to two classroom teachers. Imagination Station software allows students to work at their own pace, reviewing material until they are competent and comfortable with a subject area. CSC has two technology labs, serving 240 of the 859 Head Start children enrolled each year.
“Eighty-five to 90 percent of children begin Head Start 12 months behind their chronological age in development. But by the time they graduate from the program, nearly 97 percent are fully ready for kindergarten in all areas of growth and development,” said Paula Margraf, CSC CEO and President. “And children with access to the technology lab score better than their peers across the board. Grants like this one help to ensure more children will have access to these vital 21st Century skills.”
About the LVCF Community Partnership Grants
LVCF awards Community Partnership grants on an annual, competitive basis to publicly supported organizations with 501(c)(3) exempt status located in Lehigh and Northampton Counties for programs provided in those counties. Community Partnership Grants support programs that provide a service to the entire Lehigh Valley, are collaborative in nature, demonstrate the ability to leverage additional resources, and fulfill unmet community gaps in service. To learn more, please contact Megan Briggs, Director of Community Investments, at 610 351-5353, ext. 11 or email [email protected].
About Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
For five decades, the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation has helped donors with their charitable contributions with a simple, powerful, and highly personalized approach. LVCF is a philanthropic hub for the Lehigh Valley—and knows and navigates the landscape of the Lehigh Valley’s community’s needs to connect people who care to causes that matter. It is our mission to improve the quality of life in our region, to encourage collaboration among area philanthropists, and to serve as a source of information and expertise regarding charitable giving.
About Community Services for Children
Community Services for Children is a regional leader in early childhood education, affecting the lives of 40,000 children annually. Its Head Start program is recognized as a national center of excellence and innovation.