Providence Children’s Museum
Receives Federal AmeriCorps Grant
PROVIDENCE, RI– On Thursday, May 26, Providence Children’s Museum
was named one of five organizations in Rhode Island to receive
competitive federal funding for its AmeriCorps program, and one of only
53 funded nationally.
Senators Reed and Whitehouse and Governor Chafee announced the
five Rhode Island AmeriCorps grants – totaling $1,249,738 – by the
Corporation for National and Community Service and funded through the
Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. Providence Children’s Museum
received $170,910 for 16 full- and part-time AmeriCorps members. The
Museum has been an AmeriCorps site since 1997 and, with this funding,
will welcome its 15th AmeriCorps team
Designed to help close the achievement gap between advantaged and
disadvantaged children, the Children’s Museum’s AmeriCorps program
provides stimulating hands-on learning experiences not available to
most low-income children and inspires a lifetime love of
learning. Museum AmeriCorps members provide engaging enrichment
programs for children in three of the state's poorest cities –
Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls – through these programs:
Learning Clubs
- Learning Clubs provide STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics) enrichment activities with a focus on math
for 500 low-income elementary children in after-school and summer
programs at inner-city community centers.
- Learning Club members and their families attend Family Nights at the Museum and receive free year-long Museum passes.
- Members also deliver professional development workshops for
after-school and summer childcare staff at more than a dozen community
organizations.
Head Start/Good Start
- Museum AmeriCorps members implement classroom activities in
all 50 Children’s Friend Head Start classrooms to support Head Start’s
goal of improving school readiness, serving nearly 1,000 three to
five-year-olds. They welcome all Head Start children as they
visit the Museum with their classes for hands-on play and learning.
- Head Start children and their families attend Family Nights at the Museum and receive free year-long Museum passes.
- Members also develop and deliver resource packets and teacher workshops to support the Head Start teaching staff of 100.
Through its AmeriCorps program, the Museum works with
community partners including: Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence;
Children’s Friend Head Start; Federal Hill House; John Hope Settlement
House; Joslin Community Center; Mary E. Fogarty Elementary School;
Pawtucket COZ; Sackett Street Recreation Center; Silverlake Community
Center; South Providence Neighborhood Ministries; The Learning
Community Charter School; and West End Community Center.
Federal funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service
must be matched by private support. The Museum’s AmeriCorps
program receives additional support from Amgen Foundation; C. R. Bard Foundation, Inc.; Cox Charities of New
England Fund; The Hassenfeld Foundation; Frank B. Hazard General
Charity Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; The Providence Shelter;
Talbots Classics National Bank; Textron Charitable Trust; and donors to the Museum's Annual Campaign.
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