Thanks to a partnership of six funders — including the Community Foundation — that care about education for our Birmingham area children, a total of $455,000 in grants is being awarded to provide a boost for success in school through academic programs that are part of varied summer activities.
Joining the Community Foundation in awarding grants through the Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL) partnership are United Way of Central Alabama, The Belk Foundation, Daniel Foundation of Alabama, Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation and Independent Presbyterian Church Foundation. The partners will continue to work together on plans to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs and seek a model for summer learning programs.
Nonprofit organizations receiving the grants include schools, learning centers, camps and churches. Each will receive varying grant amounts to support programs that enhance or add consistent academic components to youth programs in the summer of 2013. They also will become part of a peer learning community to share best practices.
A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club
American Baseball Foundation, Inc (in partnership with the Jefferson County Board of Education)
Better Basics
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama
Children’s Creative Learning Center
Summer Advantage USA (in partnership with the Birmingham Board of Education)
IPC Children’s Fresh Air Farm
Girls Incorporated of Central Alabama
Higher Achievement Summer School
Impact Alabama: A Student Service Initiative
Impact Family Counseling
New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church Community Support Corporation
NorthStar Youth Ministries
Birmingham YMCA (three locations)
Tarrant City Schools
Urban Ministry, Inc.
MORE ABOUT WHY: Past experience with national programs and with some of the early programs in Birmingham shows average gains of at least two months in reading and at least two months in math during a five- or six-week program, showing that summer learning can make a significant and positive difference. Adding an academic component to existing camps and recreation programs or expanding an existing program, as SAIL grants make possible, will help prevent learning loss, close the achievement gap for low-income children and offer chances to explore new interests and skills.
To learn more, take a look at a video condensation of a recent Alabama Public Television segment. To join these SAIL funders or learn more about how the Community Foundation works to make children successful along the education pipeline, contact Erin Stephenson.