Louisville City Wire

Standing at the Southwest Branch of the YMCA of Greater Louisville with educators and advocates from every corner of the community, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced on Tuesday the approval of $4.6 million in grants to boost early learning. The funds, made possible through the American Rescue Plan, will help ensure school readiness, assist parents with their child’s education, expand access to educational therapies, provide free books, build natural play areas and more to enhance school readiness and future academic success.

“The grants we are making today are the best investment we can make in the future of our community,” said Mayor Greenberg. “Not only are these funds going to facilitate programs and activities that ensure our children are ready for school and ready to learn, but we’re also making sure that investments are being made in some communities that have been overlooked for too long, including our New American communities. I, along with our entire city, am looking forward to seeing the impact these important funds are going to have on children and families across Louisville.”

The grants come from American Rescue Plan funds and sought partners that could provide educational programming and address the following goals:

• Evidence-based programs and projects that address COVID-related developmental delays;
• Programs with proven results in screening, outreach and high-quality early learning, including increasing access to these programs;
• Improvements to or development of natural outdoor learning and play spaces.

The grantees, amounts and the programming they will administer, are:

National Center for Families Learning	$1,376,084
To partner with community organizations to host family-child playgroups to improve literacy and school readiness.

Metro United Way	Three Grants
To expand access to developmental screening.	$653,435
To build 12 natural playscapes.	$789,415
To prepare child care educators and families for kindergarten.	$176,015

YMCA of Greater Louisville	$420,969
To offer family-child school readiness, including outdoor play, community building and YMCA memberships.

The de Paul School	$319,440
To partner with Kentucky Refugee Ministries and Family Scholar House to provide children evaluation and interventions for occupational and speech therapy along with training for parents.

Waterfront Development Corporation	$209,000
For signage and videos at Waterfront Park Playport to facilitate child learning and parent engagement.

Family & Children’s Place	$256,331
To expand access to developmental screening for refugee and immigrant families.

Imagination Library of Louisville	$270,090
To ensure that all Louisville children, from birth to 5 years old, can receive free books each month.

Americana Community Center	$125,129
For generational school readiness programming for refugee parents and children up to 5 years old.

“I want to thank all these amazing educational and community service organizations for the work they do and for the important work they are about to undertake with these funds,” said Mayor Greenberg. “We know learning is about development, and that development needs encouraging, it needs community, and it needs the expertise and passion these folks have for our kids, and we’re very excited to announce these awards that will help with the growth and development of children throughout our city.”

Original source can be found here.