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LiteracyWorks Applies to Polaroid Fund & Supplies Technical Support In response to the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts’ Polaroid Fund Request for Proposals (“RFP”), LiteracyWorks Entrepreneur, Jason Wentworth, has submitted a proposal to secure $25,000 in funding. This funding will help make up for the $21,000 cut from the LiteracyWorks budget this October due to the Governor’s so-called 9C cuts (named after the state law that gives the governor authority to cut executive budgets without legislative approval). The Community Foundation manages the New Bedford area grant program of the Polaroid Fund. This is a discretionary fund of the Boston Foundation, which was created with the dual purpose of supporting workforce development and literacy programming in the Greater New Bedford area. In addition to the $100,000 available through the Polaroid Fund, the Community Foundation is also making $25,000 from the Acushnet Foundation Fund available in this process. The total available funds of $125,000 will be distributed as follows: $75,000 will support workforce development programming, with an emphasis on English for Speakers of Other Languages (“ESOL”) and Adult Basic Education (ABE) and General Education Development (“GED”) classes; and $50,000 will support family literacy programs that integrate early literacy programming (for children from birth to three years old) with ESOL and parenting courses. LiteracyWorks provided technical assistance to AnnMmarie Pereira Sawyer, Coordinator of The Family Center, for her submission of a proposal for $50,000 of the Polaroid/Acushnet Funds family literacy funding to sustain their intergenerational, family literacy programming. Last year, LiteracyWorks assisted The Family Center in securing $42,000 from the Polaroid Fund. The Family Center provides ESOL learning services for adults, early literacy and learning playgroups for children, and many important wraparound services. This year, in an attempt to enhance their proposal and build new collaborations, LiteracyWorks brought the Shining Lights: New Beginnings program to the table to add a pre-Citizenship ESOL course. This course, available to both The Family Center and Shining Lights families, will work to provide a basic understanding of the terminology of citizenship courses and a background on history and civics to adult learners. Additionally, the children of these adult learners will benefit from The Family Center’s focused, literacy-based playgroups. Shining Lights is a program of the City of New Bedford’s Office of Human Services with additional funding from the School Department’s 21st Century Learning Centers Program. The program is based at the Grace Episcopal Church and is also supported by the volunteer teaching efforts of the Church. http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881216018 Please feel free to contact Jason Wentworth, LiteracyWorks Entrepreneur, to get involved or with any questions at 508-979-1504 or JWentworth@gnbwib.org. 227 Union Street, Suite 206, New Bedford, MA 02740-5946 PH 508.979.1504 • FAX 508.979.5680 E-mail: Webmaster@gnbwib.org |