Arsht-Cannon Fund awards $677K

December 20, 2017

Hispanic families in Delaware are benefiting from increased access to education and health care with the support of $677,841 in grants from the Arsht-Cannon Fund, an endowed fund at the Delaware Community Foundation. This year, more than $350,000 was awarded to organizations serving Hispanic communities in Sussex County. Lutheran Church of Our Savior’s English as a second language program received $50,000 for two years for helping about 150 adults and their children learn to read, write and speak English. Polytech Adult Education’s family literacy program received $50,000 for two years for breaking the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by providing educational opportunities to low-income and immigrant adults and their children. Latin American Community Center English as a second language and nurturing parenting programs received $30,000 for continuing its ESL program and providing a new parenting-skills program. Friends of Bear Public Library and Friends of Route 9 Library and Innovation Center received $3,500 for offering Plaza Comunitaria program at the libraries that includes basic-, elementary- and intermediate-level school courses in Spanish for immigrants age 15 and older. Delaware Readiness Teams received $10,000 for translating and disseminating information about early kindergarten registration for Spanish-speaking Latino parents; gathering data to provide help to parents preparing preschoolers for kindergarten. Friends of Wilmington Parks received $1,800 for buying books in Spanish for preschool and kindergarten nature programs. Friends of Milton Library and Friends of Garfield Park Library received $5,500 for holding the annual celebration of Latino culture and community at the Milton Library in Sussex County in partnership with the Delaware Hispanic Commission and at the new Route 9 Library and Innovation Center in New Castle County.

Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council Inc.’s ESL & Low Income Tax Clinic received $25,000 for helping Latino immigrant families statewide resolve tax issues. Reading Assist Inc.’s Reading Corps Reading Intervention Program received $25,000 for recruiting, training and supervising bilingual reading tutors for first- through third-grade students in the Colonial School District. Sussex Tech Adult Education’s Healthy Snacks for 21st CCLC received $8,500 for providing snacks and food for their after-school programs and field trips. UrbanPromise Wilmington’s Street Leaders Program received $25,000 for increasing the number of Wilmington’s Hispanic youth leading and participating in their afterschool and summer programs, which focus on developing teens personally and academically in a nurturing environment. Summer Learning Collaborative Inc. received $36,000 for expanding this successful summer camp program, focused on reducing the summer learning gap for middle school-aged children in low income families, to Sussex County during the summer of 2017. La Esperanza Community Center’s Youth Immigration Advocacy Program received $20,000 for planning and piloting a Youth Advocacy Program to support the development, academic success and rights of Latino youth in its surrounding Georgetown community. PeaceWork Ltd. received $10,000 for expanding programs to provide arts, yoga and gardening activities to at-risk youth living at the New Castle County Youth Detention Center.

Leading Youth through Empowerment received $12,000 for planning to expand capacity to recruit, enroll and engage Latino eight- through 12th-grade students in their college access afterschool and summer program. TeenSharp Inc.’s College Access Ambassador Program received $20,000 for expanding and recruiting additional Latino high school students into its program, which expands college access for students of color. TeenSharp Inc.’s Delaware Goes to College Academies received $34,000 for providing academic advising and coaching for college admission for up to 600 Delaware qualified youth during the 2017-18 school year. Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington’s Hispanic Graduate Support Program received $20,000 for enabling Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington to provide continuing guidance to their middle school graduates, and their Spanish-speaking parents, through high school and college. National Alliance on Mental Illness Delaware’s Hispanic Services Initiative received $75,000 for two years for expanding outreach to the Hispanic community to increase knowledge of mental illness and reduce barriers to access of care in Kent and Sussex counties. Family Counseling Center of St. Paul’s received $30,000 for educating Latino families in Wilmington on access to mental health care, expanding capacity for screenings to better direct clients and training new clinicians. Ronald McDonald House of Delaware’s Housing Program for Delaware’s Hispanic Families received $10,000 for expanding support services for Latino families staying at the Ronald McDonald House while their child is receiving care at a local hospital.

Latino Mental Health Workforce Program received $16,500 for providing partial tuition assistance for three bilingual graduate students, who have committed to work as mental health professionals in Delaware after graduation. Sussex County Health Coalition received $50,000 for facilitating an environmental health assessment focused on behavioral health and expanding school-based mental/behavioral programs to Latino students. Rodel Foundation’s Social Emotional Learning Landscape Study received $20,000 for providing critical information on Delaware’s SEL efforts, student needs, evidence-based practices, evaluation measures and advice to scale up successful efforts and align with needs. Rodel Foundation’s English Learners in Delaware received $20,000 for conducting data collection and analysis to address educational disparities in a series of five fact sheets and secure state funding for English learners, in partnership with the Delaware Hispanic Commission’s Education Committee. Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now received $60,000 for engaging students, parents, communities, teachers, and organizations to urgently advocate for educational policies for student success — higher graduation rates, test scores and college enrollments for Latino students. UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza, received $5,000 for developing advocacy and awareness plans for English learners in Delaware in partnership with the Rodel Foundation. For more, visit delcf.org or call 571-8004.  

Link: Dover Post