$100K to boost workforce development, literacy efforts

The Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts has awarded $100,000 in workforce development and early literacy grants through the Polaroid Fund and the Acushnet Foundation Early Literacy Consortium.
This is the Community Foundation’s ninth year of managing the New Bedford Area grants program of the Polaroid Fund under contract with the Boston Foundation. The Polaroid Fund has distributed up to $100,000 each year to support organizations that focus on workforce development and early literacy.
“These grants are part of our ongoing strategy to fund programs that are working to increase the region’s historically low levels of educational attainment,” said CFSEMA President Craig J. Dutra.
Eight local organizations received a total of $80,000 in grants from the Polaroid Fund to support workforce development programs, with an emphasis on advocacy and capacity building, as well as English for Speakers of Other Languages, Adult Basic Education and General Education Development classes. They are:
• City of New Bedford Department of Community Services, $4,000 for the Shining Lights/ESOL: Civic Literacy/ESOL Project to expand the existing family literacy programming;
• Community Economic Development Center, $13,000 in renewed funding for the ESOL, Capacity Building and Advocacy Project;
• Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School/Adult ESOL Program, $5,000 in renewed support for ESOL services to non-English speaking parents of GNB Voc-Tech students, as well as workforce development and educational engagement;
• Immigrants Assistance Center, $12,500 in renewed support for ESOL classes with civics and citizenship preparation;
• Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Parish ESOL Program, $11,000 in renewed funding to provide ESOL and computer classes for low-income immigrants;
• People Acting in Community Endeavors, $14,000 for Los Primos Pasos adult basic education instruction;
• United Interfaith Action, $7,500 for Creating Pathways to Good Paying Jobs; and
• Women’s Fund of Southeastern Mass., $13,000 for the LifeWork Project.
Another $20,000 from the Acushnet Foundation’s Early Literacy Consortium and from Polaroid is supporting family literacy programs, including:
• City of New Bedford Department of Community Services, $5,000 in renewed funding to provide transportation and child care services for Shining Lights/ESOL: Civic Literacy/ESOL Project; and
• New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks!, $15,000 in renewed funding to continue and expand Learning Studio: Early Literacy through the Arts.
For more information, visit www.cfsema.org.

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