AmeriCorp’s team furthers children museum mission

PROVIDENCE – Providence Children’s Museum’s 17th AmeriCorps team recently completed the 2012-13 service year, serving 22,500 hours to extend the museum’s reach to children most in need of enriching, engaging play and learning experiences.
Providence Children’s Museum has been an AmeriCorps national service site since 1997, committed to training a team of educators to bring engaging play-based activities to children whose exposure to rich learning experiences is limited. The museum’s AmeriCorps program has served more than 20,000 children through innovative outreach to inner-city community centers and Head Start programs over 16 years.
The 16-member team helped children discover the joy of learning as they led imaginative hands-on activities about the value of diversity to help improve school readiness for 1,000 Head Start preschoolers in 58 classrooms in Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls, and welcomed them on museum explorations.
They also helped facilitate after-school and summer Learning Clubs and welcomed more than 1,300 low-income children and their family members to free museum family nights, where they received complimentary year-long admission passes.
The Museum’s AmeriCorps team is a group of dynamic and diverse individuals who, under the guidance of Museum education staff, work to instill a lifetime love of learning in children. Dedicated to a year of outreach, members receive training in hands-on learning as well as living allowances and educational grants in return for their participation in this national service program.
The Museum’s AmeriCorps program is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service and Serve Rhode Island with additional support from Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation; The John Clarke Trust, Bank of America N.A., co-trustee; CVS Caremark Charity Classic; Frank B. Hazard General Charity Fund, Bank of America N.A., trustee; Harry M., Miriam C. & William C. Horton Fund, Bank of America, co-trustee; Museum Annual Campaign Donors; Sovereign Bank Foundation; Textron Charitable Trust; and UnitedHealthcare of New England.

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