Atlanta Speech School, Children's Museum Awarded $1 Million

CONTACT:

Asia Rambo
(678) 428-5812
asia.rambo@pnc.com

PNC AWARDS $1 MILLION TO ATLANTA SPEECH SCHOOL, CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF ATLANTA
Free program to help launch pilot education program in Atlanta’s Westside Communities
ATLANTA, Dec. 3, 2014 – The PNC Foundation recently awarded a $1 million vocabulary grant to The Children’s Museum of Atlanta and the Atlanta Speech School to help launch Spread the Word, a two-year vocabulary and reading program for 6,000 metro Atlanta students and families.
The Children’s Museum of Atlanta and the Atlanta Speech School will use the grant to create vocabulary and language programs for 700 children and their families in Atlanta’s Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods. Additional students and their families will be added as the multi-year program expands.
According to American Educator, the average child raised by professional parents hears 215,000 words a week, compared with 125,000 for one in a working-class household and only 62,000 for one raised in a low-income home. The result: a 30 million word deficit between students from lower-income homes and more financially stable homes.
“We are so grateful for PNC’s continued support of early learning,” said Jane Turner, executive director, The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. “We are excited to partner with The Atlanta Speech School to share the importance of vocabulary building with families in the metro Atlanta community.”
The “Spread the Word” effort also will leverage the resources of several community partners including Georgia State University and Clark Atlanta University’s early education centers, which will each provide curriculum development support.
Program highlights include free activities and events, such as:
• Family workshops: Children and their parents will participate in a weekly, two-hour program to learn together through story time and science and art activities. Each family will receive language/vocabulary backpacks with books, board games, an preloaded mp3 players for reading.
• Interactive vocabulary kiosk: Located in The Children’s Museum, the permanent, interactive game will help build vocabulary skills through language games related to museum exhibits

• Professional development: Coursework and online training for educators and adults working with children in early learning centers throughout the communities.
• Toddler Book Club & Mobile Library: Neighborhood families will be invited to attend club meetings, an ongoing Community Story Program and the Museum will operate a mobile library to reach additional communities.
• Museum visits and family festivals: The Museum and community partners will offer free and discounted admission to several community events and family festivals.

“Vocabulary is the cornerstone of a child’s development, but underserved children are far behind their peers in learning new words,” said Eddie Meyers, PNC regional president for Georgia. “It’s so important for everyone to step up and help our children get a good start. We all have a stake in this. It’s an investment in our children and in our future.”

The initiative will be supported by PNC Bank employees, who are offered 40 hours of paid time off a year to volunteer in Grow Up Great programs.

The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
The Children’s Museum of Atlanta is a smart place to play and a non-profit organization offering a family-friendly space filled with interactive, educational exhibits and programming for children ages eight and under. The Museum’s mission is to spark imagination and inspire discovery and learning for all children through the power of play. The Museum’s four permanent learning zones consist of bright, creative, hands-on exhibits that are designed to give children an opportunity to learn through play. The Children’s Museum of Atlanta also offers parties, memberships, field trips, summer camp, and private events. For more information or to support The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, please visit www.childrensmuseumatlanta.org or call 404.659.KIDS [5437].

PNC Foundation
PNC grants are provided by the PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC). The PNC Foundation actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a $350 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.
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