Using community partnerships to transform schools

Great article from the Huffington Post that highlights an alternative school in the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona that uses community partnerships to integrate "positive youth development and family outreach programs" with academics. Click here to read the article, written by Dan Cardinali President, Communities In Schools, Inc., in its entirety.

Looking for partnerships in the Virginia-D.C. area? Try George Mason University

George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Virginia, has an entire center dedicated to leadership and community engagement. So, if you're looking for partnership opportunities, here's what the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE) has to offer:

• Community based learning
• Interns
• Federal work study
• Volunteers

For more information, see the CLCE website http://clce.gmu.edu/community-partners

National Science Foundation Grant Opportunity

The National Science Foundation (NSF) currently has a funding opportunity available with the grant proposal due later this year.

What: The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program which focuses on the education of technicians for high-technology fields. The program involves partnerships between employers and academic institutions to improve education for science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. See the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program website for more information.

Due: October 18, 2012

See the "Current Funding Opportunities" page for this and other funding opportunities.

Last year of the Jamba Juice and PTA partnership to support education

If you're not yet aware, in 2009 "better-for-you beverages and foods" store, Jamba Juice partnered with the National Parent Teacher Association^® (PTA) for a three-year, year-round fundraising project. The Jamba School Appreciation Program, allows students, parents, and the community to donate a portion of the proceeds from their purchase to their national and local PTAs through the use of a swipe card. 

Partnerships that help provide vital resources such as funding are always great. The Jamba Juice-PTA partnership is nearing its third year and it will be great to see the outcome of the partnership in the months to come. 

For more information on the partnership, see the 2009 Jamba Juice News Release National PTA and Jamba Juice Join Forces to Raise $1 Million for Schools and PTAs Nationwide

Clorox: "Powering a Bright Future" with a $50,000 grant

Clorox Company is chipping in for a third year to help fund school programs - best of all, their letting us participate. Since October 24, 2011 people have gone to the Power A Bright Future Program website to vote for their favorite school program. All of the schools are competing for four $25,000 and one $50,000 grant. Voting ends December 9, 2011 and the winners will be announced in January 2012.
Click here to get in your vote.

Grant programs are another example of how companies can and have been helping communities. The Power A Bright Future Program is great because it helps fund a cause that is vital - education. Another plus is that it allows everyday people to vote compared to having the company's staff give their opinion on the best program. Letting communities vote really helps the schools increase or start to create an environment of support. If it takes a village to raise a child, then the more collaborations there are that let community members participate, the better.  

Colossal collaboration between DonorsChoose.org, the Wasserman Foundation, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and Starbucks Coffee to support cash strapped classrooms

The households of LAUSD students (starting this month) and customers of Los Angeles Starbucks Coffee shops (beginning later this winter) will receive gift cards which will be used to fund projects in LAUSD schools’ classrooms through DonorsChooseLA.org. How did this happen you ask?  The Wasserman Foundation, which has a long history of philanthropy in the education arena, donated $4 million dollars over the next 2 years towards the effort. Half will go towards gift cards and the other half will be in the form of a challenge grant in which the foundation will match donations to projects through the DonorsChooseLA.org website.

This idea is a very innovative and will likely bring much needed supplies to LAUSD classrooms. What’s so unique about this partnership, is allowing the community to participate through giving out gift cards. The whole project brings about the much needed “It takes a village to raise a child” mentality, one that has been lacking in today’s society.

Molina Foundation partners with literacy programs and 501(c)3 organizations to promote literacy

The Molina Foundation was established in 2004 to reduce disparities in healthcare and education. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because it was started by Dr. Martha Bernadett, daughter of Molina Healthcare, Inc. founder, Dr. C. David Molina. Since 2003, the Book Buddies™program has been working to increase literacy in children and adults by partnering with other organizations and literacy programs nationally. Through the Book Buddies™ program, the foundation has distributed hundreds of thousands of books and started book clubs at elementary schools.

Molina Foundation’s work through the Book Buddies™ program is a great example of how the health and education sectors can collaborate. What this means for a community and for a healthcare organization is not only less illiterate residents but a decrease in poverty. Literacy status effects a persons life much like the domino effect. Literacy determines our ability to move through the education system and hence our educational attainment (e.g. high school, college degree, graduate degree), what jobs we can get (high or low paying), and ultimately the quality of life we have.