SARASOTA, Fla. (PRWEB) August 03, 2017
The Patterson Foundation recently contributed $250,000 to strengthen the efforts of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The GLR Campaign is a national movement to increase reading proficiency among children in low-income families. Since 2013, The Patterson Foundation has contributed more than $1 million to support the Campaign’s early literacy efforts, providing strategy and capacity-building support as an enterprise funder.
This latest contribution from The Patterson Foundation will benefit the national network of communities moving the needle to ensure all children become proficient readers by the end of third grade, which is an indicator of long-term academic and life success. The Campaign includes more than 300 communities, representing 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.
“The Patterson Foundation values the strength of being part of the nationwide Campaign for Grade-Level Reading movement, where proven practices are shared with more than 300 communities to prepare children for kindergarten, reduce chronic absenteeism and boost summer learning,” said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. “By supporting the enterprise hub, communities throughout the nation can learn and share from the best and from each other. Currently, 80 percent of children from low-income homes are unable to read proficiently by the end of third grade. The GLR Campaign is dedicated to narrowing this achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more affluent peers, and it’s going to take support from a network of committed funders to help make that happen.”
By 2020, the GLR Campaign aims to increase by at least 100 percent the number of children from low-income families reading proficiently at the end of third grade in a dozen or more states. To do this, the GLR Campaign focuses on three key solution areas: increasing school readiness, improving attendance and ensuring access to quality summer learning opportunities for children from low-income families. It also emphasizes strategies to help parents serve as their children’s first teachers while connecting families with health resources to help children stay on track in their physical, cognitive and verbal development.
“Over the past several years, The Patterson Foundation has been a highly valued partner to the GLR Campaign and exemplified the ‘more than money’ approach to grant making,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. “The GLR Campaign is deeply appreciative of the multifaceted and valuable role of The Patterson Foundation as an Enterprise Investor, thought partner and leader in the effort to ensure many more children are on a path to success.”
In addition to providing strategy and capacity-building support, The Patterson Foundation has also helped the GLR Campaign’s communities stay connected to each other through a digital platform known as The Huddle, which enables more than 1,500 community leaders to learn from one another and share promising practices.
Beyond support for the national Campaign, The Patterson Foundation is engaged in ongoing GLR Campaign efforts in its home state of Florida — including work with the Florida Grade-Level Reading Campaign, which guides the work of 16 communities statewide committed to the GLR Campaign’s goals. It is also a lead funder of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, which encompasses Manatee and Sarasota counties. The Suncoast Campaign has earned a variety of accolades for its work to help children achieve grade-level reading proficiency, including a Pacesetter Honor, one of the highest awards presented by the GLR Campaign, and the prestigious All-America City Award.
About The Patterson Foundation
The Patterson Foundation strengthens the efforts of people, organizations and communities. The Foundation focuses on issues that address common aspirations and foster wide participation, along with ways organizations learn and share as they evolve. For more information, please visit http://www.thepattersonfoundation.org and connect with
@ThePattersonFdn on Twitter.
About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Launched in 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. Since its launch, the GLR Campaign has grown to include more than 300 communities, representing 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada — with 3,800 local organizations and 250 state and local funders (including 168 United Ways). To learn more, visit gradelevelreading.net and follow the movement on Twitter @readingby3rd.
