San Diego County CA— United Way of San Diego County has received a $100,000 grant from the David C. Copley Foundation and will use it to grow its early grade attendance and literacy pilot initiatives in City Heights and Lemon Grove. The grant will also help United Way share best practices with regional partners for greater reach.
“United Way’s early grade literacy work directly relates to our mission of carrying on the Copley family’s legacy of giving by funding nonprofit organizations making a difference, including in youth development and education,” said David C. Copley Foundation President and CEO Dean P. Dwyer. “It is especially meaningful to us to support United Way’s signature early grade literacy initiatives.”
The initiatives include ‘Every Student, Every Day,’ working to help children that are chronically absent through multiple angles, using bachelor and master’s level interns, working on-site at the schools to monitor and support students and their families to improve attendance. This leads to gains in academic performance and helps to close the achievement gap by increasing school attendance.
‘Readers in the Heights’ is United Way’s literacy summer camp, working with partners to promote active learning for kindergarten through fourth grade students to help prevent “summer slide” – when kids without access to books over the summer lose literacy gains made during the school year.
United Way’s pilot initiatives help implement best practices and the use of data and evaluation tools to establish effectiveness and continuous improvement. These best practices are shared with partners across San Diego County to make a greater impact in early grade literacy and attendance for our most vulnerable children.
“We are grateful for this grant from the David C. Copley Foundation and are committed to continuing to strengthen our relationship with the Foundation and our complementary missions,” said United Way of San Diego County Interim CEO Bob Beatty. “With partners like the Copley Foundation, we are able to spark breakthrough community action that elevates every child and family toward a brighter future.”
For more information on United Way’s current initiatives, visit www.uwsd.org.