Now that we’re well into another short-lived spring, we wanted to bring you up to date on some of the Foundation’s recent activities. In this issue of our quarterly newsletter, you’ll find stories that cover a wide range of efforts that are working to improve the lives of disadvantaged people around the state.
We highlight examples of programs that are strengthening Maine’s workforce, and in our first article we share details about some the efforts we have supported in this sector. This includes Southern Maine Community College’s ESOL-to-EMT program, which was recently featured in several local news outlets, as well as the New York Times. In another article, we also discuss two-generation strategies, an approach that we’re increasingly considering in our work around children and families. We talk about what that means, and describe how we’re working to connect our grantees with local and national ideas to maximize results for children and parents simultaneously .
With the end of the school year fast approaching, we also feature an article about the challenge of “summer learning loss.” We’re about ready to launch the fourth year of our summer learning initiative, and the community-based programs with whom we are partnering are gearing up to help young children in Portland, Westbrook and Bangor beat the summer literacy slide. In other recent news, the Foundation supported a research brief about the state of Early Head Start in Maine-the program that targets children aged 0-2 and their families. We’ll tell you more about that program’s current reach and potential for expansion.
Thanks for reading, and as always, I invite you to write me or any of our staff with any questions, comments or suggestions you have regarding the Foundation’s work.
-Tony Cipollone, President and CEO