POTTSTOWN >> The YWCA Tri-County Area’s efforts to better educate area residents from early education to adults will begin 2017 boosted by three grants worth a total of $50,000.
The largest was a $34,000 grant from the Milton Apfelbaum, the Lucile B. Wynkoop, and the H.J. Grinsfelder Funds of the Philadelphia Foundation.
Pedro A. Ramos, president and CEO of the Foundation, announced the grant. The funds will be used to implement an organization-wide technology upgrade during 2017.
This grant comes after a previous award of $6,000 from The Foundation’s Henry Griffith and Anna Griffith Keasbey Fund to support a Technology Needs Assessment, which occurred in the fall.
The results of the needs assessment will guide the technology upgrade. The upgrades will include purchasing two iPads for each early education classroom, a smart board for the multi-purpose room, and new software to help manage YW3CA’s variety of programs.
“It is imperative for us to update our technology to allow YWCA to remain on the forefront of critical social movements, as we have for 108 years,” said Stacey Woodland YWCA Tri-County Area Executive Director. “The grant from the Philadelphia Foundation will allow us to better serve, teach, and interact with the children, families, and communities we serve.”
The YW also received a $10,000 grant from the Connelly Foundation to support its Education and Training Center.
“The Connelly Foundation’s support of the YW3CA’s Education and Training Center is an important investment in this tri-county area’s adults seeking high school equivalency, English as a Second Language (ESL) and/or citizenship educational opportunities,” said Woodland.
YWCA Tri-County Area Education and Training Center (YW3CA ETC) empowers individuals to find freedom and dignity through education and employment.
In fulfilling its mission to enable individuals to achieve their goals of self-sufficiency and success, the Education and Training Center offers several programs designed to meet the adult learners’ needs. Programs include Adult Basic Education and High School Equivalency test preparation, English Language/Civics classes, individual tutoring, and Job Seekers Connection.
Since 1918, The Philadelphia Foundation has been committed to improving quality of life in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.
The Foundation grows the more than 900 charitable funds established by its donors and distributes about $20 million annually in grants and scholarships to about 1,000 effective non-profit organizations. For more information, visit www.philafound.org.
The Connelly Foundation seeks to foster learning and to improve the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia area. This foundation supports local non-profit organizations in the fields of education, health and human services, arts and culture and civic enterprise.
