I recently had the amazing opportunity to join Heron Lake-Okabena Community Foundation advisory board members Collette Diemers and Jackie Baumgard in reading to kindergarten and first grade students. My own daughter, Hazel, is just finishing first grade and I’ve gotten pretty darn good at reading children’s books (funny voices and all) if I do say so myself! There is something magical about learning to read. It opens whole new worlds to kids, and you can just about see their brains churning inside their heads. So, with books in hand, it was super cool to enter that classroom and see the kids eyes light up for us guest readers.
But for many kids, summer can mean a slide backwards in reading ability. To help make sure all students have an opportunity to make the most of summer learning opportunities, the HL-O Community Foundation has partnered with Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary School to provide funding for a summer school lunch program. Subsidies for free and reduced lunch are not available for the two-day-a-week program, and the cost of lunch has created a barrier to participation for many students and families in the district. By helping cover the cost of lunch, the HL-O Community Foundation is removing these barriers and creating opportunities for all kids to avoid the summer slide.
This is just one of many ways SWIF affiliate foundations are digging in to help address the opportunity gap. The Montevideo Area Community Foundation has partnered with the Chippewa Valley Youth Club to raise over $5,000 for its after-school program. The CVYC provides extracurricular activities in fitness, art and music as well as time for kids to complete their homework. The additional funding will go towards the development of a mentorship program for kids participating in the program.
In Bird Island and Olivia, The BIO Legacy Foundation advisory board has taken a hands-on approach to addressing the opportunity gap. Board members have partnered with Christian Community Outreach Center to provide mentoring and to assist with fundraising for their After School Enrichment Program. In addition to the hands-on mentoring, the board recently hosted an end of the school year picnic for all kids enrolled in the program.
These are just a few of the ways SWIF affiliate foundations are having an impact. How well our kids do today directly impacts how well our communities do tomorrow. I know it sounds cliché to say that our kids are our future, but it couldn’t be more true. Thanks to all of you who are investing your time, talents and treasures in our kids. Each and every action we make to close the opportunity gap opens up worlds of possibility.
