Please give to the SEF Summer Learning Campaign!

[Katie Gradowski]

Important plug for a great project!

The Somerville Education Foundation is a new initiative in Somerville to help coordinate and fund summer learning opportunities for all kids.  

We are very excited to announce that SEF is funding 10 summer scholarships for Parts and Crafts as well as a robotics program for immigrant youth offered in partnership with the Welcome Project.  The folks behind this initiative have played a critical role in supporting Parts and Crafts from the beginning, helping us launch programs when we were small, boosting awareness in of P&C, connecting us to resources, and helping us get our non-profit status, which has been critical to Parts and Crafts being able to connect and run programming with community partners. 

In short, it's a great project, and we urge you to support it  Equity isn't free, and SEF is putting together a very powerful model for how everyday people can roll up their sleeves and make sure ALL kids in Somerville have access to the high-quality OST resources.   Please support and share widely!

- Katie from Parts and Crafts

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We're making a real difference in expanding summer learning opportunities for all kids.  We've raised $24,675 so far and we've already been able to fund summer scholarships for over 120 kids.  Will you help?  Join the campaign today by replying to this e-mail with the word Yes and we will add you to the sponsor list when we publish it next week.

Suggested household donation is $250.  

Checks can be dropped off at the event or mailed at any time to: Somerville Education Foundation, 17 Kidder Ave., Somerville, MA  02144.

 

Summer Learning Campaign

Learning, like eating, is something kids need to do year round.  

Some kids have rich and diverse opportunities to explore fun and learning throughout the summer.  Others do not.

Summer learning loss.

Kids in poverty often close the achievement gap during the school year and fall behind over the summer.

Summer should be a time of joy and exploration.

While the opportunity to catch up academically is critical, of equal importance is the opportunity for kids to play outdoors, explore, and learn about nature.

We can do something about it.  

The Somerville Education Foundation, in partnership with the City of Somerville and Somerville Public Schools, is making a commitment to ensure all Somerville young people have access to affordable, quality summer programming.  Funds raised this year will go to expand summer programming

SEF Summer Learning Campaign Initial Sponsors:

Dr. Mouhab"Mo" Rizkallah and the Braces Place Partners Health Century Bank Greentown Labs Stella Downie of Skyzone John and Jenny Bonham-Carter Winter Hill Bank Tufts University Tom Bent of Bent Electrical Abby Taylor and Jeff Curley Sean O’Donovan of O’Donovan Law Office Middlesex Federal Savings Cambridge Orthodontics Donald Norton Maryann Heuston Federal Realty Trust Alan & Gail Ball Mayor Joseph Curtatone Registrer of Deeds Maria Curtatone Law Offices of Richard G. DiGirolamo Marisa Wolsky & Ben Guenther Kerri Lorigan & Greg Nadeau Thalia Tringo Dr. Casey Cook Jared Rubin Chiu Family Berkowitz Family State Representative Mike Connolly Dave's Fresh Pasta State Representative Christine Barber Alderman Bill White State Senator Pat Jehlen Paula & Dan Sullivan Cambridge Health Alliance School Committee Member Dan Futrell Katie Gradowski & Will Macfarlane Boston Burger Company

Thanks to the generous commitments from sponsors above,  SEF has been able to commit to funding the following services this summer:

• $3,708 to the Mystic Learning Center to cover the cost of two full scholarship slots or 98 days of summer learning at MLC.

• $1,500 to Parkour Generations Boston's to cover the cost of a weeklong Parkour clinic for Somerville kids

• $4,500 to Parts & Craft to help fund both 1) Parts & Crafts Welcome Project STEM Camp and 2) 10 full scholarship slots to summer camp.

• $1,000 for the Somerville Media Center to cover the cost of four scholarship slots for priority Somerville youth

Additional grants will be made at the conclusion of the 2018 Summer Learning Campaign on June 15.

The mission of the Somerville Education Foundation is to promote learning opportunities for all Somerville residents. This will be achieved by raising and distributing funds, facilitating discussion and promoting best practices related to education.

Goals	2017-18  Objectives
Create sustainable organization that will last and grow	1) Work with core community groups to build a diverse and effective board 2) Build community through fun, interactive, and inclusive events like Somerville Steam Social (S^3) 3) Create social media community assets (Website, Facebook, Twitter, etc)
Support education through fundraising and grants	1) Generate a portfolio of revenue that attracts major contributors and small donors 2) Coordinate grant giving with allied groups such as the Scholarship Fund, Duhamel Initiative, and others to maximize funds to support all learners.
Support learning through informed discussion	1) Create a website and e-mail list to encourage evidence-based discussions on topics of interest to the community 2) Host forums about topics of interest to the community and publish summary reports. 3) Work with the City and Somerville Public Schools to come up with a comprehensive plan for lifelong learning

Board of Directors
Marian Berkowitz
Michael Chiu
Jeff Curley
Nancy Curtatone
Stephenson Aman
Glenda Soto
Greg Nadeau

Officers
Greg Nadeau, President
Michael Chiu, Treasurer

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www.partsandcrafts.org