A Closer Look will launch this fall with two

special afternoons on Friday September 25 and

Friday, October 2 from 3-6pm each afternoon. 

 A major grant is the result of a town-gown collaboration between Cornell's Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and the Community Foundation.  Kappa Kappa Gamma has made a designated gift of $25,000 to the Community Foundation's Children & Youth Fund to be used as a grant to preserve the TST BOCES Even Start program in Newfield and Groton. 
 
For the past 16 years, Tompkins Seneca Tioga Even Start Family Literacy Program has provided an integrated program of early childhood and parenting education to low income, low literacy families in our rural communities.  The program helps to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by guiding adults to set goals and obtain education and employment, at the same time as they take on the crucial role of becoming their own children's first teachers.  TST BOCES Even Start has consistently met or exceeded New York State performance indicator targets but was in danger of having to eliminate sites for the 2009-2010 year if new funding was not secured to replace the loss of New York State funding.
 
This grant is made after Community Foundation consultation with leadership of Cornell's Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority who were seeking opportunities to make a philanthropic investment in the area of literacy and education - a cause akin to their national organization's philanthropy.  By linking Kappa Kappa Gamma's interests with a Community Foundation priority, valuable resources are delivered to a proven program to sustain early education results.  The Community Foundation's Children & Youth Fund receives gifts from donors interested in building a permanent charitable endowment dedicated to making grants to improve the quality of life for children and youth in Tompkins County.
 
If you or your organization are seeking to make a charitable gift  and would like the most current information about needs and  best practice providers in our community, please contact George Ferrari, Executive Director, 309 N. Aurora Street, Ithaca, NY 14850.