Women’s Leadership Council of United Way of Lake County Grants $64,000 in Funding for Early Literacy Programs

The Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) of United Way of Lake County has become an essential part of the success of our programming in Lake County. The WLC is a group of passionate women united as a driving force to close the gaps in childhood literacy in Lake County.

In 2014, the WLC was reinvigorated to provide a larger platform for engagement and impact. A major piece was the creation of Little Kids, Big Futures Philanthropy Fund through which the membership makes annual grants to worthy early literacy programs. Over the last three years, $137,000 has been granted to support several education programs in Lake County.

(Left) Amy Pruit, Judy Armstrong and Joan Ellis, B.E.S.T. Preschool, Jennifer Little, Success By 6, Sue Baehr, Reading Success, Ali Walton and Patrice Maloney-Knauff, WLC HUGS Initiative.

This year, the WLC is proud to celebrate the extraordinary achievement of having raised $64,000 for the community. The following programs will receive funding this summer:

• $22,000 is granted to the BEST Pre-K Program and will be used to provide approximately 20 scholarships for half-day pre-school, 3 days a week for 9 months in Round Lake Beach.
• $20,000 will be used for the Success By 6 Expansion to Zion. This expansion of the program will enable 7 families (34 individuals) to participate in Home Visiting and 45 children to take part in Early Learning Clubs.
• $12,000 is granted to the Success By 6 Kindergarten Countdown Camp. These funds will be used to continue this camp program for approximately 45 kids in Waukegan.
• $5,000 will be used for the HUGS Initiative for Green Bay Early Childhood Center. These funds will be used to provide buddy bags, furnishings and physical and digital resources.
• $5,000 will be allocated for the Reading Success Kindergarten Expansion. These funds will be used to procure materials and equipment costs to expand Reading Success to kindergarten students in Waukegan. Additional sources of funding will be sought to hire a bilingual coordinator.

The year 2015-2016 has been monumental year for our Women’s Leadership Council as the Little Kids Big Futures Philanthropy Fund has continued to grow. This is attributed to the continued growth and support of WLC through membership and fundraising events.

Thinking ahead to 2016 and beyond, WLC is positioned to continue this remarkable growth and will continue to mobilize women through leadership and resource development to support critical early literacy programs in Lake County’s most vulnerable communities.

For more information about the Women’s Leadership Council visit: www.LIVEUNITEDlakecounty.org/womensleadershipcouncil