In Fall 2018, AACPS Central and Satellite Office Employees donated over $36,000 in support of AACPS and the programs selected for funding through the 2018 Employee Giving Campaign. Click on the program names below to see how this generosity impacted students and families across AACPS.
Spotlight Programs
Funding Provided: $5,000
Across Anne Arundel County, nearly three out of every ten students live in situations where families struggle to put enough food on the table. Such hardships are not only barriers to the physical health of the children they impact, but a lack of nutritious food also affects a child’s ability to learn. The Harvest for the Hungry: Kids Helping Kids Campaign works to eliminate that barrier by rallying the community to contribute both food and money to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank. The support of the Employee Giving Campaign enabled the AACPS Office of School & Family Partnerships to continue it’s legacy of support to the Harvest for the Hungry Campaign.
Funding Provided: $4,000
In the 2017-2018 school year, over 1,200 students in AACPS experienced homelessness. These students need additional support and resources to achieve academic and social-emotional success. With the support of the Employee Giving Campaign, the AACPS Homeless Education Office purchased shoes and clothing for these students, which can be barriers to their school attendance. Funds were also used to support relationship building activities for the Power of One Mentoring Program, which supports homeless unaccompanied Juniors and Seniors as they pursue post secondary opportunities. Finally, funds were utilized to transport parents to educational meetings at their child’s school to ensure that all families can be engaged in their student’s education. As we strive to elevate all students, helping our students and families in need reach their full potential embodies the essence our driving value: All Means All.
Select Programs
Funding Provided: $2,000
In AACPS, 10% of students who enter Kindergarten ar
e English Language Learners and each year we serve over 6,000 ELL students across all grade levels. While our schools provide targeted support for students’ English literacy skills, we also recognize the importance of promoting literacy in the home language, as well. The Office of School and Family Partnerships used funding from the Employee Give Program to purchase over 900 Bilingual children’s books that were distributed to Spanish-speaking parents during bilingual reading workshops. Parents who attended these workshops expressed gratitude being able to provide children with books of their own.
Gaston Gamez, ELL Family & Community Outreach Program manager, said, “Thank you 21st Century Education Foundation for your generosity! Through your donation families are able to read books in their own language to their children.”
Funding Provided: $2,000
Many of our AACPS students are being raised by their grandparents or other relatives. These guardians want to be equally involved in their children’s education, but often do not know where or how to find the resources they may need. The new Kinship Support Group offers quarterly meetings that bring resources to them and provides these guardians with a place to get help and share their experiences. Funding from the Employee Giving Campaign provided food and supplies for each session and allowed the Office of Pupil Personnel to award two $200 grants to offset the cost of summer camp through the Anne Arundel County Recreation and Park.
Funding Provided: $3,200
Summer Fun n’ Play is four week summer camp (Monday-Thursday), offered in collaboration with Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks, to engage students in arts and crafts, sports, games, field trips and enrichment activities. Participants also receive free healthy breakfasts and lunches via the United States Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program. Funds from the Employee Giving Campaign will cover the registration costs for 160 students from low-income families to attend this camp in Summer 2019.
Funding Provided: $2,000
On March 13, AACPS hosted its first LitCon: Volume 1, a student conference devoted to showcasing Young Adult Literature. Glen Burnie High School welcomed 270 ninth grade students to engage with literature and authors, interact and connect with other students, and read and discuss literature with their peers. National Book Award Finalist Jason Reynolds (Long Way Down) even joined the event as a keynote speaker! Funding from the Employee Giving Foundation covered the cost for students to Skype with authors during their break-out session and provided lunch for all conference attendees.
From the students who left describing the event as “exciting,” “incredible,” and “something new,” LitCon is the first of what the county hopes to be an annual event was a success.
Funding Provided: $2,000
The mission of the Weekend Food Program is to provide nutritional food for children who may not have sufficient food over the weekend or during brief school holidays. Funds from the Employee Giving Campaign enabled the Office of School & Family Partnerships to fund the Weekend Food Program at Glendale Elementary school. As a lack of nourishment has been directly linked to the ability to learn, the hope is that removing this barrier will help these students return to school, both nourished and ready to learn.
Choice Programs
Funding Provided: $2,000
Created in collaboration with Maryland Hall for the Arts, CRAB Radio is a local, low-power FM radio station that encourages students to create and broadcast podcasts, PSAs, interviews and music to be played on air on 104.7. The station, which focuses most of its content around the theme of community radio for arts and the bay (CRAB), provides a platform students can use to share their voice with the community. Funding from the Employee Giving Campaign went towards purchasing Zoom H4N Pro portable recording devices for every high school to put recording equipment in the hands of the students.
Sheila McEwan, AACPS Senior Manager for Strategic Initiatives, said, “CRAB Radio takes assignments beyond the classroom to give students a greater voice and purpose to their projects. Their work becomes even more meaningful when they can share it beyond the school house.”
Funding Provided: $2,000
The Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils (CRASC), the representative organization for all middle and high school AACPS students, was created to develop leadership skills, promote good sportsmanship, and to initiate improvements and activities for the general good of AACPS students. CRASC student leaders become student ambassadors for Anne Arundel County. Funds provided by the Employee Giving Campaign provided enrichment and leadership opportunities for students to attend a variety of community and state events that allow them to learn valuable advocacy skills and share experiences.
Funds Provided: $500
A healthy lunch fuels students for academic success all year long. Following the 2014-2015 Board of Education decision, students without money in their lunch account can still get up to five charged meals. Any negative balance present at the end of the school year becomes the responsibility of the school. Funding from the Employee Giving Campaign will be used at the end of the 2018-2019 school year to offset the debt for all students in all schools. Together, we can create healthy students and healthy schools.
Funding Provided: $2,000
In 2018-2019, AACPS offered two new physical education and dance courses: Unified Dance and Leadership and Unified Physical Education and Leadership. These courses are designed to foster leadership and advocacy amongst students with and without disabilities in fine arts and physical education to ensure that all students have the opportunity to be engaged in movement and expression. Funding from the Employee Giving Campaign offset the cost of materials for the course and transportation for students across the county to attend an Advocacy & Celebration event.
Learn more about this exciting event in the March 2019 AACPS TV News Digest.