Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton highlights work in the community

Monday, August 14, 2017

Tags: Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton , Foundations

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The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton is committed to addressing the needs of the poor and underserved by understanding the root causes of poverty, nurturing the growth of healthy communities, emphasizing youth and family, and measuring the outcomes of these efforts. The foundation’s latest electronic newsletter highlights some of these efforts, including news about the Early Childhood Resource Center and one program focused on boosting kindergarten reading skills. The text of the article about that program is below.

Sandy Valley Local Schools District: FLOCK Program

As is the case in lots of school districts, many Sandy Valley kindergartners need help strengthening their reading skills. This past school year, FLOCK came to the rescue. FLOCK (Focused Learning Opportunities for Cardinal Kids) is a service learning program designed to boost those reading skills while helping older students learn to give back.

A librarian from the Stark County District Library trained high school students to work with young children. From October 2016 through May 2017, the high schoolers visited kindergarten classrooms four days a week for 30-minute sessions. Together, they tackled word-family egg hunts, sight word bingo, making letters and words with play dough, and other hands-on learning activities. Sixteen high school students worked with more than 100 kindergartners each week. A Servant Leaders grant from the Sisters of Charity Foundation funded supplies, such as alphabet letters, bingo games, and play dough. 

This was definitely a win-win partnership: the younger children improved their reading skills, while the older children learned valuable leadership and teaching skills.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System.