NNBW parent company awards $80,968 in 2018 grants for literacy, education

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Each year, the Bessie Minor Swift Foundation, formed by the owners and founder of Swift Communications — which owns the Northern Nevada Business Weekly — awards grants to programs that promote literacy, reading and writing skills as well as programs that focus on languages, sciences and interdisciplinary areas.

Since 2008, more than $530,000 has been awarded to deserving organizations in the communities where Swift Communications conducts business.

This year, more than 160 applications were received. Foundation grant criteria calls for detail about the number of people who will be impacted by the organization’s project and how significant a role the Bessie Minor Swift Foundation will play in the program.

Further, applicants must provide a complete description of the project including objectives and strategies to meet those objectives, explain how the project will be evaluated and submit a budget. Recipients will report on their results and insights from their program once the projects are completed.

This year, applications were of exceptional quality, and $80,986 has been awarded to 36 deserving organizations across communities within Swift’s footprint in Nevada, California, Colorado, Utah and Wisconsin.

The Bessie Minor Swift Foundation thanks the many groups that took the time and energy to apply and encourages those that were not selected to submit applications in the future.

Applications will be accepted again starting Jan. 1, 2019, with a deadline of Feb. 15, 2019. For more information, visit the Bessie Minor website at www.bessieminorswift.org.

Swift Communications is owner of NNBW, Nevada Appeal, The Record-Courier, the Lahontan Valley News, the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Tahoe Magazine and several other publications serving Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada Visit swiftcom.com to learn more.

Below is a list of Northern Nevada grant winners this year:

Sierra Nevada Journeys, Reno: Awarded $2,667 for three Family STEM Nights. K-6 students, their parents and siblings will attend fun evenings with engaging stations and interaction that reinforce STEM concepts and foster curiosity, innovation and teamwork. Funds will be used for project coordination, program delivery and a portion of the consumable supplies and snacks used at each event. Approximately 600 students from three local low-income schools will be served by these activities.

Incline Elementary School, Incline Village: Awarded $3,000 for delivery of Get in the Act’s Science Theater Workshops to all 340 students in grades K-5. Funds will make it possible for “Get in the Act!” science partners to be in the building for two-to-three weeks in order to give every student access to workshops that include topics like Weather, Rock Hounds, the Plant Life Cycle and Force and Motion. The school district does not provide funding for any auxiliary science instruction for grades K-5.

Churchill County Library, Fallon: Awarded $3,000 for the “Libraries Rock” Summer Reading Outreach Program at the Fallon Youth Club, Churchill SumFun and at NAS Fallon Child and Youth Programs. Weekly visits to these organizations will include time to read stories, provide books to take home and stamp a book log. Children will also get to know Library employees and feel more comfortable going to visit the library. More than 200 children ages 3-14 will be served through this collaborative effort.

Churchill County Museum, Fallon: $940 awarded to fund weekly activities in the Churchill County Museum’s “Discovery Room” to help children Discover, Educate, Create and Communicate. Monthly themes will be drawn from The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library books. In addition to The Cat in the Hat books, funds will be used to buy supplies to produce and maintain a weekly activity such as a craft, science experiment or learning module. These activities will promote an interactive learning environment so that between 1,000 and 1,250 children and families can learn, read and play together each year.

Empire Elementary School, Carson City: Awarded $1,500 for the creation of a library of science books that can be checked out and used to supplement other materials and to help support and solidify student learning. Books have been chosen for their correlation with the NGSS science standards. This program has the goal of increasing science scores in a Title 1 school where 100 percent of students receive free breakfast and lunch every day. Last year only 20 percent of the students were proficient in the NGSS science standards.

Fremont Elementary Pre-Kindergarten, Carson City: Awarded $2,000 for a project that enhances the early learning environment of underprivileged students by providing materials and experiences that build upon their natural inclination to explore, build and question. Funds will purchase materials and storage for use in the classroom and for a visit to the Terry Lee Wells Discovery Museum. An inquiry-based approach will help four and five year olds see themselves as scientists and consumers of science.

Mark Twain Elementary School, Carson City: Awarded $2,814 for an in-class robotics and coding lessons for pre-K through fifth grade students. Funds wills be used to purchase LEGO MINDSTORMS robot kits and books along with Fisher Price Code-a-Pillar sets and extensions. A STEM Coach will also provide an opportunity for interested students to participate in an afterschool Coding and Robotics Club and demonstrate their robotics and coding skills for their families.