US$65,000 grant contributes to renovated classrooms
MONCTON, Sept. 28, 2012 /CNW/ - Today UPS (NYSE:UPS) and Moncton Headstart unveiled three renovated and restocked children's classrooms as part of a US$65,000 grant from The UPS Foundation. This past June the adult learners' classroom was also renovated courtesy of the grant.
"September is back to school and a time for new beginnings," said Karan Wood, global business services operations manager at UPS. "UPS is proud to be able to provide stimulating equipment for the children of Moncton Headstart to help build their futures. With this new equipment, plus the teachers, administrators and the care the children receive, the children are getting a great start to their new school year."
The children's program serves 44 children ranging in age from two to five years in three classrooms. It uses the HighScope® curriculum, a quality approach based on over 40 years of research. The curriculum fosters and scaffolds children's developmentally appropriate experiences in self-help, motor, cognition, communication skills, problem solving, relations with peers and adults and resolving conflicts. Parents spend two days a month with their children in the classroom to improve their own parenting skills, their parent-child relationships and to better understand their child's development and needs.
"We strive for excellence in all we do, but with such tight budgets we are rarely able to update equipment and educational tools," said Clare Archibald, executive director of Moncton Headstart. "Receiving this grant from UPS allowed us to look at the most stimulating learning materials and equipment available to build optimal learning environments for these children. When the children returned in September they found lots of new and interesting materials to explore. How exciting!"
UPS's grant program highlights the company's philosophy of striking a balance between financial contributions and hands-on volunteer hours. Organizations are nominated for grants by UPS employees and must have benefited from 50 hours of hands-on volunteering from UPS employees to qualify. UPS Canada employees volunteered over 21,000 hours to more than 260 charitable organizations across Canada in 2011.
Moncton Headstart is a charitable non-profit early family intervention agency focused on building school readiness skills with children and their parents. Programs and services aim to build healthy relationships, improve self-esteem, develop new skills, enhance existing skills and encourage self-sufficiency. Headstart families sometimes struggle to meet their basic needs and require opportunities, services, resources, awareness and programs to thrive and grow.
About The UPS Foundation
Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation is responsible for facilitating community involvement to local, national and global communities. In 2011, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $93.5 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation can be found on the web at UPS.com/foundation. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
Image with caption: "An image of Moncton Headstart's children's classroom before renovations. (CNW Group/UPS Canada Ltd.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120928_C2675_PHOTO_EN_18621.jpg
Image with caption: "An after shot of the upgraded children's classroom with new materials, equipment and renovations. Moncton Headstart unveiled three renovated and restocked children's classrooms today as part of a US$65,000 grant from The UPS Foundation. (CNW Group/UPS Canada Ltd.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120928_C2675_PHOTO_EN_18623.jpg
SOURCE: UPS Canada Ltd.
Robyn van Teunenbroek
UPS Canada
(905) 676-1708
[email protected]
Lisa Paschal
Hudson Creative Agency
506-852-3803
[email protected]
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