The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently awarded grants totaling $34,040 to Mitchell County schools from the Learning Links grant program.
The grants provide local teachers with funding for activities designed to make required coursework engaging and relevant for their students.
Eleven Learning Links grants will support projects at Bowman Middle School, Deyton Elementary School, Gouge Elementary School, Harris Middle School and Mitchell High School. The grants will fund art projects, an outdoor multiplication boot camp, field trips, supplies for a makerspace, materials for hands-on activities in math, science and language arts, a theater performance and, building on the successful “ISS Project” from last year, supplies needed to build communication devices to reach out to space stations.
“The Learning Links applications I reviewed this year showed once again how creative WNC teachers are as they work to expose their students to hands-on and experiential learning,” said Philip Belcher, vice president, of programs. “Through the dedication of these educators and with support from Learning Links grants, students build things, conduct experiments, visit new places and more – all experiences with the potential to deepen learning, support classroom instruction and stimulate interests.”
Learning Links offers grants of up to $800 per classroom to public school teachers in Avery, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford and Swain counties to provide experiential learning projects for students.
The goal is to increase students’ enthusiasm for learning and school. The grants are funded through the Cherokee County Schools Foundation Endowment Fund, Fund for Education, Ben W. and Dixie Glenn Farthing Charitable Endowment, Leon C. and Grace E. Luther Charitable Fund, Dr. Robert J. and Kimberly S. Reynolds Fund and an anonymous fund.
This year, 57 grants were awarded totaling $101,912.
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina inspires philanthropy and mobilizes resources to enrich lives and communities in 18 counties in Western North Carolina. Last year, the Foundation facilitated $23.5 million in charitable giving.
For more information, contact The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina at 254-4960 or visit cfwnc.org.