Grants Received

Lake County Learning Connection Receives $20,000 Grant
News Release: December 29, 2005
Media Contact: Carol Morris, Literacy Coordinator, Waukegan Public Library
847-623-2041 ext. 222, carolmorris@waukeganpl.info

Waukegan, IL—The Chicago Tribune Charities – Holiday, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, has awarded a $20,000 grant to the Waukegan Public Library’s Foundation in support of the Lake County Adult Learning Connection’s Families First program, a family literacy program. The Lake County Adult Learning Connection is a coalition of three organizations concerned with adult and family literacy. These agencies include the Waukegan Public Library, the College of Lake County and Literacy Volunteers of Lake County. Support is also provided by United Way the United Way of Lake County.

The Families First literacy program serves parents and children from the Zion area and is held at the Zion-Benton Public Library. The primary purpose of the program is to encourage parents to become their child’s first teacher while improving their own academic skills. As the parents are working towards earning the GED (high school equivalency, the preschoolers are engaged in educational activities.. The most important activity for parents and children to do together is to spend time with children's book reading and sharing stories .

“Families First is an ideal program. It’s a win-win situation for both the parent and the child. The parents are earning the GED and the children are involved in fun and educational activities. The ultimate goal is to have the preschoolers enter school better prepared to learn.”

Family literacy projects take place in Waukegan, Zion, North Chicago and Round Lake Funding for these projects comes from a variety of sources including the Illinois State Library, United Way of Lake County and the Lake County Community Foundation Fund of the Chicago Community Trust and through private donations.

United Way of Lake County Success by Six
The Library received a grant of $9,292 in May of 2006 from the United Way of Lake County Success by Six for “Summer Reading Club on the Road.” This grant provided 48 neighborhood bookmobile visits and storytimes for children at six locations around Waukegan in June, July, and August 2006.

Illinois Arts Council
Also received were two grants from the Illinois Arts Council. One grant for $120 assisted in paying for the performance of Rick Pickren in the Library’s Courtyard Concert Series. The other grant, in the amount of $1,000 is sponsorship of the “Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival” to be held on Friday, October 20, 2006.