Betty Brinn Children’s Museum Receives $75,000 Grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to Support Early Literacy

MILWAUKEE, WI – (July 16, 2015) The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum has announced receiving a $75,000 grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Alma Smith Wright Fund, Clarence G. Reible Fund, Johnel Fisher Moore Fund, and the Douglas L.P. Hamilton Fund to help underwrite programs that improve access by disadvantaged families to Museum experiences that help children build fundamental literacy and school-readiness skills, and that inform caregivers about the critical role they play in the learning process.

“Literacy is the key to helping a child become an accomplished student and a productive member of our future workforce. Thanks to this generous commitment from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Museum will be able to provide hundreds of disadvantaged families with access to resources that can build their child’s skills, shape their values and cultivate their lifelong love of learning,” said Fern Shupeck, the Museum’s executive director.

Grant funds will be used to support Family Focus, a Museum program that provides free parenting education, Museum membership, and transportation assistance to more than 1,200 disadvantaged families annually, including families living in poverty, teen parents, foster families, families who do not speak English as a first language, at-risk fathers and others whose circumstances often limit their access to enrichment experiences. Family Focus participants – many of whom are referred to the program through local social service and community agencies – will receive free year-round access to the Museum’s educational exhibits, facilitated programs, activities that promote summer reading, and tools designed to support families that are struggling to raise a young child.

The grant will also help underwrite the cost of producing a video that highlights how Museum experiences promote literacy and school readiness, and how caregivers can foster their young child’s cognitive, physical and social development. In addition, the grant will support the Museum’s collaboration with researchers from Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin to evaluate the impact of specific Museum activities on a child’s literacy skills and a caregiver’s participation in the learning process.

The Museum is located at 929 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee. It is open Monday – Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon until 5 p.m. Admission is $8 per person and $7 per senior (age 55 and older); children younger than 1 are free. Free admission and membership is available for those who qualify based on need. More information is available at www.bbcmkids.org or by calling 414-390-KIDS (5437).

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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