
Photo, from left to right: Maury Sullivan, KLRU’s VP of Community Engagement; Bill Stotesbery, KLRU’s CEO and President; Carl E. Erhart, Verizon’s President [Southwest Region]; Helen Soto Knaggs, Verizon’s Director of External Affairs
KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, Announces $15,000 Grant from Verizon Foundation
Grant to support PBS Raising Readers, a project to help teach literacy using public media in our schools
KLRU announced today that it has received a $15,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation in support of local implementation of the PBS Kids Raising Readers program, a national partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that surrounds children ages 2 to 8 with research-based literacy content. Funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education, from 2005 to 2010 Raising Readers developed an innovative blend of media across all platforms – TV, online, mobile, and more – and related community engagement activities designed to help young children learn to read.
“KLRU is first and foremost, an educational organization,” said Bill Stotesbery, CEO and GM of KLRU. “Through the generosity of the Verizon Foundation and other foundations we are able to help bridge the gap for young children entering school, using PBS’ award-winning programs such as Super Why and Between the Lions.”
Raising Readers helps empower parents and caregivers to create language–rich environments by teaching strategies that build early literacy skills anytime, anywhere – strategies that incorporate PBS children’s media. In Central Texas, KLRU’s workshops assist low-income families with children between the from birth to eight-years-old, some of whom have English as a second language at home. In the 2010-11 school year, the program is partnering with educational nonprofits and Austin-area schools to serve thousands of parents, caregivers and children through workshops and events.
“Providing educational resources to help students develop a strong foundation for success in the classroom is a key priority for the Verizon Foundation,” said Carl E. Erhart, Central Region President for Verizon Communications. “We are proud to support initiatives such as KLRU’s Raising Readers and the effort to help Austin-area school districts develop young minds.’’
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