Emeril Lagasse Foundation

While Some Prepare for Hurricane Season, Others Prepare for Academic Future

(New Orleans, LA) – The Unified Summer Grants Collaborative partners United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area (UWGNOA), Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Greater New Orleans Afterschool Partnership, The Wallace Foundation, Capital One, Meadows Foundation and New Orleans Recreational Department (NORD) have announced that they are funding 51 summer programs totaling more than $1.3 million and serving more than 10,500 low-income children and youth in Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and St. Charles Parishes. Summer programs help children and youth become successful, engaged adults.

“We are thrilled that generous funders and diverse funding sources are uniting together to support fun, enriching and extended summer learning experiences for children in our community,” says Julia McNabb, UWGNOA Director of Youth and Education Initiatives. “Accessible, high-quality summer programs benefit our children, our families and our community by keeping children safe and actively engaged. Summer is a wonderful, fun time that can also expand school year learning and offer youth creative ways to socialize, learn and grow in an exciting environment. Great summer programs help parents continue their work days uninterrupted and also enable young people to channel their energy in positive directions. We are pleased to be a partner in this shared endeavor.”

Formed in March 2006, the Unified Summer Grants Collaborative’s goal is to increase the availability of summer programs for children and youth in the region, since NORD and so many recreational facilities were damaged or destroyed by the 2005 back-to-back hurricanes. The founders wanted to address the public safety of low-income children and youth who had few options for summertime activities in a devastated landscape. The camps are also an attempt to bridge the gap between the end of a successful school year and the beginning of the next.

“Research indicates that 60% of the achievement gap between low-income and middle-income youth can be attributed to summer learning loss. Children who don’t have access to high-quality, enriching and fun learning opportunities during the summer are at a greatly increased risk for school failure, drop-out, and the myriad problems that correlate with being dissociated,” says Lauren Bierbaum, Ph.D, Director of Research at GNO Afterschool Partnership. “Every child deserves opportunities to explore and develop hidden talents, to learn, and to succeed. Summer represents our best chance as educators, families and community members to reach out to young people and provide them with the comprehensive, enriching, exciting experiences that keep youth engaged and invested in their own successful development.”

Over the past three years, the Unified Summer Grants Collaborative has made grants totaling $3.4 million to a variety of summer programs across the Greater New Orleans Area that serve vulnerable low-income youth. Camp activities, including programs focusing on literacy, sports, the arts and hurricane preparedness, benefit children and youth ranging from 4-18 years of age. These programs are designed to give participants access to fun, safe and educational activities while schools are out of session.

“Communities prosper when our public spaces are safe, fun and nurturing. Summer is one of the most important seasons for learning, and the Emeril Lagasse Foundation is committed to funding innovative programs for our city’s youth,” says Kristin Shannon, Executive Director of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation. “We are thrilled by how dedicated our partners and the community has been to these initiatives during such an important time of year.”

One summer camp that is making waves with their unique curriculum and enthusiastic participants is Creative Forces Youth Educational Theater Corps. Graduates from the program performed excerpts from their repertoire of educational plays and concerts for young campers at Grace Child Center at the Collaborative’s announcement on Monday, June 1st. “Creative Forces is a uniquely New Orleans program that uses performing arts to help young people grow into successful, caring adults and professionals,” says Project Director Mathew Schwarzman. “Participants in the program learn to use their skills in acting, singing, dancing and writing to become teachers and role models to younger children.” Since 2007, the program has provided training, employment, mentorship and access to college for dozens of students at New Orleans Charter Science & Math High School.

Young camp participants aren’t the only people preparing for their futures over the summer. This year, AmeriCorps volunteers are being recruited and placed in numerous summer camps and activities for youth throughout the Greater New Orleans region. This program is being handled locally by Operation Reach, Inc. and will open opportunities for local youth to have paying jobs (with AmeriCorps stipends) and learn to work with children. “We are honored to be a part of the Unified Summer Grants Collaborative this summer,” says Kyshun Webster, CEO of Operation REACH. “These students are spending a summer of service to provide additional manpower to engage, empower, and inspire children and youth across the city.”

The Unified Summer Grants Collaborative is making big changes in the lives of children and youth all over the New Orleans Area, thanks to the collaboration of several key funders; the largest, The Wallace Foundation, contributed $1 million to summer camps and activities. However, this year’s funding is only meeting a small percentage of the demand. “Based just on the public school enrollment numbers for New Orleans, there are probably 35,000 youth that could use and need enriching summer experiences,” says McNabb. “Despite the Collaborative’s coordination and tremendous effort, this summer we are still not even reaching over half of the disadvantaged youth population in our city! There is far more demand than what we can supply.”