This support has helped to expand a fourth site to serve Spanish-speaking children through this kindergarten readiness program. Two additional sites are expected to begin in 2013.

Children enrolled in the new program already show significant improvements in school readiness, based on the Idea Oral Proficiency Tests. Baseline reports showed 36 percent of children at grade level; after one year, 82 percent test at grade level or above.

Other results show improvements in fluency in English, another factor in future school success.

This is just one program and one strategy to reach the goal our community wants: Children are successful along the education pipeline. Add your support with an on-line gift or contact Erin Stephenson find out more about how you can support this effort.

As part of its focus on Results, the Community Foundation awarded in 2011 a three-year grant totaling $100,000 to support a school-based initiative by BBBS, led by a High School Drop-out Prevention Specialist. The program reports a number of positive findings after the first year:

• Out of all students participating in this mentoring and tutoring program in Jefferson County Schools, 50 percent reported starting grades of C, D, and F in reading. At the end of the first year, 100 percent earned an A or B in reading.
• The program reported other benefits as well, with 40 percent improving their math scores by at least one letter grade.
• Although absenteeism did not change, BBBS reported significantly fewer disciplinary referrals for participating students compared to general student body.

This is just one program and one strategy to reach the goal our community wants: Children are successful along the education pipeline. Add your support with an on-line gift or contact Erin Stephenson find out more about how you can support this effort.

The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, a longtime partner of the Community Foundation, received the grant and will work with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond and Urban Bush Women.  According to Cultural Alliance Executive Director Buddy Palmer, the project is designed to help cultural organizations and working artists work in close collaboration with neighborhood-centered institutions to create artistic expressions focused on themes of human and civil rights, race, class and power.

Coming up later will be a week-long institute, organized by the Cultural Alliance. If you want to be part of that future institute, sign up now to attend a free introductory forum next weekend – May 18-19.  Space is limited, so reserve your spot by contacting Nicole Goetsch by e-mail or by phone at 205-458-1393.

• Friday, May 18, 3-5 p.m. at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
• Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m.-noon at ArchitectureWorks or 2-4 p.m. at West End Public Library

Another special event – Dance for Every Body Workshop by Urban Bush Women – is set for May 19 from 5-7 p.m. at the Children’s Dance Foundation in Homewood.

Volunteers hard at work on a rainy "build" day

It may be raining, but volunteers are on the job right now in Pratt City, putting together custom-designed pieces to create a new Kaboom! Playground. Funding comes from tornado funds of the Community Foundation, from the Junior League of Birmingham and area Rotary clubs.

The Junior League helped organize the volunteers who make all this possible, creating a playground in just six hours. Workers are already on the job from the community and the sponsoring organizations, but all are welcome to join the wet-weather fun today, May 3, at Antioch Baptist Church, 1210 Hattie Street in the Pratt City neighborhood of Birmingham.

We are proud to be partners in supporting this effort, which will make it easier for children to enjoy safe outdoor fun in their own neighborhood. In the middle of a community where many structures are still damaged after the 2011 tornadoes, the new playground will be a sign of hope.

Whether you can spare the time today or not, you can still give to help tornado survivors in Pratt City and the Birmingham area through our Emergency Response Fund.

UPDATE: The playground was finished as promised and now stands as a sign of hope for so many in Pratt City and other tornado-damaged areas of our community. MANY THANKS to all who participated!

Tom Crawford with Sierra Barham-Upshaw and Brian Glaze

Three students at Birmingham City Schools are getting help with college costs, thanks to donors who support scholarship funds at the Community Foundation.  Tom and Julia Crawford take particular pleasure in supporting outstanding graduates of their alma mater, Ramsay High School, through the Award for Excellence Scholarship.  Tom went to the high school on April 30 to meet seniors Sierra Barham-Upshaw and Brian Glaze, each of whom will receive $5,000 per year for four years of college through this scholarship fund of the Community Foundation.

James Deese of Huffman High School also will receive support from Community Foundation donors — in his case, $1,500 per year for four years of college through the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Scholarship.  Funding for this scholarship comes through the I have a Dream Foundation Fund, Herman E. & Eva E. Sellers Helping Hand Fund and Bessie Estell Fund, all funds of the Community Foundation.

For 2011, the Community Foundation awarded $445,750 to support college costs for 119 students through scholarships established by individuals, families and businesses. Since the scholarship program began, donors have supported almost $3 million total in college costs for students through the Community Foundation.

If you are interested in finding out more about how to support college scholarships through the Community Foundation, contact Erin Stephenson. Or give on-line to support the Community Foundation Scholarship for students in all Birmingham City Schools.  Students seeking scholarships can find out more here.

Workers supported by these grants will provide coordination for volunteers, estimates needed for work to begin and inspection of repairs once complete. According to Long-Term Recovery Committees in these counties, their involvement is vital in helping families return to a secure, well-built home and in stretching recovery funds to help as many families as possible.

“Using the Hoar Construction Fund to support construction coordinators is a great opportunity for us to support a need that we understand so well from our own experience,” said Doug Eckert, Executive Vice President of Hoar Construction. “The supervision of a construction coordinator can make everything go more smoothly and amplify the efforts of volunteer and professional crews. With these grants, we know we are truly helping people get back in their homes.”

The Hoar Construction Fund was established as an Advised Fund at the Community Foundation.  Contact Erin Stephenson to find out more about how you can drive positive change through an Advised Fund. Or make your own gift on-line to statewide recovery through the Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund of the Community Foundation.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to our call for help from our vendor partners. Their generous donations and creative partnerships are allowing us to stay engaged in the recovery effort,” said Troy Haas, President and CEO of Brownell, in comments made before the workdays. “We’re very grateful that Ritz-Carlton is coming to Birmingham to work side-by-side with us.”

In January of 2012, Brownell leveraged their 125^th Anniversary Celebration into a fundraiser for relief, bringing in more than $160,000 and establishing the Brownell Tornado Recovery Fund – World Travel for Relief at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. We thank them for this gift, which will benefit tornado recovery efforts in Jefferson, Walker, Tuscaloosa and Marshall counties.

You can join so many generous people, including the employees and partners of Brownell. by supporting the unmet needs that still exist across our state through a gift to the Community Foundation. Choose  the Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund for statewide efforts or the Emergency Response Fund for unmet needs in the Birmingham area.

Today, thanks to the generosity of friends and family, his legacy continues to support this Battalion and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve by awarding the Colonel James M. Sims Memorial Scholarship for college study. The application below provides complete information about how you can apply for this annual scholarship. You must be a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, 4^th Marine Division, Antiterrorism Battalion, and meet other qualifying requirements.

For more information about the Sims Scholarship, read the application information: SimsScholarship2012

If you want to help a deserving student in Birmingham City Schools, you can support the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Scholarship Fund by making a gift on-line. Or learn more about how to establish a new scholarship fund at the Community Foundation.

Congratulations to Fultondale, Midfield and Warrior, which have already passed their own ordinances. Good luck to supporters who are in front of Birmingham City Council this morning as they consider their own smokefree air ordinance.  We also are watching with interest as Alabama legislators look into ways to accomplish this on a statewide level.

Across the country, more than 500 cities and counties have strong local laws to ensure smokefree air in workplaces, restaurants and bars, compared to fewer than 50 a decade ago.  As one smoker said, this is a public health issue, as we try to protect people from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, especially in the workplace.

Find out more about our work with the Health Action Partnership, a leading force in making our community a place where people can lead healthy lives.

As a longtime member of the Health Action Partnership, the Community Foundation has been glad to see the support of city officials in examples such as “complete streets,” including bike lanes in repaving projects downtown. We thank the City also for supporting Railroad Park and neighborhood parks across Birmingham which give people a chance to get outdoors and get active. We’re glad, too, that City Hall itself is already a smoke-free workplace.

Bike lanes and parks are important steps to improving community health, and so is the proposed ordinance to ensure smoke-free workplaces for everyone.

As Dr. Edward Partridge, director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in his commentary Sunday, research shows that laws like these help to fight cancer, heart disease and lung disease, all linked to secondhand smoke. They also have been shown to help people quit smoking and keep young people from starting. And they can save thousands of lives in Alabama alone.

Contact Ashley Lyerly of the American Lung Association to find out more about how you can influence your local representatives and let your voice be heard.  Find out more about how the Community Foundation supports the Health Action Partnership and one of our key Results: People can lead healthy lives.