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PNC Foundation awards grants for early childhood education
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Louis Guzman and Landon Hinzman, both 3, ran around the Oh Wow! exhibit, shooting water across the room, squealing with delight.
The two boys are students in the YWCA of Youngstown’s preschool that visits Oh Wow! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology weekly.
Both the center and the YWCA preschool are among nine organizations awarded an unspecified share of $55,000 in grants by the PNC Foundation.
The preschoolers’ weekly outing is funded by the foundation.
The grant to Oh Wow! also will fund expansion of the Wow! on Wheels program which brings a science, technology, engineering and mathematics materials to preschools.
Each of the organizations received a grant to fund youth programs in science, technology and arts education, field trips, summer preschool and home services to children and their families.
Ted Schmidt, PNC regional president for Youngstown and Eastern Ohio, said the grants are part of PNC’s Grow Up Great, a $350 million early childhood education initiative started in 2004.
Studies have shown that early education gives those students an extra boost later in life, Schmidt said. The program brings that to children who may not otherwise be exposed to it.
Suzanne Barbati, Oh Wow executive director, said the Luminar Shooters exhibit – upon which Louis and Landon were playing – is educational as well as fun.
It demonstrates a hydrodynamic principle aligned with the fourth-grade education standards.
The center served nearly 60,000 “explorers” last year and through donors and its board of directors saw its free admissions nearly double from 2014.
Aziza Esmail, a preschool teacher at YWCA of Youngstown’s preschool, said the children enjoy their Oh Wow! visits where they can explore activities.
“They love to go downstairs and climb the wall,” she said.
Stavi Bhide, 4, and Lilliana Case, 5, took their turns in the Lego area Tuesday morning as Gabby Figueroa, 2, tried out the wind chamber.
It’s part of the exhibit, sponsored by Vindicator broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV, centered on weather.
Gabby could decide which type of wind – gale strength which blows 39 to 26 miles per hour, violent storm which blows between 55 and 63 mph or hurricane strength at 74 to 95 mph – she wanted to experience.
Landon and Aking Rue, 4, tried out the news anchors’ desk, where they could watch themselves on television.
Other exhibits showcase avionics, sound and light, engineering and other concepts.
Other grant recipients:
United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley for Success by 6, a pre-kindergarten summer program.
D&E Counseling Center to support its preschool UPSTREAM program that provides home services to preschool children from the city school district.
Trumbull County Community Action Program to expand its Head Start STEM program.
Easter Seal Society of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties to support its summer preschool program.
Millcreek Children’s Center to support field trips focusing on age appropriate earth and science topics.
Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley to support the Reach Out and Read program providing books for preschool-age children.
Columbiana County Community Action program to support Project Resource Bag program, parent engagement kits that provide books and materials for parents to complete with preschoolers.