Scripps Howard Foundation announces 3 finalists for childhood literacy grant

CINCINNATI – After a competitive application process, the Scripps Howard Foundation, WCPO and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation have selected three local nonprofits as finalists for a $100,000 grant to support childhood literacy initiatives in impoverished neighborhoods within the Tri-state.

The finalists are:

• Learning Through Art, Inc., for Books Alive! For Kids Family Wrap program, a literacy and arts effort designed to mitigate impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences. The program includes family adventures and family literacy nights that extend experiences to families and empower parents/caregivers to engage children in reading.
• Mount St. Joseph University’s Project Ready! program. Project Ready! directly serves young children living in poverty, their families and preschool educators in the Cincinnati area by improving literacy and school readiness skills.
• The Children’s Home of Cincinnati’s Cincinnati Ready Kids program, which engages families in hands on activities that support children’s literacy as well as their social, emotional and cognitive development.

In December, the Scripps Howard Foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and WCPO 9 invited local nonprofits to apply for a $100,000 childhood literacy grant.

Representatives from the Scripps Howard Foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and community members reviewed the submissions and narrowed the field to three proposals.

The grant will be awarded to a single nonprofit that brings books and other literacy resources to Tri-state neighborhoods in need, with funds dedicated to helping children develop literacy and language skills from birth through third grade. The selected program must be on-going, serve families living in poverty and develop deep relationships with parents and the community.

The winner will be announced as part of the Scripps Howard Awards, the prestigious annual journalism recognition program presented by the Scripps Howard Foundation April 16.

The 67th Scripps Howard Awards, originally scheduled as a live show at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati, will instead celebrate this year’s winners through a livestream program on YouTube and Facebook, April 16 beginning 6:45 p.m. The program will air April 26 on Newsy and will rebroadcast on Scripps stations throughout the summer. More details will be available at SHAwards.org.

About the Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Foundation supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and the communities it serves, with a special emphasis on excellence in journalism. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Foundation is a leader in supporting journalism education, scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development, literacy and First Amendment causes. The Scripps Howard Awards stand as one of the industry’s top honors for outstanding journalism. The Foundation improves lives and helps build thriving communities. It partners with Scripps brands to create awareness of local issues and supports impactful organizations to drive solutions.

About Greater Cincinnati Foundation
As the region’s leading community foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation connects people with purpose in an eight-county region in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. GCF is leading the charge toward a more vibrant Greater Cincinnati for everyone – now, and for generations to come.

Media contacts:
Rebecca Cochran, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3023, [email protected]
Jaclyn Sablosky, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, 513-295-7399, [email protected]