New grant brings PBS experience to midstate students
Representatives of organizations that received EITC funding gathered at the York County Heritage Trust on March 2. Photo submitted by PeoplesBank.
Students in York will enjoy new books this spring thanks to a $15,000 grant from PeoplesBank to WITF.
The Public Media Organization will use the funds to implement its Explore in the Classroom program in seven classrooms at Ferguson Elementary School in the York City School District.
“This generous gift from PeoplesBank is especially important because it represents the first investment in WITF’s Explore in the Classroom project, and our first EITC grant. It is clear that serving the community is important to PeoplesBank,” said Kathleen Pavelko, President and CEO of WITF.
Explore in the Classroom consists of three one-hour classroom experiences featuring story time, interactive activities, clips from PBS programs, a new book for each child to take home, and a chance to meet a costumed PBS character.
“We are happy to bring some of the PBS experience to these students and their families,” said Debra Riek, educational coordinator at WITF and organizer of the program. One-hundred percent of students in the York City School District receive free lunch through the Community Eligibility Provision; nearly 1 in 4 have an individualized education plan.
WITF was one of more than 40 organizations that received Educational Improvement Tax Credit funds from PeoplesBank, which issued checks totaling $700,000 on March 2.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania established the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program in 2001 to encourage gifts to educational organizations. This is the first year that WITF has been eligible for EITC funds.
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