Levin Announces $4 Million for United Way for Southeastern Michigan for Early Childhood Education

Press Release

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced today that the United Way for Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM) will receive $2 million a year for the next two years through the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The federal grant will support UWSEM's Early Learning Communities in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Early Learning Communities are designed to reach children ages 0-5 to help prepare them for kindergarten.

"Investing in early education programs helps our children make the most of their school years," Levin said. "I congratulate the United Way for Southeastern Michigan on being selected for this Social Innovation Fund grant. Early Learning Communities have helped thousands of children in the Detroit metro area and this funding will allow them to help thousands more."

The United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Early Learning Communities invest in children at a very early age to help them develop the social, emotional and cognitive skills they need for success in school. Since 2005, UWSEM's Early Learning Communities have reached 29 locations, served over 2,000 parents and caregivers, and impacted 12,000 children. UWSEM will use the SIF grant to build on the expertise of its partnering organizations and develop more early childhood learning communities in the greater Detroit area.

The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) mobilizes public and private resources to promote promising, innovative community-based solutions that have demonstrated compelling results in three areas of priority need: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. The SIF requires that each federal dollar be matched by the grantee and again by the organizations those grantees select for the distribution of funds. The money must come from private and non-federal sources, increasing the impact of taxpayer dollars and strengthening local support for nonprofits.

The General Motors Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Max and Marjorie Fischer Foundation will match SIF funds for the UWSEM.

Source