DuPage Children's Museum Receives Grant

The  was one of 31 not-for-profit organizations in DuPage County to receive a grant from the 2011 Fall Discretionary Grant Cycle of The DuPage Community Foundation based in Wheaton.  The $7,500 grant, awarded at a special distribution open house on Wednesday, December 7 at the Foundation offices, will help support the expansion of the Play to Learn program.

The program brings the Museum’s portable interactive exhibits and open-ended activities to early childhood programs for low-income families to encourage parent-child learning partnerships and school readiness for young children. Grant funding will help to expand the number of different sites the program will be offered in the community. 

“One of the key components of the program is strengthening the adult-child learning partnership by helping parents explore activities that can be done at home to encourage early learning experiences,” said Margaret Hanly, DuPage Children's Museum Associate Director of Programs. 

The Play to Learn program began in 2011 by working with families through Head Start programs in West Chicago and Bensenville, Jefferson Preschool in Wheaton School District200, and Ann Reid Early Childhood Center in Naperville District 203. In the pilot year, eight sessions were held impacting 349 participants, 166 children and 183 adults. With the additional funds from The DuPage Community Foundation, DCM looks forward to bringing the program to multiple centers and expanding the reach in 2012.

The DuPage Community Foundation seeks to raise the quality of life throughout DuPageCounty by fostering philanthropy, connecting donors to area needs and building community partnerships. 

Based on the American virtues of volunteerism and philanthropy, the Foundation fosters a legacy of support for the people of DuPage County by making grants to not-for-profit organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, education, environment, health and human services. 

Since its inception the Foundation has built its endowment to nearly $38 million and awarded more than $12 million in grants to not-for-profit agencies serving the residents of DuPage County and beyond.

Submitted by the DuPage Children's Museum