GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Students at East Gainesville's Caring and Sharing Learning School contend with severe economic disadvantages on a daily basis: 75 percent of the school's students rely on free or reduced lunch and the poverty rate among children living in this area is 43.4 percent. By providing high-quality education in a historically impoverished area, the Caring and Sharing Learning School is a reprieve for low-income families struggling to get by - and now its support extends to members of the community.
The Plum Creek Foundation recently partnered with CoBank to fund the charter school's Caring and Sharing Community Development Program - a multi-pronged initiative designed to engage students, families and community members in efforts to improve their community together. Plum Creek and CoBank each provided $5,000 grants for a total gift of $10,000 in a joint effort to alleviate the strain of poverty and build stronger communities.
The initiative is founded on community empowerment and offers a series of programs in health and wellness, parenting, literacy, and technology training. While the program initially served only the school's students and families, it was later expanded to include nearby residents who need the same resources and support. To remove barriers to participation, the program is offered at convenient times and completely free for residents. The program's expansion began in June.
"The Caring and Sharing Community Development Program expansion addresses the need of disadvantaged people who have the desire to improve their overall quality of life," said Verna Johnson, co-founder of Caring and Sharing Learning School. "This expansion will provide this community with the necessary resources, tools, strategies and techniques to create strong families and unified neighborhoods that are empowered to make a positive difference."
Plum Creek and CoBank's grants purchase educational supplies including notebooks, workbooks, pens, pencils, dictionaries, calculators, computers, printers and educational software. Grant funds also provide nutritious meals for children during after-school and Saturday school activities - a service that is especially important with recent reductions in government-assisted feeding programs.
"Strengthening sustainable communities is a core focus of the Plum Creek Foundation, and we are proud to support the Caring & Sharing Development Program," said Laura Clise, director of sustainability for Plum Creek. "Through our partnership with CoBank, the additional funding will enable the expansion of programs that provide professional development, promote family health and wellness, and help to bridge the digital divide in East Gainesville."
Mirroring Plum Creek's initial grant, CoBank's $5,000 contribution is part of the bank's Sharing Success grant-matching program, which is designed to support positive local initiatives across the nation. This latest partnership with the Plum Creek Foundation furthers both companies' stake in rural, agricultural communities.
"Partnering with customers like Plum Creek to support worthy causes they care about is a great way for CoBank to make a positive difference and fulfill its mission of service to rural America," said Michael Tousignant, sector vice president.
The Plum Creek Foundation supports nonprofit organizations and community projects that improve the overall quality of life in the communities where Plum Creek operates. The Foundation board meets quarterly to review submitted grant applications. Visit www.plumcreek.com/communityinvolvement to download an application and learn more about the Foundation grant program in addition to other ways that Plum Creek is serving its communities.
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Plum Creek: Managing working forests for stewardship, rural prosperity, and shareholder value.
Plum Creek is among the largest and most geographically diverse private landowners in the nation with more than 6 million acres of timberlands in 19 states. We also operate wood products mills in the Northwest. We manage our working forests using sustainable practices to benefit Plum Creek's many stakeholders. Our employees work together to create shareholder value, serve as stewards of the environment, make wood products for everyday use, and build strong communities. Please visit www.plumcreek.com for the latest information about Plum Creek.
About CoBank
CoBank is a $101 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country.
CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture and the nation's rural economy. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.
For more information about CoBank, visit the bank's website at www.cobank.com.