For Immediate Release
Press contacts:
Margaret Brown Audria Belton–SunTrust Foundation
703.898.9443 404.813.3664
margaret@mlbpr.com audria.belton@suntrust.com
(Leesburg, Va.) Nov. 8, 2018 – SunTrust Foundation has granted $100,000 to Loudoun Education Foundation to expand its Community School Initiative (CSI) to Forest Grove, Sugarland, Guilford, Sterling, Sully and Rolling Ridge elementary schools in Loudoun County as 100WomenStrong celebrates 10 years of investing in children at Title 1 Schools. 100WomenStrong has issued a challenge grant of $100,000 for the expansion and encourages other businesses and community members to match the $200,000 raised so far.
“The Loudoun Education Foundation is incredibly grateful for the generosity of the SunTrust Foundation,” said Dawn Meyer, executive director of the Loudoun Education Foundation. “This funding will help our most vulnerable students achieve academic success in the classroom while providing needed resources for their families at school.”
CSI is a pilot program currently at Sterling Elementary School that supports academic achievement in English, math, science and other subjects. It also focuses on positive youth development, including personal and social skills, as well as leadership development. 100WomenStrong’s challenge to other businesses and organizations in the community to match the SunTrust Foundation’s grant would create a fund of at least $400,000 to ensure this vital, educational initiative continues to benefit children, families and the community.
“The SunTrust Foundation is committed to academic achievement, interpersonal and leadership skill development for youth,” said Stan Little, president of the SunTrust Foundation. “Programs like CSI provide critical tools for future socioeconomic advancement and financial confidence.”
“The pilot CSI was modeled after a very successful program in Pennsylvania, which we knew we could replicate in Loudoun County with the right funding and support,” said Karen G. Schaufeld, founder and president of 100WomenStrong. “Last year alone, the CSI coordinator, Sandra Amaya, helped create and support 26 programs that served hundreds of students and families of Sterling Elementary and organized more than 100 volunteers to support everything from tutoring to sports camps.”
Activities to increase parent engagement include programs such as coffee with parents, Loudoun Nurturing Parents, pizza nights, family science nights and family movie nights. All of these programs help parents feel welcomed and confident to come into the school and be comfortable enough to ask questions of teachers and administrators and participate more fully in their child’s education.
“The SunTrust Foundation commends Loudoun Education Foundation and 100WomenStrong for engaging schools in our community, offering services for youth and their parents to help ensure they’re prepared for the future,” said Dan O’Neill, SunTrust Bank Mid-Atlantic division president, speaking on behalf of the SunTrust Foundation.
For more information on the challenge grant or how to contribute, contact Pam Ray at pam@onehundredwomenstrong.org.
About Loudoun Education Foundation
The Loudoun Education Foundation (LEF) is a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation that engages businesses and community partners to fund critical and exceptional programs that foster the academic success and well-being of students and teachers in Loudoun County Public Schools. The LEF formed in 1991 and has given more than $4,500,000 to support Loudoun’s teachers and students. For more information about LEF, contact Dawn Meyer at Dawn.Meyer@lcps.org.
About 100WomenStrong
Formed in 2008, 100WomenStrong is committed to improving the quality of life for residents of Loudoun County, Virginia, through strategic grants to non-profits working in the areas of shelter, health, hunger and education. Members of 100WomenStrong connect and collaborate to leverage their philanthropic resources as a component fund of the Community Foundation of Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties. For more information about 100WomenStrong, contact Pam Ray at info@OneHundredWomenStrong.org.
About the SunTrust Foundation
The SunTrust Foundation is dedicated to SunTrust Bank’s (NYSE: STI) purpose of Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being by engaging organizations to advance financial confidence. Grants and activities focus primarily on financial empowerment, but also include education, health and human services, civic improvement and cultural growth. The SunTrust Foundation supports American Red Cross disaster relief efforts and contributes as a United Way Global Corporate Leader. Established in 2008, the SunTrust Foundation has proudly provided grants totaling more than $140 million throughout the United States.
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