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For over 20 years, Way to Grow has been one of the preeminent early learning programs in the Twin Cities. We focus on the most important stages of life from prenatal to kindergarten and parenting. In October 2010, we launched the Great by Eight Initiative in partnership with the Minneapolis Public Schools. This new program expands our research-based model to grade three, age eight. We firmly believe that every child should be born healthy, stay healthy and have the equal opportunity to succeed in school and life. And that can only happen with parents' active participation. Through our in-home and center-based programming, we help parents create a healthy home and become their children's first and most important teachers.

The mission of Early Learning Indiana is to ensure the highest level of early care and education for children in Indiana.What we do: · Operate 11 Day Early Learning centers, where we care for and educate over 1,300 children ages six weeks to six years each year· Help parents find quality child care providers and work with providers in eight Indiana counties to improve quality and educate teachers through Child Care Answers· Work to increase access, improve quality, increase parent engagement and boost workforce development for early childhood education across the state of Indiana through Partnerships for Early Learners · Advocate on behalf of children to increase opportunities for, funding toward and value placed on early childhood education.

From Books to Brilliance provides access to books and educational materials in impoverished communities. Countless children in our world grow up with no books. In Nicaragua and Guatemala, many of the rural poor live on less than one dollar a day. Without access to basic services such as potable water and sanitation, families struggle just to survive each day. Books are rarely found. At the local schools, teachers plan lessons and instruct with no textbooks. Children fortunate enough to attend school learn to read from words written on the blackboard, but without books cannot read to learn. Few children reach their intellectual potential. We believe that in creating access to books and information, a better future becomes possible for citizens living in abject poverty.

Save the Children Iasi is a nongovernmental organization, democratic, independent, non-profit, politically and religiously unconditioned, created in 1991, member of the International Save the Children Alliance. Ever since its beginnings it adhered to the childrenas rights protection movement in Romania, according to the United Nationsa Convention on Childrenas Rights. Our vision, in a general understanding, is to create a world where all the rights of children are respected. Save the Children acts for a world: - where every child is appreciated and respected; - that listens and learns from the children; - where every child has hopes and perspectives; - where every child is protected against any kind of violence, abuse and exploitation. Mission: Save the Children Association Iasi acts for respect for childrenas rights and for modifying the politics and legislation in childrenas benefit, by organizing awareness campaigns and by supporting children in need. We acknowledge and emphasize the responsibilities of the parents, legal guardians, teachers and other authorities that act in childrenas interest. We support the parents and the specialists working with children to fulfill their obligations. Save the Children Association Iasi, through the programs it implemented, developed expertise related to the following categories of children: - physically, sexually and psychologically abused children; - trafficked children; - economically exploited children; - children alone at home (that have at least one parent abroad, working); - children that had their legal rights trespassed; - children affected by poverty; - children that abandoned school or are in risk of dropping out school. Also, beneficiaries of our programs are: - parents and relatives of the children or the persons that take care of them; - specialists (psychologists, medics, social workers, teachers. policemen, judges, prosecutors, etc.); - institutions and NGOs that work in the field of child protection. The main activities consist in: - promoting childrenas rights in society, in general, and in institutions with attributions in childrenas education and protection; - psychological, social and emotional counseling for the beneficiaries of the organization, parents and children; - school integration and/or reintegration for children in need; - guidance for children and their families to specialized public services (in areas such as education, health, public administration, etc.); - complex social assistance services (guidance and accompaniment in making the ID papers for children and adults that do not have such papers, social inquiries at the request of public institutions, material support, etc.); - street educational and social activities in disadvantaged communities; - school recovery activities in a day care centre, play and socialization activities; - counseling for abused children; - professional development and informing activities for specialists involved in child protection (magistrates, policemen, social workers, psychologists, teachers, probation counselors, etc.).

Our mission is to connect young people to a world of career possibilities, inspire them to dream big, and empower them to fulfil their potential. We do this by operating as a hub for education and employer engagement: running events in schools and businesses, providing a mentoring programme for young people at risk, facilitating work experience placements, and promoting apprenticeships and other education or employment pathways to students, teachers and parents. By giving young people access to a wide range of professionals from their local business community, we help them make informed decisions about their future careers. We are particularly concerned that young people learn about opportunities with huge growth potential - like careers in STEM - and are challenged to achieve their full potential. We are actively working to address gender bias and create opportunities for all.

Empowering children/young girls through books, education and skills for a better tomorrow and enhance the capabilities understanding and powers of innovation in children/young girls with the aim to provide safe and secure learning environment. Our vision To enhance the understanding and creative abilities of our nation's children so that they can reach their maximum potential and stand shoulder to shoulder with children from all corners of the globe. Our Mission To empower children to think critically and creatively, to empathize and build bridges, to befriend books and learn skills. To provide access to quality books to improve reading proficiency of students in schools and communities to build a strong foundation of education for subsequent phases of learning To promote widespread reading culture among both the teachers and the students. To design innovative solutions partnerships to enhance the quality of education in Government schools to prepare our young girls to meet the challenges of today's world and grasp its opportunities. To stimulate and develop cognitive thinking in young minds and encourage students to explore and experiment with basic materials existing in their environment and understand the underlying scientific principles Brief overview Alif Laila Book Bus Society (ALBBS) traces its origin from the time when in 1978 an American couple - Dr. Nita Backer and Dr. Richard Baker - working at the American School in Lahore, came up with the idea to harness the reading potential in children and create a sense of affection for books. To make the whole concept attractive and child friendly, the society requested the Pakistan Road Transport Board to donate a Double Decker bus in which a library could be set up. Books were donated and soon afterwards the first Book Bus Library became functional. The idea proved to be a roaring success. Consequently to ensure provision of maximum benefit to the most vulnerable focus was placed on children enrolled in Government schools, whereas to widen the ambit of work the number of libraries was increased over time. Of these, the first set up in the double decker bus is a Stationed Bus Library, the second a Reference Library set up in a building, and the 2 Mobile Libraries and 3 rickshaw libraries for facilitating those children who cannot visit either of the above. From the time of its registration under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in January 1979 till date, Alif Laila has focused on bringing books and children closer through setting up libraries small and big, in communities and in schools as well as its mobile library program. However, at the same time the organization has added interventions its portfolio that are congruent to its overall mission and vision. We focus on 6 main areas: 1) Access to quality children books; 2) Hands on learning 3) Teacher development; 4) Youth and women empowerment; 5) Public-private partnership; 6) Advocacy and 7) Development of ECE materials and children's books Scope of Work 1. Access To Quality Children Books Alif Laila is committed to targeting early literacy as the foundation of all other learning as an urgent priority. It has developed Pakistan's only comprehensive program to help our youngest citizens access quality children books. Alif Laila also believes in opening minds of our young ones through reading, a trait essential for any society to progress and have peace. In Lahore the unique library complex hosts Pakistan's pioneer children library and first mobile library. The mobile library program consists of 2 custom made small vehicles and a rickshaw. These mobile libraries serve low income communities as well as government schools. Rickshaw library is used for narrow streets. With the help of sponsors and donors we establish libraries of all sizes and shapes all over Pakistan, in schools and in communities. We focus on Pakistan's remote areas as well as communities in Gilgit-Baltistan. 2. Writing, printing and publishing children's books and Issue based books/posters 1. Bablo Bhai and Bhalo Mian 2. Bablo Bhai Ka Basta/ Babloo Bhais Bag (bilingual) 3. Kahani aik Jungle ki 4. Meri Dadi Amman aur Main/ My friend my dadi amaan (bilingual) 5. Dadi Amman aur Bachoon K Hoqooq 6. Dunya ki Kahani Chunti Ki Zubani 7. Meray Dadda Abba Aur Main 8. Childrens Voices 9. Babloo Bhai ki Choti Behan 10. Darkht Hamary Dost/ Trees are our friends (bilingual) 11. Aman/ Peace (bilingual) 12. Kazanay ki Talaash / Treasure Hunt (Bilingual) 13. Babloo Bhai aur Bahloo mian bagh mein 14. Bari si kitaab aur buhat se khuwaab / The book of little stories and big dreams (Bilingual) 15. Dada aur Dadi Amaan ke saath 16. Chachi giru and sita raam 17. Muskurahatein 18. Irgit Girgat 19. Khaniya rangon mein 20. Phool hotay hein surkh sada 21. Urdu Qaida 22. The girl who took things 23. Ahmed's Bicycle Eleven Books from these are National Book Foundation award winners. Mere Dada Abba aur Main' won the first prize in national book foundation's write and win contest. Poems on the environment and a rag picking girl's plea on posters Designed and printed posters on child rights the environment schools worthy of children and Alif Bay Pay Qaida 3. Hands-On Learning Program Under this program we offer free hands on learning classes in computers, art, craft and electronics to girls in government schools as well children from low income communities. It has 2 components; i) The Mobile Resource Centre. The mobile resource center carries a team of 4 instructors and the education kits . The team offers 2 hour long training to girls in classes of 6 and 7and ii) The Hobby Club Resource Centers located at the Alif Laila building serve children from low income communities. 4. Teacher Development Teacher development program targets capacity building in Early Childhood Education (ECE) as well as improving the capacity and development of skills of teachers in primary and middle school. We encourage teachers to enrich their teaching methods by involving experimentation and embedding arts, culture and creative approaches. We offer free capacity building workshops in government schools and low-cost private schools. We also conduct ECE trainings at Directorate of Staff Development, the prime teacher training institute of Government of the Punjab.. 5. Youth And Women Empowerment Our youth and women empowerment program focuses on i. Workshops and trainings enhancing employability of youth especially women through resume writing and interview skills workshops ii. Entrepreneurship workshops iii. Coaching craft skills to earn from home iv. Kitchen Gardening workshops to address challenges of urban food insecurity 6. Public-Private Partnership Under public-private partnership we work with the provincial governments in the following areas I- Setting up library corners in Government Primary Schools and training teachers on the use of library in their teaching to enhance reading proficiency and enrich learning II- Early Childhood Education-ECE a. ECE training workshops for government school teachers b. Setting up ECE Model Centers c. Setting up ECE centers in government school III- School improvement program IV- Revamping children corners in public libraries and redefining the role of public libraries as crucial partners for youth empowerment program 7. Advocacy Through policy dialogues with policy makers and innovative campaigns Alif Laila engages in advocacy for the following, Environment and recycling Grade Level Reading Proficiency Matters-Providing access to books in primary schools for reading proficiency Kitchen Gardening for urban food security and nutrition 8. Development Of ECE Materials And Children Books Alif Laila is a brand name in the development of ECE materials and also develops award winning children's books. Alif Laila is a key consultant in setting up ECE centers in the government schools in Punjab

Project Fit America (PFA) is a national non -profit organization that creates and administers  exemplary fitness in education programming in schools, grades K-8. Under this umbrella we address self-esteem, fitness and exercise as fun, understanding their body, as well as, leadership, sportsmanship and character development.   The program goal is to reverse the lack of fitness in youth to give teachers the tools they need to teach children to take responsibility for their health and embrace healthy lifestyle choices with enthusiasm. Our mission is to get kids fit and to create programs that assure every child will find something at which they are very good at and inspire them to participate in more fitness activities.  We create the opportunity for all kids, not just the already gifted athletes, to discover, explore, improve and be recognized for their physical, mental and fitness efforts and performance.

Coleman Advocates believes that all children and families deserve access to high quality education, living wage jobs, family-supporting benefits, affordable housing, and a voice in the decisions that affect us. Since 1975, Coleman Advocates has pioneered programs and policies to expand opportunity for San Francisco’s children, youth and families, Many of these hard-won programs and policies have served as models adopted by communities all over the country. Coleman currently focuses on building more effective, equitable, and supportive public schools in San Francisco and beyond. We believe the transformation of our educational system requires the involvement of the entire community—not just teachers, school administrators, and politicians. Our organizational model has evolved over the years and today combines the development of rigorous policy proposals and implementation plans with deep community engagement and leadership development involving youth and parents.

Our mission is to promote and provide high-quality, holistic education to the underprivileged young people of Sierra Leone. We believe that the education of young women and men is essential to: unlock human potential, overcome poverty, improve wellbeing, build democracy, and that it is the cornerstone of stable development. For the last 25 years EducAid has been working to restore and strengthen education during and in the aftermath of Sierra Leone's civil war (1991-2002). During the conflict, education was an early casualty with many teachers fleeing the country and thousands of children being denied access to education. The country is still struggling to rebuild schools, train teachers and reach vulnerable girls and boys who are yet to see the inside of a classroom. We believe in the power of education to eliminate poverty and the challenges standing in the way of a democratic, dignified and globally-engaged Sierra Leone. EducAid provides free, high quality education to some of the most vulnerable and underprivileged children in Sierra Leone. EducAid operates 7 free schools, serving 1,200 children (1 Primary, 4 Junior Secondary and 2 Senior Secondary). The effectiveness of EducAid's innovative, student-centred approach to education is demonstrated by the fact that, despite many of our students coming from turbulent backgrounds, they regularly achieve 85% pass rates in all national exams. EducAid also trains teachers at over 100 partner schools as part of our Quality Enhancement Programme (QEP) working closely with communities and local education officials to raise the standard of education for children across the Port Loko district and beyond. Furthermore, EducAid run a tertiary-level degree course with the University of Makeni. EducAid's success stems from its grassroots and Sierra Leonean-driven approach. Of our 120 staff, only 3 are UK based with only 3 expats in Sierra Leone. Most EducAid staff are former students, knowing first hand the vulnerability faced by children in Sierra Leone and the power of education to change this, they inform our work each day. EducAid has spent decades developing relationships and earning the trust of communities by working alongside them. This is evidenced by communities giving EducAid land for schools, attending school meetings, community elders working with EducAid to keep girls in school, and EducAid's work as a trusted, stable presence during Ebola. EducAid was one of the few organisations that stayed on the ground, converting schools to care centres and delivering remote learning via radio broadcasts and moped-delivered USB sticks. EducAid also opened doors to children, many of whom are girls, who had lost their families to Ebola, and more recently to the devastating mudslides. EducAid's programs and innovations work because they come from the staff, students and communities they serve.

KITO ONLUS is a nonprofit organization with exclusively purposed of social solidarity, most in the field of education and primary school in developing countries or emergency. KITO ONLUS considers school as the best tool to get children back to ordinary life and help them overcome traumas a conflict or natural disaster might provoke in each of them. Therefore, it recognizes the importance of the right to education, especially in emergency contexts. The organization is aimed to pursue the following goals: Financing, development and building of basic structures in developing countries or in countries affected by famines, natural disasters and armed conflicts; Assistance to people victims of wars, famines, natural disasters, violence and violation of human rights; Designing of basic structures for scholastic employment; Relization of expandable, aggregatable and transportable schoolhouses (or health centers); Developing of participatory processes with the beneficiaries in the structures installation; Increasing wealth of students, teachers and scholastic staff, through policies aimed to improve their living conditions, namely health, nutrition, social services and security of children.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Union County promotes the welfare of the more than 500 local children removed from their families due to abuse and neglect, now residing in foster homes, group homes, shelters and treatment facilities. CASA recruits, trains, supports and supervises community volunteers to speak up for the children, ensuring their needs are met and best interests remain a priority. Considered the eyes and ears of the judge, these Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) are empowered by the family court to speak to all those in the child’s life: teachers, guidance counselors, doctors, social workers, attorneys, therapists, foster parents, family members and more. Through these contacts and consistent visits with the child, the CASA volunteer reports to the court on the child’s well-being, including any outstanding needs like tutoring, counseling, after-school activities, clothing, immunizations or other medical care. CASA strives to improve the lives of the children it serves by minimizing time in the child welfare system while maximizing the opportunity for a safe and permanent home.

Bududa Learning Center is an umbrella organization that includes a vocational high school, an orphans program for children, and a microfinance program for women. It is located in the isolated mountain district of eastern Uganda. It was founded by Canadian-born Barbara Wybar, who has been living on site a portion of each year for the past 14 years. This isolated region, one of the poorest in Uganda, is over-populated with most families having an average of 8 children. They live by growing their own food. Most of the region has no running water or electricity. Both the education and health care system are severely under-funded and inadequate. Jobs are scarce. Most people are hungry most of the time. How & Who We Help. We work to address the problems in three ways: 1. Training young people in basic trades: carpentry; brick-laying; dress-making and tailoring; nursery teacher training; computer skills training; and hairdressing training. 2. Providing broad support to 170 children and young people, many of them orphans from AIDS, by providing education enrichment, food, and health care. 3. Training and providing micro finance loans to single mothers and grandmothers in the region who are bringing up children on their own and have no means of support, so they can start small businesses. How It Is Run The Center is staffed by Ugandans working in a professional capacity. Barbara Wybar acts as Executive Director and works in a volunteer capacity. There is a growing volunteer contingent of people from the west who visit and do volunteer work there and others who take on management and administrative work in Canada and the US in a volunteer capacity. A guest house and annex provide housing for up to 12 visiting volunteers at a time. Local Oversight A local Advisory Board of the Center, led by Father Paul Buyela, provides oversight to the headmaster of the school and the directors of the two other programs. It is made up of representatives of the teachers, the parents, the regional education board, and the community as well as the executive director. The chairman is a highly respected educator as well as clerical leader in the region at large. Governance and Financial Support Bududa Canada Foundation provides governance to the Center and raises funds from individuals, foundations, and organizations to support the Center. It is incorporated in Canada holds charitable status from the Canadian Revenue Authority (#82535 8286 RR0001). There is a board directors of five people, three of whom are Canadian and two American. Financial support comes from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Officers & Board of Directors Sally Bongard (Toronto), Chairman and Secretary Scott Douglas (Connecticut) Cecily Lawson (Montreal) Lizette Gilday (Montreal), President Barbara Wybar (Philadelphia, Quebec, and Uganda), Treasurer