Aroostook County Action Program, Inc. (ACAP) has received an $8,400 grant award from the Maine Community Foundation to fund the purchase of eight laptops for its ACAP Head Start staff.
The grant is made possible from the Pinetree Fund for Aroostook County ($7,400) and from the Joseph and Lorayne Fund for Aroostook County ($1,000) of the Maine Community Foundation at the recommendation of the Aroostook County Committee advisors.
“This funding will be used to help fund our Early Head Start and Head Start Home Visitor program,” explains Sue Powers, ACAP Family Services senior manager. “The laptops will provide staff with immediate access to family health and educational records and family-support tools so they can respond quickly with vital and time-sensitive information for up to 125 low-income rural families with children under the age of five. We are very grateful for this support.”
Early Head Start and Head Start staff are committed to helping parents understand they are their child’s first teacher. In addition to parenting skills, home visits with families include creating and setting future goals and identifying a plan to achieve those goals. Providing home visitors with laptops will increase their level of access to support their clients and respond to their basic living needs, and in so doing improve the self-sufficiency of the families they serve. As the family’s independence improves, it reduces the burden on their local communities and other organizations that may support them.
With offices in Ellsworth and Portland, the Maine Community Foundation works with donors and other partners, including the Aroostook County Fund Advisory Committee, to improve the quality of life for all Maine people. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.mainecf.org.
