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Read2Succeed Program Expands To Help More Orange County Children

Heart of Florida United Way made it possible with three year grant
 
ORLANDO, Fla. July 18, 2016 – The Foundation for Orange County Public Schools (FOCPS) is pleased to announce the expansion of the Read2Succeed program that will focus on providing small-group tutoring by certified teachers to retained third-grade students who need to improve their reading skills before they move on to fourth grade. The program was made possible through a grant from Heart of Florida United Way, Central Florida’s most comprehensive health and human services agency. The grant provides FOCPS with $84,000 annually over the next three years totaling $252,000.
 

Through this grant, the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools will expand the Read2Succeed third-grade reading comprehension program. Over 130 retained third-grade students at Title I schools in select zip codes will focus on reading comprehension strategies to enhance understanding, synthesize learning, and develop insight. Certified teachers will utilize The Comprehension Toolkit series, which provides everything needed to help students understand, respond to and learn from nonfiction text, building background knowledge across the curriculum and through the school year in order to be successful in fourth grade.

“Through our investing in results approach, we assess community needs, discover priorities and set strategies that focus on long-term results,” said Heart of Florida United Way president and CEO Robert H. Brown. “The organizations and programs we fund are selected because of the sustainable contributions they can make to the community.”

FOCPS is just one of the recipients of grants from Heart of Florida United Way.  Last year, it raised and managed $26.1 million throughout Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. HFUW is working to advance the common good by focusing on education, income, health and basic needs. It operates United Way 2-1-1, Central Florida’s crisis, suicide and referral helpline; Volunteer Resource Center; Gifts In Kind Center; Emergency Homelessness Services; and the Ryan White Part B program, which administers more than $2 million to provide HIV/AIDS services and referrals. HFUW impacts more than 600,000 individuals annually through its direct service and funded programs. United Way partners with local businesses, government, other charities to increase awareness of local health and human service issues and to inspire hope, provide options and create possibilities for people in need. Visit www.HFUW.org  for more information, or call (407) 835-0900.

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