Blog

November 8, 2017

Only 37% of Arkansas third graders read proficiently, according 2016-2017 school year data from the ACT Aspire assessment. Thirty-seven percent. A mountain of education research confirms that third grade reading levels are a strong predictor of future success in school and beyond. So what can we do to move these numbers in the right direction? […]

October 31, 2017

Three years ago Danna Blubaugh saw a television news story about AR Kids Read’s immediate need for 300 tutors. She responded by going to the organization’s website and signing up to tutor at McDermott Elementary School in Little Rock. The mother of three young adults, Blubaugh had never been to the school before becoming a […]

October 18, 2017

After leading two successful businesses, raising kids, serving their community and traveling the globe, Bob and Cynthia East of Little Rock decided to start a fund at Arkansas Community Foundation that will benefit the causes they care about. “I had looked into starting a family foundation but there was a lot of paperwork involved and […]

September 19, 2017

The late Kay and E.G. VanTrain had a passion for their community and wanted their charitable giving to have a broad impact. Sitting at a grant awards ceremony in Cleburne County in 2007, Kay VanTrain wondered why the grants seemed relatively small. The executive director explained that as part of Arkansas Community Foundation, the local […]

July 19, 2017

Lindsey East would have celebrated his 50th birthday this summer. In contemplating her son’s untimely death and this missed milestone, Laetitia East muses that Lindsey is “ageless.” We agree. His giving spirit lives on through his dear friends and family and, in part, through the charitable funds he established while he was alive. In addition […]

December 21, 2016

Ray and Phyllis Simon were both born and raised in Conway, Arkansas and graduated from Arkansas State Teachers College, now the University of Central Arkansas. They began their educational careers as mathematics teachers at North Little Rock High School. Because of their ongoing investment into improving the quality of education in Arkansas, the Simons were […]

December 16, 2016

Over the past 40 years, Arkansas Community Foundation has partnered with Arkansans who are passionate about making a difference in their communities. As our mission says, we engage people, connect resources and inspire solutions to build community. Here’s a recent example of how White County Community Foundation, an affiliate of Arkansas Community Foundation, connected community […]

November 14, 2016

Along with more than 780 community foundations across the US, we are celebrating Community Foundation Week! Our work succeeds because people like you believe in building a strategic legacy that will impact future generations. We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed to our success, and we look forward to growing our work together! […]

November 10, 2016

Even before the age of an all-volunteer military service, James Pappas knew he wanted to serve in the United States Navy, enlisting during his freshman year of medical school in the early 1950s. Dr. Pappas was called to active duty in 1958, where he first served as the Medical Officer for a Mobile Construction Battalion […]

November 1, 2016

Arnell Willis, Sr. grew up in the 50s in the small segregated town we know as West Helena, Arkansas, located in Phillips County. Growing up in the Delta region presented many hardships, but through the lessons taught by his mother, Laura Nelson and his aunt, Lillie May Stevenson, Arnell was able to overcome incredible odds […]