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?

The Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is working to advance some simple, evidence-based strategies to achieve the goal that every child in Arkansas will read at grade level by the end of third grade. Arkansas Community Foundation has announced a partnership with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading to make grants targeted at those five strategies. As a part of that partnership, we’re supporting programs the keep kids reading throughout the summer months; we call it our Summer Learning Initiative.

Why does summer learning matter?

When students are away from school over summer break, many of them – especially those from low-income backgrounds – lose as much as two to three months of reading skills. This “summer slide” can set kids as much as three years behind their peers by the end of elementary school.

What is the Community Foundation doing?

Each year for the past three years, we’ve offered funding for communities across Arkansas that are hosting high-quality summer camps that keep kids engaged during the summer months through academic and social enrichment.

What results are we seeing?

We’re seeing exciting results from the communities participating in the Summer Learning Initiative. In Year 1 of the program,

What have we learned?

Not only are these programs having a positive impact on students’ literacy scores; they’re also having a positive impact on behavior and students’ sense of belonging at school, according to the administrators participating in the program. It’s a win-win!

What can you do?

If you’re interested in supporting the Summer Learning Initiative or other efforts to increase reading scores in Arkansas, contact us at 501-372-1116.

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 tutor.

Brightly colored walls, large photographs of students in action and an outdoor courtyard make McDermott an inviting learning environment. Principal Amy Cooper said reading tutors are an amazing addition to the school even beyond improving reading skills, “We are a school shaping the whole child. Having community volunteers come in helps our students understand what it is to give back and shows them that one day they can give back to children in their community.”

Blubaugh helps students from two second grade classes and has learned that most students see the ability to read chapter books as a big landmark. “The one-on-one experience with tutor creates a safe space for the students to learn,” she said. “Really, it is all about building their confidence.”

Teachers match students with tutors and provide books at the students’ reading levels, but Blubaugh brings a few tools of her own. She uses flash cards to help with word recognition and has found that a sticker book is a great icebreaker because all kids like stickers.

“I had to go online and get a new set of ‘Ranger Rick” because I love that magazine. Everyone likes to talk about animals,” Blubaugh said. “One of the things I like most is that I get to relive teaching my own kids to read.”

It gives her great joy to get to know the students, interact with them and make them better readers. “When they get interested in the story and want to read more and more, that is a success. What we are doing is instilling a culture of reading,” Blubaugh said.

She is not a professional teacher, and that is not a requirement for tutors. They can spend as much time at the schools as they choose since there are different levels of commitment in terms of hours per week. Blubaugh has been very happy with the support she receives, including seminars and packets of information that help tutors be more effective.

“Do it,” is her advice to those on the fence about being a reading tutor. “You get more out of it that you could ever give — the kids are always surprising you.”

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 it was so much easier to set up a fund at the Community Foundation,” said Bob, chairman of the board of East Harding Construction, which he helped found 43 years ago. “The Community Foundation fund is a good way to have a growing resource that we can use for a long time into the future.”

Bob has a history of service to his community as past chairman of the Little Rock National Airport Commission and a member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. He is now a board member for the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and the Arkansas Workforce Commission.

But at heart he is an adventurer. He climbed Mount Everest almost 30 years ago, has run with the bulls at Pamplona and floated down the Mississippi from St. Paul to New Orleans. Where was Cynthia? At base camp on Mount Everest, at the end of the course in Pamplona and helping as crew at stops along the Mississippi.

In between global adventures, she owns and operates Cynthia East Fabrics, a 40-year Little Rock institution providing quality, decorative fabrics. Cynthia has served on the boards of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and Volunteers in Public Schools. Her passion is public education, and she’s been a public school advocate since before their two adult children were students.

“My parents were involved in the 1957 crisis and that got me on the right side of the issue. I feel I got a great education, and I want to see that happen for every child.”

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 office is a part of a statewide network creating endowments and making grants across the state, and that the local board was developing a pool of funds to grant out locally. Kay said, “Well, we want to join!”

The VanTrains recognized the Community Foundation’s potential to serve a wide variety of worthy causes and to protect and grow charitable funds. They had owned several telephone companies across Arkansas, so they used telecommunications stock to establish a fund that would give back to the state where they dedicated their life’s work. The VanTrains liked the idea that a single gift to the Community Foundation could affect the entire community, and they knew that greater impact could be made if the organization had a larger pool of funding for its annual grant cycles.

Their generosity sparked a community-wide challenge to increase grant funds in Cleburne County. In fact, grant awards doubled the following year, and the VanTrain’s legacy continues to impact their community.

Learn more about our affiliate office in Cleburne County.

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 to continuing to support programs like Our House that advocate for Arkansas’ homeless, the East endowments have most recently funded Arkansas Interfaith & Light’s Promise Garden, a collaborative community garden in the 12th Street corridor that encourages fresh local nutritious food, and the Southern Center for Agroecology, a nonprofit that promotes the development of sustainable local food systems through research and applied science.

To honor Lindsey’s legacy and the countless lives he continues to affect, we would like to revisit his Community Foundation story which can be found here:

Even After His Lifetime, Lindsey Robison East’s Giving Makes an Impact

“He was always unique in his sensitivity to people and the environment,” said Laetitia East of her son, Lindsey. “He loved the earth and really felt he could make change happen in the world.”

Arkansas Community Foundation came to know Lindsey East in 2003 when he contacted CEO Heather Larkin to inquire about “what we do here.” Born and reared in Little Rock, he had been living in California, exploring the possibilities of his own talents in theatre, writing and music.  He had a playful humor and spoke from his heart, taking genuine interest in personal stories. When he’d see someone he knew, he’d remember some small thing that showed he listened and took an interest in what they had to say.  Lindsey met all people with total acceptance and had friends from all over the world.

When he returned to Arkansas, Lindsey soon became a personal friend to the Community Foundation. In 2004, he started his first endowment at the Community Foundation focusing on food sustainability and bicycle advocacy.  Five years later he began a second endowment to support initiatives for the homeless in Arkansas. Our House, an organization that provides shelter and education for homeless adults and children, dedicated a playground in Lindsey’s name for his support.

On July 9, 2011, Lindsey suffered a heart attack and died while piloting his small plane. But the legacy he established with the Community Foundation lives on. His final gift to the Community Foundation by way of his trust created an endowment promoting greenhouse projects, community gardens, recycling programs and local food initiatives. About two years after Lindsey’s death, the Community Foundation learned that a new food enterprise, the Farm and Food Innovation Center, was being formed at the former St. Joseph’s Home in North Little Rock by one of Lindsey’s old friends, Jody Hardin. With East’s wishes to support local food sustainability projects in mind, the Community Foundation issued a start-up grant from Lindsey’s endowment to the Center.  

Because of Lindsey’s charitable vision and foresight, the dream of the Farm and Food Innovation Center is becoming a reality. Already the Farm and Food Innovation Center has impacted hundreds of Arkansans, who have visited the grounds as volunteers and participants of local, sustainable food education initiatives. In collaboration with Heifer USA, FFIC works to support Delta growers and empower them to become involved in the profitable local organic food market. In addition, twelve community gardening plots have been constructed with the help Eagle Scouts and 90 at-risk youths participating in the National Guard Youth Challenge program who provided community service hours while learning essential skills in organic gardening and farming.

In East’s memory and honor, a permaculture project on the grounds has been named the Lindsey East Food Forest to Feed the Hungry.

“Lindsey would be so proud of this,” said his mother, Laetitia.  “He will be remembered for giving to the things he loved and believed in. Nothing would make him any happier.”

Jane Hunt’s charitable path has been molded by her family’s practice of encouraging generosity. Her parents J.B. and Johnelle Hunt, well-known for successfully building their trucking company, understood the importance of giving back to the community and raising their children to do the same.

Through the years, Jane has had the opportunity to passionately support a variety of causes. Her generosity has stretched from nonprofits that support education enrichment programs to organizations that help women and children build a stable and successful life. When the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter was on the brink of closing their doors, Jane offered a matching incentive to help them continue their mission providing necessary services. Additionally, through funding prize dollars for ArkansasGives, she has been able to support the invaluable work that the entire nonprofit sector offers our state.

By making Arkansas Community Foundation her partner in giving, Jane believes her role as a contributor has been made easy and more purposeful. “The Community Foundation provides the information I need to make educated decisions about where my charitable dollars are well spent. I feel confident that I have the tools I need to make a difference for the long-term.”

Little Rock attorney John G. Shram of Winburn, Mano, Schrader & Shram, PLLC, advises many clients who have charitable objectives and want to make significant gifts, but need help structuring and achieving those objectives.

“They’ve heard of foundations, but are not sure whether their level of gifting would warrant the administrative and compliance expense of starting their own foundation,” Shram stated.

To help his clients structure these complex charitable decisions, he introduces them to the Arkansas Community Foundation staff members who meet with them to explain the Foundation’s tools. “I work to instill confidence in my clients about the Foundation’s ability to manage the administrative and tax compliance issues, accomplish the client’s lifetime and after-death charitable objectives and sometimes even involve family members in their charitable legacy,” he said. “The Foundation does all this within a very economical and competitive fee schedule.”

Most of Shram’s clients quickly realize that their charitable donations can go further and be more effective within the structure of the Arkansas Community Foundation.

“Heather Larkin and her team have repeatedly demonstrated that they can embrace the differing objectives of charitably-minded clients and provide a structure specifically tailored to that client’s charitable objectives while economically managing and protecting the client’s charitable legacy,” said Shram.

“My parents taught us to go for significance, not necessarily success.”

Charlotte Green of Conway has accomplished both. One of 16 children, she grew up with strong values of faith, family, service to the community and academics. As Conway School District Supervisor for Advanced Academics, she enhances the experience of schoolchildren every day.

Green joined the Faulkner County Community Foundation Board because she believes in giving and stewardship. “Giving is an essential part of life, but people need an opportunity and venue to do it,” she said. The mother of two sons wants to build philanthropy in her community in a way that addresses its most pressing needs.

Education is a great equalizer, and investment in education yields great returns, according to Green. In her job, she creates programs to support strong academic success for K-12 students and works with the Gifted and Talented and Advanced Placement programs.

“As a member of the Grants Committee I see the impact of the Foundation on many parts of our community,” Green explained. “We make Giving Tree grants to programs like the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Putting books in homes is not just a way to help children read — it builds stronger parent-child relationships.”

Glenn Williams is no stranger to working hard — whether that means putting in the time it takes to support his 300-acre cattle ranch in Berryville or serving as a leader in his community. He realizes the importance of local relationships and connecting resources.

Hoping to find a way to commemorate an agricultural nonprofit he was involved with, Glenn first learned about the Community Foundation and the tools it provides. Through Carroll County Community Foundation, a local affiliate of Arkansas Community Foundation, the nonprofit was able to establish an endowment ensuring the mission would continue forever.

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Glenn served several years on the board of the local office in Carroll County and was able to connect with his community in new ways. During this time, he realized the positive impact the Community Foundation can provide in partnership with its volunteers, donors and grantees. “The Community Foundation works well alongside individuals and other nonprofit organizations to bring encouraging and constructive outcomes for the people, environment and education of the area it serves. It is a ready catalyst for donors searching to establish or contribute to beneficial funds and future grant recipients,” Glenn said.

While attending a reception held by the local Community Foundation, Glenn looked around the room and saw business men and women, housewives, school teachers, judges, farmers and ranchers, bankers, executives, retirees, volunteers, government officials, benefactors and others. “I thought to myself, this is truly community.”

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 honored in 2006 by the Conway School District Board of Education with the naming of the Raymond and Phyllis Simon Intermediate School, now Raymond and Phyllis Simon Middle School.  In the years following the school’s dedication, the couple dreamed about what they might do to enhance opportunities for the students at Simon Middle School. Drawing on educational research as well as their own life experiences, they devised a plan to foster interest, aptitude and achievement in the field of mathematics for girls in grades five through seven at Simon. 

Their final step was to find a way to ensure that the funds they would commit to this project would be appropriately managed.  During a conversation with their accountant about how they wanted to give back to their Conway community, Bo Conner of Conner and Sartain recommended they create an endowment that would continue making a difference even after their lifetime.

As a result, the Simon Prize for Excellence in Mathematics for Girls Endowment was created through our local affiliate, Faulkner County Community Foundation. The first awards were presented last May and each recipient of a Simon Prize received a cash award.  In addition, the endowment paid the girls’ registration for an activity that provided an enriching experience in math or math application.  Prize winners will receive continued support with mentoring and networking through ninth grade.

Because the prizes produced from this endowment will be awarded annually, this initiative will have a lasting impact in the lives of girls attending Simon Middle School.

About Ray and Phyllis Simon’s Dedication to Education in Central Arkansas

Ray had the opportunity to join the Conway School District in 1984 as Assistant Superintendent for Finance.  Phyllis followed a year later as a teacher and technology coordinator.  She went on to officially become the district’s first Director of Technology.  In 1991, Ray was named Superintendent and served in this capacity for six years until his appointment as Arkansas’ Commissioner of Education.  Six years later, he accepted the position of Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the United States Department of Education and soon was promoted to Deputy Secretary.

To learn more about how we can work with you and your family to develop a plan that meets your charitable goals, contact us at 501-372-1116 or email Ashley Coldiron.