Education

Several programs that we fund include an 'educational' component. Opportunities for 'lessons learned' come in different ways – Scouting and other youth programs teach leadership skills, self-improvement, team-building and respect for one another, for property and for self. Crisis programs teach individuals and families about available resources in the community that are able to assist them. Programs developed for people with physical and mental challenges, as well as the elderly population, teach self-sufficiency.

Apart from the 'lessons learned daily' discussion, we realize that a quality education begins very early – learning to enjoy reading, supports our Early Childhood Literacy Program – Dolly Parton Imagination Library and can begin in the home. We hope to see a progression in the level of reading readiness exhibited by children entering kindergarten in the Douglas County school systems. Long-term impact could result in reduced truancy rates, increased graduation rates, and, fewer police reports on incidents happening during the school day involving juveniles.

We know from research that illiteracy is the single most common factor among prison inmates and that 47% of females and males in prison in Wisconsin lack either a high school diploma or equivalent and that 49% read below the ninth grade level. If we can impact the literacy of children today, we hope to change those statistics in the future. We begin by learning to read and end by reading to learn...a powerful impact.