Project HELP Program

Applicants Beliefs About Literacy: Project HELP is a child abuse prevention program that offers two programs - Parent Mentor Program and Parent Education Workshops. We are having our 5th Annual Community Begins at Home Breakfast on May 6th and our keynote speaker is Erin Merryn, a Childhood Sexual Assault Survivor, Author, Activist, and Founder of Erin’s Law. Illinois was the first state to pass Erin’s Law in 2013 and as of July 2019, it has been passed in 37 states. She has made it her mission to have Erin’s Law passed in all 50 states. Erin’s Law mandates that all public schools teach students in grades preK – 12th grade how to recognize and tell on anyone who has attempted or has sexual abuse them. In addition, the law requires to teach school personnel all about child sexual abuse; parents and guardians the warning signs of child sexual abuse; and needed assistance, referral or resource information to support sexually abused children and their families. Erin is dedicated to taking the stigma and shame away from sexual abuse and giving survivors the courage to speak up. She is devoted to opening the eyes of the public to many children who are being abused right now silently in our own communities without our knowledge. Every six minutes a child is sexually abused in the U.S. One in every 4 girls and 6 boys will be sexually assaulted before they turn 18 – over 90% by a family member or friend. But only 1 in every 10 sexually abused children ever tell anyone about it. Erin’s mission is to show others you can overcome all the obstacles life brings you and achieve anything you set your mind to, as long as you believe in yourself. In Erin’s three books - Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act – she shares her journey of overcoming abuse, finding strength, and giving a voice to the voiceless. Erin’s book, An Unimaginable Act, describes her journey across America to get Erin’s Law passed and resources for survivors, parents, and educators. Erin proves that one person can make a difference in the lives of others. This reflects our work to prevent child abuse, empower parents, nurture families, and strengthen communities. Project HELP strive to reduce the number of children affected by adversity and who fall victim to child abuse. We would like to offer Erin’s book, An Unimaginable Act, to everyone that attends our event in hopes of inspiring them to become a Mentors and help our children succeed. The cost of 300 books is $2,500 and we are looking for organizations that might be interested in helping us fund the cost.

How does this grant promote the development of literacy for learners?0

Please clarify your personal belief system about literacy and learning that is reflected in your practice?As this is a one-and-a-half-hour breakfast event, we don't have the ability to measure the impact that the presentation and book have on our attendees. At a minimum it will: - Call attention to the influence that mentoring has on people. - Highlight the importance of the Project HELP Parent Mentor Program. - Allow our attendees to see that by providing guidance, tools and support to families of every socioeconomic background we can give every child a chance to learn and thrive.

Assessment PlanAs this is a one-and-a-half-hour breakfast event, we don't have the ability to measure the impact that the presentation and book have on our attendees. At a minimum it will: --- Call attention to the influence that mentoring has on people. --- Highlight the importance of the Project HELP Parent Mentor Program. --- Allow our attendees to see that by providing guidance, tools and support to families of every socioeconomic background we can give every child a chance to learn and thrive.

Itemized & Detailed BudgetOur beliefs about literacy are directly connected to our mission of empowering parents, nurturing families, and strengthening communities. We know that 85% of the human brain is developed by age 3. We also know that early literacy exposure is critical to brain development in many ways. Through our Parent Mentor Program, we empower our parents by providing them with books for their children on our home visits. We stress as part of our goals working with families, that children are exposed to as much varied, positive language as possible. Providing books to families is one way we encourage more words are used in the home. Most parents will walk through their day saying words like “It’s time to eat”, or “Don’t touch that”. When books are introduced and encouraged, the likelihood of parents using a richer more varied vocabulary increases. We know the nurturing capacity of reading together with a child and the importance on language development that the give and take nature of reading to a child can provide. This also increases their social and emotional capacity. Research shows undeniably, that strengthening a child’s literacy and exposure to language has a huge impact on society and our community as a whole. Literacy of a third grader is directly related to graduation rates, unemployment and even incarceration rates. One of the goals of Project HELP’s programs is to close achievement gaps by providing guidance, tools and support to families of every socioeconomic background to give every child a chance to learn and thrive. We know language and literacy hold the key. It is part of every one of our workshops and home visits.