A CONNECTED PLANET

THIS YEAR, ACP LAUNCHED A NEW INITIATIVE AIMED AT ENHANCING EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING AND LITERACY WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, MARKING A SHIFT FROM OUR PREVIOUS FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO ESTABLISH A FUND THAT CONTRIBUTES TO EXISTING, SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES. THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR, WE PROVIDED FINANCIAL BACKING TO FIVE DISTINCT PROGRAMS. FOR INSTANCE, ACP SUPPORTED MCINTOSH MIDDLE SCHOOL IN SARASOTA, FL, BY DONATING TO THEIR ANNUAL FALL FESTIVAL FOR READING. THE FUNDING WAS USED TO ACQUIRE FAIR SUPPLIES, AND WE ALSO DONATED 300 "TRADING" TICKETS TO COMMEND DESERVING SIXTH GRADERS FOR THEIR READING ACHIEVEMENTS BOTH IN AND OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. PROCEEDS FROM THE FESTIVAL WERE ALLOCATED TO PURCHASING PRIZES, ENCOURAGING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO CONTINUE ENGAGING WITH THE I-READY READING PROGRAM, WHICH FOSTERS FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY SKILLS. THE RESULTS WERE IMPRESSIVE, WITH TEACHERS REPORTING AN 11% INCREASE IN LITERACY DURING THAT QUARTER. ADDITIONALLY, ACP CONTRIBUTED TO THE RISE FOUNDATION INC. FOR THEIR GOAL CARD PROGRAM, WHICH HELPS CHILDREN IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS OF MEMPHIS, TN, IMPROVE THEIR ACADEMICS, ATTENDANCE, AND BEHAVIOR THROUGH AN INCENTIVE-BASED APPROACH. THIS PROGRAM ALSO EQUIPS PARTICIPANTS WITH FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILLS. WE ALSO DONATED TO THE MONTESSORI GLOBAL GROWTH FUND FOR THEIR TRAIN A TEACHER, EQUIP A CLASSROOM, TEACH A CHILD INITIATIVE. THEY SUPPORT GRASSROOTS, COMMUNITY-DRIVEN EDUCATION EFFORTS IN UNDER-RESOURCED AREAS BOTH IN THE U.S. AND GLOBALLY BY PROVIDING SMALL GRANTS FOR TEACHER TRAINING, CLASSROOM MATERIALS, AND VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, INCLUDING SANITATION FACILITIES. MOREOVER, ACP DONATED TO COMFORT CASES, WHICH OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS TO YOUTH IN OR AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE; TO THE ST. PETERSBURG CATHOLIC DIOCESE FOR PROVIDING BOOKS TO THE CHILDREN OF MIGRANT WORKERS; AND TO THE BREAKTHROUGH LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION FOR THEIR ASCENT BOOT CAMP, WHICH EMPOWERS YOUTH FROM HIGH-CRIME COMMUNITIES WITH ESSENTIAL DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS, FOCUSING ON DIGITAL COLLABORATION, DESIGN, AND BASIC WEB DEVELOPMENT.

ACP HAS REMAINED DEDICATED TO MAINTAINING ITS LIBRARY OF FREE MOBILE APPLICATIONS, AVAILABLE ON BOTH THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE AND APPLE APP STORE. THESE APPS INCLUDE GENERAL LITERACY AND NUMERACY APPLICATIONS, DESIGNED TO HELP USERS DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS IN LETTER, WORD, AND NUMBER RECOGNITION, SPECIFICALLY TAILORED FOR HAITIAN CREOLE SPEAKERS. ANOTHER CATEGORY FEATURES AUDIOBOOK APPLICATIONS, ADAPTED FROM PHYSICAL BOOKS CREATED THROUGH THE MOTHER TONGUE BOOKS (MTB) INITIATIVE BY THE MATNWA COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER ON LA GONVE ISLAND, HAITI, AND OFFERING MULTILINGUAL SUPPORT IN HAITIAN CREOLE, FRENCH, AND ENGLISH. ADDITIONALLY, ACP HAS CONTINUED TO SUPPORT AND MAINTAIN THE "DUCATION DE QUALIT POUR TOUS" (EDUQUAT) SERIES OF MATHEMATICS AND FRENCH-LANGUAGE ARTS APPLICATIONS. THESE WERE ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED THROUGH A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (IDB) AND LES FRRES DE L'INSTRUCTION CHRTIENNE (FIC) IN PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI, IN PREVIOUS YEARS.