The CAHEC Foundation improves the quality of life for youth and young adults through wellness and education. So far this year, we have distributed $98,500 to support our mission of offering life-changing opportunities to the residents in CAHEC's footprint. Here's an overview of the grants and initiatives we've proudly supported:

CAHEC Foundation Sponsors Book Fair

The CAHEC Foundation partnered with the YMCA of Greater Richmond to support their Power Scholars Academy (PSA), which served 1,000 youth this summer. The PSA is the summer school model for all YMCAs which serves students who perform at least 40% below grade level and attend a Title 1 School. Through this program, students participate in hands-on project-based learning with certified teachers in the morning, and enrichment activities like STEM, dance, drumming, and a variety of physical activities in the afternoon. With our donation, the YMCA was able to purchase 3,300 books to host a book fair for the students who attended the PSA. During the event, each child was given the opportunity to select three books to take home with them, at no cost to their families. "We are so appreciative of the CAHEC Foundation sponsoring the book fair," explained Betsy Peters, Senior Vice President of Youth Development for the YMCA of Greater Richmond. "It was a wonderful addition to our program and a great way to celebrate the children working so hard this summer." The CAHEC Foundation was proud to sponsor an event that helps bridge the learning gap many low-income students face, especially after having an incredibly difficult school year.

"Summer Brain Gain" a Huge Success

The Boys & Girls Club of Cabarrus County - one of our New Markets Tax Credit investments - knew their "Summer Brain Gain" camp would look a little different this year. "After a year of remote learning, we anticipated the needs of students would be even greater this summer," Valerie Melton, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Cabarrus County explained. "One way for us to help students catch up and avoid summer learning loss was to hire tutors to provide much needed support to our kindergarten through fifth graders." With the help of a donation from the CAHEC Foundation, the Boys & Girls Club was able to hire six tutors to come to their facility Monday through Thursday for six weeks. The first three weeks were dedicated to reading and literacy, and the final three weeks focused on math. They were able to provide tutoring to 200 youth based on academic assessments from their schools. Tutors worked with children twice a week for nearly an hour. "Without the support of our community and grant funders like the CAHEC Foundation, we would not be able to offer these opportunities that the youth in our community needs," Melton shared. "Your funding was extremely beneficial to our program this year!"

For more information regarding the wellness and education initiatives offered by the CAHEC Foundation, or to make a donation, please contact Stefanie Lee at (919) 645-9825 or slee@cahec.com.