December 15, 2021 – Sarasota
The Van Wezel Foundation (Foundation) announced that it was awarded a $10,000 Community Impact Grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Funding through the grant for expanding Social Emotional Learning into communities of need is provided in part by the John and Tana Sandefur Foundation of the Community Foundation.
“Participation in the arts fosters collaboration, empathy, and critical thinking,”said Foundation CEO Cheryl Mendelson. “This generous grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a critical investment in arts-based learning that will lead to profound positive impacts for our youngest learners and their families.”
Feelings Addressed Mindfully (FAM) provides preschool and school-age students with trauma arts integration techniques grounded in CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning). Through connecting drama, movement and writing to these core CASEL competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making, students feel better so they can learn better. The FAM project goals are to provide social and emotional arts education skills to children and families that are most at-risk because of their socioeconomic status and living in underserved communities.
FAM will be offered free to United Way Early Learning Sites to serve preschoolers. This generous investment will also provide workshops once a month at the Newtown Farmers Market, Sarasota Housing Authority (SHA), the Robert Taylor Center, and the Boys and Girls Club in Newtown and Girls, Inc. to serve children and their families.
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