Granted! Early Career Ramps @ Libraries

If you have been reading this column regularly, you will already know about one recently mentioned, continuing grant award to the collaboration of Greensburg Hempfield Area Library (GHAL) and Delmont Public Library (DPL). The subject matter for it is Digital Literacy and Workforce Development. The grantor is the PA Department of Labor and Industry, and the amount is $100,000, term beginning on July 1, 2024 and ending on April 30, 2026. The award was announced to the public on June 14 and here on July 1. Complementing it is a second-year grant, of a three-year term, from the United Way of Southwestern PA for $10,000; it was awarded on July 1 under the Impact Fund Grant program. The project title is “Early Career Ramps @ Public Libraries.”

This is from the award application: “..many students suffer learning loss because they do not have access to safe, affordable and educational out-of-school time programming.

“Free library programming breaks barriers and gives every child the opportunity to explore, develop, learn, and grow. Through continued United Way funding, pre-school through teens, including children with autism, will gain access to STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics] concepts including Maker Space technology and equipment [robots too] and art literacy concepts that will allow them to develop real world problem solving skills as they imagine, discover, design, and make their own creations. Programs are designed to teach all children to work together and encourage developing empathy and compassion for others. Studies prove that mastery of a skill takes years to develop. STEAM concepts are no exception. Laying a solid STEAM foundation at an early age for all children provides a ramp to success for later in life.”

The program is enhanced “by partnering with Inclusive Connections, a new local non-profit organization serving the autistic community. (The mission of Inclusive Connections is ‘to provide a safe space for families to connect to each other and the community they live in. We seek to find the best solutions and resources to help the autistic community feel welcome throughout all of Westmoreland County.’).“

Autism is not a low IQ score, or inability to read. Autistic people just see things differently. Full credit to Monica Smodic, Library Director at DPL and partner, for making neurodegenerative kids a major focus for this grant and four others awarded over the past couple of years.

The United way project, as do the others, challenges “us to be attentive to ‘other’ styles of learning, styles as different as found on the autism spectrum, in the extreme. But, we, as a public library staff, welcome that challenge, to learn how to reach every child’s needs.” Of course, that is where partner Inclusive Connections is essential. “Our collaborative effort is an exciting prospect indeed!”

This project, among others described in this column previously, is redefining the “ramp” that a public Library can be, and GHAL/DPL’s several granting agencies recognize that. To them, including the United Way of Southwestern PA, thank you so much. To come, we will tell you something about first (2023-24) year project results.