Google Fiber and Wells Fargo Provide School Sponsorship-level Grants to Heart Math Tutoring

May 16, 2016

Heart Math Tutoring (Heart) – a nonprofit group dedicated to helping students in high-poverty concentration schools develop math skills and academic confidence – has recently received School Sponsorship-level grants ($25K – $50K) from Google Fiber, Wells Fargo and Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation as part of its Spring Funding Initiative.

Through a $25,000 sponsorship from Google Fiber, Heart will be expanding to Merry Oaks International Academy. Google Fiber also contributed $5,000 in December 2015 in honor of the 5,000 tutoring hours provided by Heart volunteers in the first half of the 2015/16 school year.

In addition, Wells Fargo will sponsor Heart’s school site at Billingsville Leadership Academy in Grier Heights for the third consecutive year with its largest grant to Heart to date of $30,000. Thanks to Wells Fargo’s support, Heart’s program at Billingsville Leadership Academy has become a flagship school site, where 80 students are served by almost 100 volunteers each week.

“I want to give a warm thank you to Heart Math Tutoring and to Wells Fargo for its continued support of Billingsville and our students,” said Michelle G. Johnson, principal at Billingsville Elementary School. “Heart provides an invaluable service for our students through its curriculum and dedicated tutors who are also personal cheerleaders to our students.”

Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation also made a School Sponsorship-level grant of $40,000 this spring. This is the second $40,000 grant Heart has received from Sisters of Mercy over the past three years. “We are grateful to Sisters of Mercy – one of our largest supporters – for their belief in the program and for repeatedly giving Heart a chance to make a difference in the lives of many students in need in Charlotte!” says Emily Elliott, executive director of Heart.

Grants of $10,000 were also made by Bank of America Foundation, Duke Energy Foundation and First Presbyterian Church.

Adds Elliott, “With a waiting list of sixteen schools, these grants are so important for Heart to meet the need in CMS. We are excited to keep growing the program’s impact and appreciate the fantastic support we have received from the community.”

The organization’s goal – through its Spring Funding Initiative – is to raise $750,000 by June 30, 2016 to expand its service and support 750 students and 860 volunteer tutors across 15 schools in 2016/17. To date, $505,000 has been raised from grants, corporation donations, and community support.

Heart is a math intervention program that recruits, trains and supports volunteers to work as tutors in high-poverty elementary schools in CMS. Sixty percent of economically disadvantaged students in CMS perform below grade level in math. Heart uses research-based assessments and provides volunteer-friendly lesson plans that target the gaps of each individual student. To date, 97% of students tutored by Heart have met program growth goals set in partnership with CMS. Just last year, students tutored by Heart volunteers collectively grew from mastering 32% to 63% of skills needed, based on grade level standards, while in Heart.

According to Heart, it costs $50,000 to fully fund a school site where 50-80 students receive one-on-one instruction for 30 minutes twice a week from September thru May. The cost for a new school partner includes: an on-site coordinator, tutoring supplies, volunteer recruitment, assessments and data analysis. To make a donation to Heart’s 2016 Spring Funding Initiative, contact executive director Emily Elliott, eelliott@hearttutoring.org or 980-292-2297. No amount is too small. Heart accepts individual donations and sponsorships from corporations and foundations.

Heart Math Tutoring

Heart Math Tutoring is a Charlotte-based nonprofit with a mission to ensure that all elementary students develop the strong foundation in math and enthusiasm for academics needed for long-term success, by helping schools use volunteers as tutors. Community members commit one hour per week to deliver an effective, hands-on curriculum through one-on-one tutoring sessions during the school day in Title I elementary schools. For more information, visit http://heartmathtutoring.org.

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CONTACT:

Jenni Walker – Walker PR Group – 980-339-8041-office/704-649-6571-cell
Emily Elliott – Heart Math Tutoring – 980-292-2297