PoWeR! Book Bags
Final Grant Report for
Fiscal agent if applicant is not tax exempt:
Tax ID Number:
81-2406342
Contact First Name:
Contact Last Name:
Kara
Gregory
P.O. Box 533 Suttons Bay, MI 49682
Address:
Email:
231-343-0255
Phone Number:
Project Name:
Empowering Moms and Little Learners in Charlevoix and Emmet Counties
Project start and end dates:
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Friday, May 1, 2026
Amount Granted From Hestia:
$
3000
Project results and Impact
How many girls/women have been served by the project during this project year?
At any one time, the number of moms and children served has ranged from 210-270 children and 140-170 moms. As children enrolled in the program reach the age of 12, 18, or 24 ms. (depending on the needs of the family), the family is no longer enrolled in the program. New families are also being added as spaces open.
Goal of the Project
Did you meet your program goals for the grant period?
If yes, how do you know? Please describe any program evaluation you use:
If no, please describe current barriers and how you are working to overcome them:
To evaluate the program, we use a variety of methods.
First, we count the numbers of books and materials (in PoWeR! Literacy Bags) delivered into homes throughout the year. This past grant year, we delivered 2491 books and 180 PoWeR! Literacy Bags. This is less than we had expected, but it was due to the numbers of children enrolled reducing throughout the year. We contact the health department each month to send the accurate amount of materials.
We also invite our partners who see the moms and children to share their observations and complete surveys. The responses have been overwhelmingly positive, indicating that moms are reading more often with their children. The moms are eager to choose their new books for their children each month! Children are waiting at the door for the MIHP person to bring them their new things!
This is an on-going program and we continue to monitor, evaluate, and adjust our work as we receive feedback.
Our newest addition, the Book Play Prompts, which give moms suggestions for more activities to do with their babies to extend beyond the book are increasing the interactions and relationships between the moms and children! Moms are excited to use them.
Do you have a story of how your program positively changed participant's situation, behavior, or knowledge?
If so, please share it:
The following are reports from MIHP home visitors:
"Mom look forward to every book delivered to Home Visits. Siblings ask if I brought them a book as soon as I walk through the door. I always have one for them and infant. Mom talk about the books she reads at bedtime to help soothe and settle."
"At the home visits, we are talking about reading the book their child chose and drawing in notebooks in the book bags. They have the books laying around and child often brings them to parent."
"We use the books during visits. I ask families about the books at the next visit, and they share about their use."
"The children get excited for the books and want their parents to read them. I have seen many parents take the time even within our visit to read a book.
The ball and the finger puppet are a big hit right away. The parents let me know they have read the enclosed materials when they got the chance. They also love the homemade bags that everything comes in. I have seen some children still playing with the bags at home visits after my first initial visit with them. They are carrying it around and have other books and toys inside them. They LOVE it!"
Sustainability
Will this project continue?
If so, how will it be funded?
If not, why not?
We will continue to pursue new grants and partnerships to help fund our work. Our annual fundraiser is growing in sponsorship and attendance and will be used to help fund the program. We are growing our volunteer base outside of our physical location, which means more local community members will be involved in our program and help us continue the work.
Public Relations
How did you publicize this grant?
Please list any examples.
We listed the grant in our newsletter, on our social media, and on our website. We also have it posted in our Volunteer Center on the wall. This grant is also listed in the welcome cards which are in the children's PoWeR! Literacy Bags. A Thank You was also published in February in the Charlevoix County News.
Summary Comments
We are very grateful for the generous support that the Hestia Women's Giving Circle has given to PoWeR! Book Bags.
With your help, children and their moms are spending more quality time engaging with each other building stronger relationships. They are gaining so much from their extra time spent together in new, focused ways using the PoWeR! materials.
As the MIHP home visitors continue their monthly visits with the moms, they continue to promote the relationship building, the literacy interactions, and healthy engagement using the PoWeR! Book Bags materials that you have helped us to fund.
We are encouraged that through this work, a brighter future for all is being formed! THANK YOU!
Grant Final Budget Form
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