Mountain America Funds PTA COVID-19 Relief Grants in Arizona
As a Proud National PTA Sponsor, Mountain America Credit Union provided $15,000 to National PTA for COVID-19 relief grants. The funds have helped PTAs in Arizona continue efforts to meet critical needs of students, families and teachers due to COVID-19. In all, National PTA awarded six PTAs in Arizona with grants of $2,500 each to help continue important programs and resources.
“As our country continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, National PTA and PTAs nationwide remain committed to making sure students, families, teachers and schools have what they need during this time,” said Leslie Boggs, president of National PTA. “We are grateful to Mountain American Credit Union for helping us provide more resources to PTAs to help them continue to provide critical support to their school communities.”
The PTA at Scott Libby Elementary in Litchfield Park, Arizona, used the funds to create science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) take-home kits and purchase classroom STEM and LEGO® kits. The take-home kits were designed to be accessible for all children and included a variety of activities such as balloon poppers, catapults, bird houses and egg drop kits. To increase engagement, students were encouraged to create the kits with family members and submit photos and videos for display on social media. Scott Libby PTA also purchased grade-appropriate, reusable STEM kits as a surprise for each teacher during Staff Appreciation Week. Additionally, LEGO kits were purchased for every classroom due to their versatility with math, science and engineering.
“It’s important that Mountain America invest in our communities and classrooms,” says Spencer Carver, assistant vice president of select employer group development at Mountain America Credit Union. “PTAs provide invaluable support to schools, and we’re honored to help them continue to provide services and resources.”
The Eagle Ridge Elementary Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) in Phoenix used their grant to combat challenges with food insecurity, technology and mental health. After having success with a drive-through event supporting their holiday reading program, they used the funds to create a drive-by health and wellness fair. It became a hugely successful event that involved the whole community: fire and police departments, Phoenix Public Library, a reduced-cost clinic and others, all offering free resources and information for families. Students were encouraged to do a scavenger hunt for prizes, and a free meal was provided to ease the food burden for one evening.
"We are so grateful that, during a year of unpredictability, we could provide a little bit of normalcy for our students and families,” says Crystal McCabe, president of Eagle Ridge PTSA. “Thank you, Mountain America Credit Union for funding these grants.”
The PTA at Broadmor Elementary in Tempe used the funds to support the Learning Patch program, a gardening and environmental education initiative that has been funded by the PTA since its inception ten years ago. The widely popular program engages trained parents and master gardeners to teach lessons in the garden. When schools went remote because of COVID-19, Broadmor wanted to find a way to continue to teach from the garden. The grant helped pay for video equipment, lesson materials and the final year-end celebration.
“We would not have been able to keep so many of our Broadmor students, family, teachers, staff, and community to the Learning Patch without these grant funds,” says Erin Kirkpatrick, a Learning Patch committee member. “The grant gave us stability in a challenging time and the ability to be innovative and creative. Thank you so much.”
In addition to supporting these COVID-19 relief grants as well as state and local PTA initiatives, Mountain America also supports National PTA’s leadership development initiatives.
Mountain America also supports classroom learning with the Mountain America Education Grant Program. Since 2016, Mountain America has awarded grants to support learning-based projects in K–12 classrooms. For the 2021-2022 school year, Mountain America will award ten grants up to $1,500 each to teachers and school leaders who are Mountain America members. Applications for the 2021-2022 grant program will be available at macu.com/scholarships beginning on Monday, August 16, 2021.
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