2015 Children and Youth Issues Briefing Recap 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

2015 Children and Youth Issues Briefing Recap

This morning, nearly 1,000 influential advocates gathered at the 2015 Children & Youth Issues Briefing in Saint Paul. The event kicked off with an address from Governor Mark Dayton who announced that his upcoming budget proposal (reviewed next Tuesday) will allocate $372 million to “children and education.”  Acknowledging that many Minnesota families have critical unmet…

read more
Building a Strong Community 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Building a Strong Community

This month, our Preschool Pals focused on building a strong community.  Each area of the classroom was transformed to represent a place in the community.  The snack area served as a restaurant, the manipulative center was a construction site,  the science center became a hospital, the group area was the city hall, and the writing center was the local post office.  As students visited different pillars…

read more
2014 In Review 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

2014 In Review

In 2014, we: Had 88% of all Way to Grow preschoolers pass kindergarten readiness assessments for the second year in a row. Opened our second preschool in South Minneapolis (Preschool P.A.L.S) at Urban Ventures, with a focus on educating both preschoolers and parents. Celebrated serving our first cohort of third graders completing our Great by…

read more
Our Executive Director in Action 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Our Executive Director in Action

The Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (RKMC) Foundation for Children has announced the appointment of Carolyn Smallwood to its board of directors. Carolyn Smallwood is entering her 10th year as executive director of Way to Grow, Inc., an early education and elementary organization that serves over 2,000 people each year. Prior to Way to Grow, she…

read more
Inside a Home Visit 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Inside a Home Visit

With President Obama’s recent announcement to invest $750 million in preschool and childcare programs across the country, early learning is front and center, bringing home visiting into the national spotlight.  Most of us, however, don’t directly participate in home visiting, leaving questions of what all it entails and why it is so effective.  Today, we invite you to step inside a…

read more
Making a Difference 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Making a Difference

Meet Jacqueline.  We hope to make Jacqueline’s holiday brighter by raising $2,500; enough to cover one full year of home visits and comprehensive programming with Way to Grow.  Jacqueline’s parents are from Togo, a small, tropical sub-Saharan country in West Africa. Edoh, Jacqueline’s mother has a goal for her children that many of us share.…

read more
Join us in the Great Minnesota GIVE Together 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Join us in the Great Minnesota GIVE Together

The season of giving is upon us!  In honor of our 25 years of success, our goal for this year’s Give to the Max Day is to have 25 supporters donate $25 or more.  Can you help us meet and exceed that goal?  We know you can! “Give to the Max Day has become a Minnesota ritual,” says…

read more
Preschool Pals Teacher Lights the Way 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Preschool Pals Teacher Lights the Way

Those of us at Way to Grow have always seen Mr. Eka, our Preschool Pals lead teacher, as an excellent educator; but this week, the word is out!  As this week’s recipient of WCCO’s Excellent Educator Award, it is no secret that Mr. Eka radiates a very special light from within, a gift positively impacting his students’ lives day in…

read more
Mayor Hodges, Cradle to K Cabinet Announce Cabinet Will Issue Report with 2015 Recommendations 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Mayor Hodges, Cradle to K Cabinet Announce Cabinet Will Issue Report with 2015 Recommendations

October 10, 2014 (MINNEAPOLIS) — Mayor Betsy Hodges announced Thursday that her Cradle to K Cabinet is working on a year-end report which will outline policy, legislative, and collaboration recommendations for 2015. The Cabinet has been meeting since spring, when Mayor Hodges convened the full first meeting of the cabinet. “The members of my Cradle…

read more
Rising to the Challenge 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Rising to the Challenge

Could you feed four on just $10 and one in store coupon?  Sound like a piece of cake?  How about including at least one item from each of the five food groups with the same amount? Welcome to the $10 grocery challenge! Our first group of parents to participate in the challenge successfully accomplished just that…

read more

Way to Grow Celebrates Historic Milestone

Way to Grow Celebrates Historic Milestone 150 150 Ivy Marsnik
Social Innovation Fund 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Social Innovation Fund

Last year, Twin Cities Strive in partnership with Greater Twin Cities United Way rolled out their Social Innovation Fund grant, dedicated to  focus on improving kindergarten readiness, 3rd-grade reading proficiency, 9th-grade readiness for upper-level math, four-year high school graduation, and post-secondary enrollment among low-income students in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Twin Cities Strive in partnership with Greater…

read more

    Your Name (required)

    Address

    City

    Zip

    Your Email (required)

    Phone

    Preferred contact method:

    EmailPhoneEither

    Available days:
    SunMonTuesWedsThursFriSat

    Time of day available:
    MorningAfternoonEvenings

    Services interested in:
    preschoolspecial projectsteen parentsadministrativeeventsother

    Opportunity interested in:

    Language(s) Spoken besides English:
    AmharicArabicHmongOromoSomaliSpanish

    Other languages spoken:

    Emergency contact (name, phone, relationship):

    Volunteer agreement (required):

    I understand that during the course of my volunteering at Way to Grow, I may come in contact with information that is deemed confidential. This includes, but is not limited to, personal information about Way to Grow participants. I understand that Way to Grow is required by law to keep this information confidential, and I will treat all information I come across as such unless I am told otherwise.

    I understand and agree that I am volunteering for Way to Grow at my own risk and request. I also give permission for the free use of my name, picture and voice in any broadcast, telecast, print account or any other account in any medium of the event being recorded.

    I Accept

    Additional Message: