Contact: Glen Tautges, CMCF Development Officer, (877) 253-4380 Jason Bernick, Bernick’s Director of Corporate Affairs, (320) 252-6441
Bernick Family Foundation Awards $221,000
$20,000 Grant Helps Launch New Literacy Project
St. Cloud, Minn. – The Bernick Family Foundation announced today that it awarded more than $221,000 in grants to the community through the Central Minnesota Community Foundation. One of the grants will launch a new child literacy and parent involvement program in the St. Cloud School District.
The District 742 Local Education & Activities Foundation (LEAF) received $20,000 for a take-home reading program designed by a local teacher to significantly increase student reading skills, engage parents and close the achievement gap.
Zimmerman Elementary implemented the program two years ago and saw dramatic results in the first year. An end of the year survey found that 90 percent of parents now read with their child at least four days a week, compared to the 13 percent who did before the project.
LEAF said the PAKRAT program is particularly needed in the St. Cloud School District because of its high population of students who are from low-income families or face other challenges that make it difficult for them to visit a library or have books purchased to read at home.
The grant will allow LEAF to fully launch the PAKRAT (People And Kids Reading A lot Together) program to serve all kindergarten to third-grade students in the St. Cloud School District. The program aims to have the more than 1,500 elementary students choose a high-quality, age appropriate children’s book to take home and read every day.
“It is grants like these that are truly changing our community for the better,” said Steve Joul, president of the Community Foundation. “This program has already seen results in other communities, and we look forward to seeing what it can do here.”
The complete list of local program grants includes: • $20,000 to LEAF for the PAKRAT take-home reading program. • $20,000 to Family Pathways for the Quality Out-of-School Education and Fitness Initiative. • $20,000 to Life House for LIFELINE Expressway of Youth Services. • $20,000 to Staples Motley School District for the Motley Staples Family Center. • $15,500 to Stearns County Parks for the Quarry Park Family & Fitness Swimming Quarry. • $11,000 to the United Way of Central Minnesota for the Success By 6 Program. • $10,000 to St. Cloud Hospital for the Clara’s House Expansion Project. • $10,000 to St. John’s Boys’ Choir in Collegeville for the Music to the Max School Program. • $10,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota for Project Learn Education Enhancement Program. • $7,500 to Kinship Partners for their One-on-One Youth Mentor Expansion. • $6,000 to The School District of Amery, Wisconsin, for their TeenScreen program.
In addition to the competitive grants, the Bernick Family Foundation provided $51,000 in ongoing support to a number of nonprofits, including the Central Minnesota Council of the Boy Scouts, CentraCare Health Foundation, St. Cloud Technical and Community College Foundation, United Way of Central Minnesota, Central Minnesota Community Foundation and College of St. Scholastica.
The Bernick Family Foundation also allocated an additional $20,000 to award in scholarships this spring for students pursuing two and four year college educations. To apply or learn more, visit CommunityGiving.org and click on Scholarships.
All the applicants were 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations, schools or government entities serving communities in which Bernick’s provides services. The Community Foundation received 112 Letters of Inquiry for the grants that focus on youth and education or health and fitness. Funding could go toward capital projects, strategic investments in operations, and programmatic support.
The Bernick Family Foundation was established as a component of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation in 1989 to help the Bernick’s corporation and the Bernick family support organizations that reflect their core values, while providing leadership in responding to emerging community needs.
Founded in 1916, Bernick’s is a fourth-generation family-owned business, providing beverage, vending and food service solutions. The Waite Park-based company has a long tradition of investing in its local communities to improve quality of life. In addition to the company’s support through the Foundation, Bernick’s continues as a longtime philanthropic leader through direct financial and in-kind donations to over 100 causes each year.
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation, based in St. Cloud, is a public charity that administers over 500 charitable funds totaling more than $65 million for the benefit of local residents. CMCF has been engaging people and connecting resources to build a better community since 1985. CMCF deepens its community impact through its affiliates, Alexandria Area Community Foundation, Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, and Willmar Area Community Foundation, as well as its supporting organization the Minnesota Real Estate Foundation. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org.
