WUCF TV, Central Florida’s PBS station, has been awarded a $35,000 grant from the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF) to expand its work in preparing Central Florida’s children for kindergarten and beyond.
With the investment from the OMYF, this grant will allow the team to extend our early learning program, On My Way To K,and our Ready To Learn work throughout Central Florida. WUCF's On My Way to K Guidebook prepares children for kindergarten through resources that support the key developmental areas (physical, social, emotional, and cognitive) that children need to be successful and become life-long learners. Additionally, Ready To Learn is a grant funded program through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS to expand the reach and impact of PBS KIDS early learning resources to local communities.
With the funding from this grant, WUCF will be printing and distributing nearly 2,000 free copies of the updated guidebook, as well as providing an online version. The online version broadens the reach of the program, giving caregivers and preschool programs throughout the region the opportunity to benefit from the guidebook. The Education Team will also host a series of pop-up workshops this summer, introducing children and caregivers to some of the activities and concepts found in the guidebook.
"We are grateful to the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation for their generous support and for seeing the value of the incredibly important work our team is doing," said Lauren Taylor, Education Services Manager at WUCF. "This grant will allow us to make significant strides in advancing early childhood education across Central Florida, empowering children and families with valuable resources and tools for success."
The collaboration between WUCF and the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation underscores a shared commitment to promoting education and enrichment opportunities for children in the community. Through initiatives like On My Way To K and Ready To Learn, WUCF continues to make a positive impact on the lives of children and families throughout Central Florida.
Learn more about WUCF’s educational programming here: www.wucf.org/learn/
About WUCF TV
WUCF TV is the sole-service PBS member station for the nearly 4 million Central Floridians across nine counties. WUCF is Central Florida’s storyteller, encouraging curiosity and learning through compelling content and community engagement. WUCF produces award-winning local content like “Florida Road Trip,” which explores Florida through history, people and culture. WUCF also serves Florida’s youngest citizens, offering hours of PBS Kids content on-air, online and in the classroom, leading the state in usage for PBS LearningMedia. Throughout its ten-year history, WUCF has engaged with over 1.5 million people across Central Florida at in- person events, and over 30 million people online through virtual events and streaming content. The station is community-supported public broadcasting from the University of Central Florida. Learn more at http://wucf.org/