This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
The Keystone Nazareth Charitable Foundation, part of Keystone Nazareth Bank & Trust, is providing generous support to Lafayette and the local community with a $7,500 grant for the Landis Community Outreach Center’s Kids-in-the-Community (KIC) program. The grant will help continue a variety of activities and tutoring being offered to Easton’s West Ward neighborhood children.
Pete Gray, a representative from KNBT, will present a check, Monday, Aug. 20, to Bonnie Winfield, director of the Landis Center. Following the presentation, Gray, Winfield, and others will visit students and community children who are participating in KIC through the Pre-Orientation Service Program.
KIC is an eleven-year-old program that is organized and led this year by 65 students and other Lafayette participants. It works to reduce the educational achievement gap and supports children so they remain “on-track” for school, college, the workforce, and the responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society. It provides after-school programs and tutoring several times a week for about 75 pre-K to 12th grade children from low to moderate income families living in and near the Jefferson and Union Public Housing Authority developments of Easton’s West Ward neighborhood.
Maurice Luker, director of foundation and corporate relations, believes the KIC program holds great value for the College and the community.
“This is a key program for Lafayette,” he says. “About half of our students participate in this type of service program during their time at Lafayette. It shows the kind of commitment that Lafayette has to the community and the partnership that we have with the community to better people’s lives, and in this case particularly the lives of children.”
The grant will contribute to the support of leadership training, local transportation to arts and education venues, participant activities, project specialists, teacher training, and supplies and materials.
The hope for the program is that it can serve as a bridge between the college and the neediest members of the Easton community while offering Lafayette students, as well as community children, significant service-learning and leadership experiences. Over 700 children have participated in the program to date.
Luker stressed the importance of this type of support for KIC and other programs. “This funding is vital to the program and every dollar goes to help children.”