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Nov 22, 2022 I
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At the Heart of Family Learning: Families leading and learning through service

November is National Family Literacy Month, and NCFL has been sharing resources in family literacy throughout the month in a variety of ways, including on social media. We hope you’ve found these ...  Read more »

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Nov 17, 2022 I
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Service-learning model for families receives Congressional Resolution

Creating a community garden; making the route to school safer for pedestrians; organizing donation drives to benefit elderly community members—the common thread that is woven throughout these ...  Read more »

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Mar 8, 2022 I
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NCFL’s new project engages JCPS students and families in wonder, immersive learning, and service

What happens when we combine inquiry-based science education, virtual reality, and family engagement? Students and their families at several Louisville, Kentucky schools will find out soon. The ...  Read more »

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Nov 1, 2021 I
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Congress promotes NCFL’s Family Service Learning initiative

Family Service Learning, a framework that facilitates family-generated community service projects, was recognized today by Representatives John Yarmuth (D-KY) and Van Taylor (R-TX) and Senators John ...  Read more »

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Oct 29, 2021 I
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New NCFL podcast series highlights families’ power to create change in their communities through Family Service Learning

“Families are powerful. They do care. And they can support their children.” -- That’s the message of the National Center for Families Learning’s new podcast series launching today. NCFL is ...  Read more »

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Jun 10, 2020 I
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NCFL selected by national grant competition to develop podcast series

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) has been selected to develop a national podcast series to help broaden our country’s conversation about poverty and economic mobility. Today, NCFL ...  Read more »

Nov 20, 2018 I
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The National Center for Families Learning applauds Congressional resolution

This week, members of Congress introduced a resolution celebrating the broad benefits of Family Service Learning. The Resolution designates the week of November 19, 2018, as “National Family ...  Read more »

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Feb 9, 2018 I
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NCFL webinars to explore Family Service Learning, SNAP E&T, and WIOA career pathways

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is providing FREE virtual learning opportunities, and you're invited to attend. Going Deeper with Family Service Learning | Friday, February 16 at ...  Read more »

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Nov 27, 2017 I
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Program Spotlight: Using personal experience to help newcomers to the United States

In this guest post, Ashley Boyd Pierce, adult education ESL program specialist and instructor for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, shares her program's Family Service ...  Read more »

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Sep 15, 2017 I
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Congressional resolution recognizes Family Service Learning benefits

On Tuesday, September 12, Members of Congress, led by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Corey Booker (D-NJ) and Congressmen John Yarmuth (D-KY) and Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced a resolution ...  Read more »

NCFL Partners

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Toyota

Toyota, one of the nation's most successful corporations, began a partnership with NCFL in 1991. In addition to a commitment of more than $50 million, Toyota has also contributed a wealth of in-kind support — including advertising, planning and management expertise — to form one of the most progressive corporate/nonprofit partnerships in the nation.

Three major programs have been developed through the Toyota partnership based on the family literacy model of parents and children learning together. These models have influenced federal and state legislation, leveraged local dollars to support family literacy and led to successful programs being replicated across the country.

Read more about Toyota's commitment to communities

William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust

NCFL received its very first donation in 1989 from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust to promote and implement family literacy programming, first in Kentucky and North Carolina and later nationwide. The Kenan Family Literacy Model in part laid the groundwork for 30 years of subsequent family literacy and family learning programming developed by NCFL.

Kenan has continued to support NCFL’s place-based family literacy programs since our inception. Most recently, it has invested in our organization’s Sharon Darling Innovation Fund, which will launch emerging ideas and programmatic evolutions in the multigenerational learning space.

Learn more about the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust

Dollar General Literacy Foundation

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation began partnering with NCFL in 2006. A signature effort of this partnership is the National Literacy Directory, a resource that launched in 2010 and strives to guide potential students and volunteers to literacy services, community education programs, and testing centers in their communities.

The National Literacy Directory contains over 10,000 educational agencies located across the United States and has a dedicated toll-free number to help support those wanting to pursue educational opportunities in their communities.

Dollar General also provides support for development of NCFL’s innovative family learning resources centered on financial literacy and Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time®.

Learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

PNC Grow Up Great

PNC Grow Up Great believes deeply in the power of high-quality early childhood education and provides innovative opportunities that assist families, educators and community organizations to enhance children's learning and development.

PNC Grow Up Great has partnered with NCFL since 1994, most recently in Louisville, Kentucky, to support Say & Play with Words, our pre-Kindergarten vocabulary-building initiative.

NCFL's work is also featured on the PNC Grow Up Great Lesson Center website. The Lesson Center includes over 100 free, high-quality preschool lesson plans and research-based instructional techniques and strategies. All lesson plans contain Home/School Connections printouts, in English and Spanish, to help families extend and reinforce the learning at home.

Learn more about PNC Grow Up Great

U.S. Department of Education

Initiated through the U.S. Department of Education in 2018, the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) program provides 12 grantees and 13 states with five-year, $5 million grants to promote and implement systemic evidenced-based family engagement strategies. NCFL was selected to lead SFECs in two states, Arizona and Nebraska, and is a primary partner for two other SFECs in Kentucky and Maryland/Pennsylvania. 

The SFECs work to support family engagement through state- and local-level agencies while providing both professional development to school districts and direct services to families related to children’s academic outcomes and overall well-being.

Learn more about the U.S. Department of Education

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

NCFL was named a recipient of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s "Voices for Economic Opportunity Grand Challenge," which seeks to elevate diverse voices in order to broaden the conversation about the issues inhibiting economic mobility and generate deeper awareness along with actionable understanding. NCFL will develop and launch a podcast series that will highlight the remarkable stories of low-income, diverse families across the U.S. who have improved their communities through Family Service Learning.

Foundation Website