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In January 2006, the Mollohan
Foundation awarded the Laughlin Community Center a $5,000
community outreach grant. Located in Wheeling, the Laughlin
Community Center is a nonprofit organization that supports
the various outreach activities of the Laughlin Memorial
Chapel, which opened 130 years ago.
The Laughlin Memorial Chapel and Community Center currently
serves nearly 250 children. Most of these children come from
poor and low-income families in the urban core of Wheeling.
A significant indicator of the families’ economic stress is
the high eligibility rate for free/reduced school lunch
program. Nearly 90% of children participating in programs
during the 2004-2005 year qualified for the free/reduced
lunch program. To support these children, a number of
programs have been implemented to help them strive for
educational successes.
The Laughlin Community Center held its inaugural Freedom
School Program in 2005. The Freedom Schools program is part
of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Black Community Crusade for
Children. The program reflects the CDF’s mission to Leave No
Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a
Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in
life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of
caring families and communities.
The Laughlin Community Center was renewed as a 2006 Freedom
School. Again, the Center will provide an Integrated Reading
Curriculum. This curriculum includes 80 books and resources
that are age-appropriate, encourage community involvement,
feature characters that persevere and achieve, and reflect
the children’s own images. In addition to the books, the
curriculum includes teacher resource and recreational
materials to further expand the children’s learning
experiences.
The Laughlin Community Center hopes to increase attendance
in the Freedom School and bring the total enrollment to 90
students. The Center will use the grant funds for the
purchase of books and materials that directly support the
Integrated Reading Curriculum for the 2006 Summer Freedom
School.
For more information about the Laughlin Community Center,
please contact Martha Wright at 304.232.2630. |
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