News Release

Grant Made to Support Americorps Members in Coahoma County Schools

Hernando, MS (August 25, 2005)– The Maddox Foundation and the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi today announced that a grant of $54,000 has been awarded to the Coahoma County School District. The grant will support the placement of 18 full-time AmeriCorps members in schools throughout Coahoma County.

The members are part of the America Reads Mississippi (ARM) program. During the coming school year, each volunteer will provide 1,700 hours of community service to the schools. The volunteers tutor pre-kindergarten through middle school students in reading before school, during the school day, after school, over school breaks, and in summer school programs. When schools are closed, they serve in local community agencies and tutor, recruit volunteers, and mobilize the community in service activities meeting local needs.

“Education has long been a major focus of the Maddox Foundation, and we also have a long-standing partnership with the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, so this program is consistent with other work we have supported,” said Maddox Foundation President Robin Costa.

“When we heard about this emergency need, we thought that this would be an ideal investment for the Maddox Advised Fund,” said Tom Pittman, president of the Community Foundation. “We are thrilled that the Maddox Foundation has agreed to support this program through our organization, and look forward to working on other educational needs in Coahoma County.”

AmeriCorps members have been publicly recognized by school boards, city and county governments, and the media for their ability to “get things done” for their schools and communities. Funded every year since 1998, with 270 full-time members across the state, and with a statewide waiting list of school partners, ARM has been recognized nationally as a “model AmeriCorps program” and was recently named the state’s lead agency for National Youth Service Day.

As a result of the services performed by ARM AmeriCorps volunteers during the 2004-2005 school year, 69 percent of students served increased their reading level by one letter grade, while 27 percent of students recorded a two letter grade increase and 4 percent of students reported more than a two letter grade increase, according to an independent evaluation of the program. Some school principals and superintendents also report that schools earned a higher State Department of Education accreditation level (based on high-stakes statewide testing) with the tutoring help of ARM AmeriCorps members as a valued part of their school’s instructional team.

Additional information about the Community Foundation can be found at www.cfnm.org, or obtained by calling 662-449-5002.

About The Maddox Foundation

The Maddox Foundation is a private foundation that supports educational and other service programs in northwest Mississippi and middle Tennessee. With assets of almost $110 million, it is one of the largest foundations in Mississippi. The grant to the Coahoma County Schools is being channeled through the Maddox Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, a separate fund established by the Maddox Foundation earlier this year to support programs of a strictly local nature in Northwest Mississippi.

About The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi

The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi is a publicly-supported community foundation that serves Coahoma, Desoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate and Tunica Counties. The Community Foundation has been working with a group of Coahoma County leaders for most of this year to establish a local education fund for the support of the county’s public schools.

Media Contacts:

Maddox Foundation: Michael Ward, 662-449-3699

Institutions of Higher Learning: Randee Williams, 601-432-6380

MS Commission for Volunteer Service: Marsha Kelly, 601-432-6738

Coahoma County School System: Pauline Rhodes, 662-624-5448