Fund for the Water Works Receives Grant from American Water Charitable Foundation
Grant Extends Watershed Education Curriculum to More Philadelphia Students
About the American Water Charitable Foundation
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Fund for the Water Works – IC is pleased to announce it has received a $9,900 grant from the American Water Charitable Foundation’s 2020 Keep Communities Flowing Grant Program, supported by America Water’s Homeowner Services division. Funds will expand access and programming of the interpretive center’s urban watershed curriculum to 12 new cohort schools in the Philadelphia School District.
“With the generous support from the American Water Charitable Foundation, we will be able to provide every student participating in our watershed curriculum in 2020-2021 with an at-home teaching kit of materials,” said Ellen Freedman Schultz, Director of Education Partnerships at the Fairmount Water Works interpretive center. “This allows us to adapt to a hybrid instruction model in the upcoming school year and to make students and their teachers very happy.”
Educators from the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center will use the grant to develop, design and assemble the teaching kits with reading, hands-on instructional materials, and basic lab equipment. The kits will help meet virtual teaching needs in response to the instructional shift away from full-time, in-person learning.
The Understanding the Urban Watershed curriculum was first developed for the School District of Philadelphia in 2014 to help teachers teach and students learn about Philadelphia’s unique watershed and the issues involved in protecting our city’s shared water resources in the context of an urban environment.
The grant comes from the American Water Charitable Foundation’s newest annual grant program, Keep Communities Flowing. The program provides grants to organizations that connect with one or more of American Water’s core focus areas:Water and the Environment, Water and Healthy Living, Environmental Education, and Community Sustainability.
David Choate, Vice President of engineering at American Water and board member of the Fund for the Water Works, is a strong advocate of environmental education, particularly in the areas of water conservation and water use. “I am thrilled the American Water Charitable Foundation selected the Fund for the Water Works for this grant opportunity. Funds will play a vital role in furthering environmental education during a challenging time for all teachers and students, uncertain about the upcoming school year,” said Choate. “I am proud to work for a company that continues to support the health, safety and well-being of its neighbors and communities.”