Jaiela, 9, likes the Every Child Valued after-school program because she practices multiplication and fractions there.
Davon, 9, described the program as “fun,” and his friend, Justin, 6, said “I love it.”
They are among the 80 kindergarten through sixth-grade students who live in Eggerts Crossing Village in Lawrenceville and attend the ECV After-School Program. It is one of the many nonprofits funded by the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Greater Mercer Grants.
ECV also has an after-school tutoring and mentoring program for students in grades 7-12 and a summer program.
“These teachers teach as if there is no tomorrow,” said Kate Wood, a member of the nonprofit’s board who also volunteered at the organization’s summer program. “This is a very, very important place and I didn’t realize it until this summer.”
Executive Director Nicole Cody is also a graduate of the Community Foundation’s Path to Impact, a capacity building program for nonprofit leaders. She used lessons learned there in her most recent holiday and summer fundraising appeals.
“We raised the most ever, so I was thrilled,” she said. “think it was partly because of the strategies we implemented from the workshops, particularly about storytelling.”
Those funds help support students like Darrius, 9, who says he enjoys the program’s daily snacks and occasional field trips.
“I think it’s really fun and it’s a good way to get our homework done before we go home,” he said.
