Albion-Homer United Way Grant to Help Museum Without Walls Programming
What do you do with COVID, a hibernating interactive children’s museum and the need for kids’ activities?
If it’s Kids ‘N’ Stuff Children’s Museum the board turns to the Albion-Homer United Way to help fund its Museum Without Walls programming to bring fun activities out to the community.
The $1,500 grant to KNS will bring three free at-home or safe in-person events for families throughout Albion and Homer and the rest of Calhoun County during the pandemic. The Museum Without Walls is in response to KNS needing to hibernate during COVID-19 to protect the health of children and adults. The grant money will be used for supplies and marketing of the community events.
To ensure that all families have access to programing regardless of socioeconomic status KNS sought a combination of philanthropic and corporate money to provide the activities free of charge.
Even when Kids ‘N’ Stuff opens, Caroline Hurteau, KNS vice chair stated, the Museum Without Walls programming will continue. These events will run from May through October and the Albion-Homer United Way will be the presenting sponsor. Events in the past have included Sidewalk Chalk Art and Pumpkin Painting geared for young children through age 12. Hurteau said KNS hopes to seek additional corporate sponsors to add other Museum Without Walls events this year.
AHUW Executive Director Marcia Starkey said this grant to help area children be engaged in healthy activities is aligned with the goals of the local United Way. Many of the AHUW grants focus on helping youth and families be successful, she said, so they can accomplish future life goals.
To allow the AHUW to continue to support local organizations Starkey said there are several good reasons to donate to the Albion-Homer United Way. These reasons include that donations fund Albion and Homer specific programs and that funding decisions are made locally. Donor lists are never shared with other agencies and payroll deductions make donating easier.
Donations can be mailed to AHUW PO Box 55, Albion, MI 49224, made on-line at www.albionhomeruw.org/ or by contacting Starkey at 517-499-2563.
Board members are Carolyn Amos, Donisha Brewer, Chris Burdette, David Diemert, Robert Hawkins, Ryan Hopson, Art Kale, Patrick McLean, Isabell Nazar, Pam Schuler, Gary Tompkins, Eddie Williams and Shane Williamson.
Kids and families enjoyed sidewalk painting last spring as part of the Kids ‘N’ Stuff Museum Without Walls program. The program was funded for this year by a grant from Albion-Homer United Way to provide safe play activities for children and families. These activities help bring outside play to the community while the interactive children’s museum “hibernates” during the pandemic.