Press release from PNC Foundation and Episcopal Children’s Services
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Episcopal Children’s Services (ECS) will celebrate the opening of a new outdoor play area at the ECS Gainesville Head Start/Early Head Start Center, 530 NE Waldo Road in Gainesville, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 10 a.m. The “STEAM Ahead with Outdoor Learning” area, supported by a $56,000 grant from PNC Foundation, provides a learning environment specifically designed to build skills for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and provide a hands-on learning experience with opportunities and materials that support exploration, discovery, and creativity.
Funding for this project was made possible through PNC’s signature philanthropic initiative, PNC Grow Up Great®, a $500 million bilingual initiative that helps prepare children from birth through age 5 for success in school and in life, with a particular emphasis on underserved communities. The new playground will serve over 65 of the community’s most vulnerable preschoolers in one of the most challenged areas in Alachua County.