By Andrew West

DOVER – The CenDel Foundation awarded more than $17,000 in grants to two organizations supporting workforce programs in Central Delaware Tuesday at its “Excellence in Education” luncheon.

The recipients were NeighborGood Partners and Biggs Museum of American Art.

NeighborGood received $12,500 for “The Scoop” – an ice cream shop on Loockerman Street in Dover. Students get the opportunity to experience teamwork, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and soft skills.

The Scoop opened in 2022 as part of the Restoring Central Delaware initiative.

“This grant is important because it allows us to structure the school as an educational workforce experience – not just a place to work,” said Rona Harris, community development manager for NeighborGood Partners.

She said there are 15-20 students working at the shop under the guidance of a manager and two other full-time staff members.

“They’re held to real world expectations in a safe educational environment.”

Ms. Harris said the Scoop also has helped in the revitalization of Downtown Dover, drawing families and visitors to local events and festivals.

“We have had several residents and business owners tell us that the Scoop brings energy, pride and connection to the downtown area,” Ms. Harris said.

The funding to the Biggs will be used for a new Visual Arts Workforce Pathways, providing students insight into the business side of the arts.

Kate Huffman, director of learning and engagement at the Biggs, said her experience as a student and then as an educator led her to think about this opportunity.

“Some of the particular interest areas that we're hoping students can come and experience at the museum are museum curator and preparator, museum education, conservationist or cultural preservationist, and art and historical researchers,” she said.

“They can learn network and visitor service from the museum and visual arts side of things. They can also be involved in arts related event planning facilitating.”

The students would meet with artists and museum staff members.

Huffman said this opportunity will encourage Delaware students to remain in the area and fill arts-related roles.

The CenDel grant will help support mentor costs and transportation for the students.

Tonda Parks, founder of the Excellence in Education Fund and associate publisher of the Daily State News, said the idea was to support workforce development and showcase the educational assets of Central Delaware.

Founded in 2019, Excellence in Education began as a partnership between the Kent Sussex Leadership Alliance, the Kent Economic Partnership and the Daily State News.