WILMINGTON — The Arsht-Cannon Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation announces over $619,000 in program grants to 24 Latino-serving nonprofit organizations in Delaware.

The mission of the Arsht-Cannon Fund is to provide accessible, linguistically appropriate, and culturally relevant educational opportunities for Hispanic Delawareans.

“This year, Latino-serving nonprofits were funded to provide 27 educational programs in six areas.  Among these programs, funding will provide salary support for over 38 bilingual leaders and staff who will design, implement, and evaluate their programs,” said Executive Director Dr. Christine Cannon.

“In addition to funding, the ACF fosters opportunities to network, build valuable relationships, and collaborate with others, helping nonprofits reach their program goals -most effectively and efficiently. Together, multiple outcomes and impacts are changing lives for Delaware’s Latino families.”

The Arsht-Cannon Fund celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Endowed as a donor-advised fund in 2004 by the late Honorable Roxana Cannon Arsht, Delaware’s first woman judge, and corporate attorney, S. Samuel Arsht, ACF has granted $12 million to date, fulfilling the couple’s desire to “preserve, support, protect, and defend the best interests of a civil society.”

2024-25 Grants include:

Language and Literacy Programs

• The Community English as a Second Language (ESL) Program – $25,000 to support salaries for the Program Director, Coordinator, and 2 Children’s Program staff. Sponsored by The Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Sussex County, this program is celebrating its 20-year anniversary. Recently, it has expanded to 4 locations (and online) with its 30-40 volunteer teachers.
• Sussex Vocational Tech Adult Education – A New ESL Program Site in Georgetown helps families increase their economic opportunities and quality of life by providing 25 sections of ESL and Family Literacy Programs in multiple locations. For the new Georgetown site, a grant of $20,000 will support the salaries of 3 teachers.
• La Esperanza – Place-based Resource Navigation and Family Coaching Program 2.0 – $32,000 for the salaries and travel expenses of 2 “Opciones” coaches and piloting 3 new ESL options: ESL for Newcomers, ESL for Citizenship, and Spanish Literacy as part of their Pathways to Literacy Program.  As the first program coming out of La Colectiva de Delaware in 2019, La Esperanza’s Resource Navigation 1.0 model evolved with “Opciones” coaches who have engaged over 400 students and parents in local libraries, churches, and in 55 schools.
• Literacy Delaware – Bilingual Learner Statewide Outreach Coordination- $21,000 for salary support for their part-time bilingual Learner Coordinator. Newcomer’s literacy advances through tutoring, English language acquisition, and advocacy - fostering employment, health, and the abilities of parents to support their children’s education.
• Polytech Adult Education – ESL/Family Literacy in Kent County – $25,000 for salary support 4 ESL /family literacy instructors, and a para-professional. Polytech Adult Education’s comprehensive Family Literacy Programs provide ESL programs for adults (serving over 450 adults in ESL programs in 2023-24) while their children receive age-appropriate learning activities.           
• Red Clay Education Foundation and John Dickinson High School – ESL Program for Parents of John Dickinson High School Students – $10,000 to support the development of a new ESL program with the James W. Grove Program for Spanish-speaking parents, enabling their participation in their students’ education at Dickinson High School.

Educational Advocacy

• Rodel Foundation of Delaware – $25,000 to increase awareness of K-12 equity issues for multi-lingual learners (MLL) with the MLL Fact Sheets series updates, communications. and events that build the capacities of their non-profit partners to involve Latino families in building educational equity.

Latino-owned Small Businesses

• La Plaza Delaware – $55,000 to continue to build the solid foundation and momentum that has supported Latino-owned small businesses and aspiring Gen Z and Millennial entrepreneurs in Sussex County. Funding will support Kent County program expansion with the hire of a full-time Coordinator, the purchase of course materials, marketing, and planning with West End Neighborhood House.
• West End Neighborhood House, Launcher Entrepreneurship Program – $35,000 to add Spanish versions of this program (with classroom business instruction, 1:1 instruction, and technical support for15 Hispanic Delawareans in Wilmington and fifteen in Bear. Also, funding supports collaborative planning with La Plaza to develop 1-2 pilots in Kent County.

Programs across the Lifespan

Young Children and their Parents:

• Read Aloud Delaware – Bilingual Outreach Coordinator and LENA Course Expansion-  $28,000 to support the salary of their Bilingual Outreach Coordinator and LENA Course materials for a new summer program in Kent County. The LENA Start program in Spanish brings parents and their babies (birth – age 3) together for ten weekly sessions to help parents learn how to socialize, build vocabulary and conversational “turns” (measured by wearable technology on the child), and language of their children.
• Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education – $5,000 to provide 2 programs of the Delaware Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts Program at Primeros Pasos for their pre-school program in Georgetown. Professional artists deliver visual and performing arts education in classrooms and online to prepare teachers to integrate art into their classes.
• Rodel Foundation of Delaware, Delaware Readiness Teams’ (DRT) Hispanic Community, Family, and Early Learning Provider Education and Resource Support – $22,000 to support recruitment and professional development of local Spanish-speaking  community leaders, early learner providers, and families who can provide Latino family outreach. Funding includes translation of materials. DRT is a statewide initiative of volunteer-based teams that strengthen communities, families, early learning providers, and others collaborate to prepare families with children (birth through age 8) to get ready for school and life.

School-aged Children and their Families:

• Children’s Beach House (CBH), Youth Development Program (YDP) (Milford, Kent County) – $25,000 to support the salaries of 2 part-time bilingual Family Engagement Coordinators, 4 new bilingual counselors to staff afterschool, weekend, and summer camps, transportation, and program translation costs for Latino children in Milford. The program works with children, ages 7-18, some (but not all) with diagnosed speech and language delays and who come from under-resourced families. The YDP provides year-round, place-based case management, school-year weekend overnight enrichment and summer camp at the Lewes campus.
• Choir School of Delaware, Latinx Outreach Initiative and Program (Wilmington, New Castle County) – $25,000 to support the ongoing work of the full-time, bilingual Family Services Coordinator, who recruits Latinx students (ages 7-18). She engages their families, and increases access to tuition-free, superior music education, academic tutoring, and a culturally diverse programming.
• Rehoboth Art League, Arts Outreach Program at La Casita After-School and Summer Camp Program and other Georgetown –  $4,000 to expand the number of bilingual art instructors to work with underserved Sussex County students (ages 5-17) in afterschool and summer camp venues and to cover costs of art materials. Programs at La Casita and new sites at North Georgetown Elementary and Georgetown Library provide at-risk youth with exposure and hands-on experiences with various art forms, so that youth develop art skills, creativity, and the ability to critique their own and their peers’ artwork in a positive way.
• Leading Youth Through Empowerment (LYTE), LYTE Scholars: Empowering Latino Futures (Statewide) – $40,000 to provide the program to approximately 120 Latino students (ages 13 to 18) statewide. LYTE works to change the academic trajectory of under-represented youth by preparing middle-school students to attend demanding competitive high school programs, and then college - through personal mentoring, rigorous teaching/tutoring, and leadership experiences. LYTE works with the students’ parents to guide them through the process of college admissions and application for financial aid.
• United Way of Delaware, College and Career Readiness: Latino Unidos Student Summit on October 6, 2024 (Statewide) – $5,000 to cover the costs of event performers and food for 250 student participants for this Summit that brings Latino students together to share their experiences and to access resources for academic and personal growth. This year’s summit includes sessions on college readiness, career development, and mental health awareness.

Families of All Ages:

• The Biggs Museum of American Art, Spanish Language Art Education Program (Kent County) – $10,000 to hire a Spanish language Program Manager and to support planning of a Spanish Language Art Education Program. This program will provide on- and off-site bilingual art education with family-oriented, art education with gallery tours, art-making workshops, and cross-disciplinary art centric activities, such as field trips.

Health-related Programs

• Delaware Art Museum, Mariposa Arts’ Healing through the Arts – $30,000 to support bilingual programming (instructor salaries and art materials) available at the Latin American Community Center, La Esperanza, and La Escondido and the expansion of “Stories and Histories” programs statewide. The Latina-owned Mariposa Arts provides trauma-related healing through group art sessions with adult Latinos and provides “art-for-well-being” sessions to “well” groups.
• Down Syndrome Association of Delaware (DSAD), Bilingual Programs & Outreach Coordination – $20,000 to support the salary of their Bilingual Program & Outreach Coordinator. This Coordinator, an experienced Latina mother, has increased the number of Latino families and healthcare professionals served with culturally sensitive information and programs in Spanish.
• Do Care Doula Foundation Inc. – $60,000 to recruit, train, and support the early practice of ten Spanish-speaking doulas - building the number of doulas (who provide non-medical support, information, and advocacy during pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond) from two to twelve doulas statewide. This program will help reduce health disparities seen in Latino mothers and their infants.
• Food Bank of Delaware, Latino and Hispanic Community Outreach Coordination – $35,000 to help support the costs to hire a full-time, bilingual Latino and Hispanic Community Outreach Coordinator. This Coordinator will serve Delaware’s Latino communities with diverse cultural backgrounds, providing connections to food assistance programs, employment, and nutrition education.
• Fund for Women, “Runaway Princess: A Hopeful Tale of Heroin, Hooking, and Happiness” – $1,050 to support the participation for up to 35 Latino women and girls at the April 2024 performance and the Take Action Fair that followed.

Special Initiatives  

• La Esperanza Inc., La Colectiva de Delaware (LCD) – $48,000 to support the salary of LCD Coordinator and partial program costs. LCD grew out of the need for Latino-serving nonprofits to learn from, trust each other, and collaborate - strengthening the success of each program. Currently, LCD provides opportunities for members to work in affinity groups (ESL Network, Young Immigrant Family Providers). A special initiative, Latino Parent Engagement in Schools, resulted in an all-day workshop in Spanish attended by over eighty actively participating parents last Fall.

Hispanic Heritage Month (9/15/24 – 10/15/24) Celebrations:

• Milton Public Library – $2,000 to help fund a celebration of Christmas in various Hispanic countries in December 2023. A $2,000 grant will support group activities, entertainment, and foods to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in 2024.
• Route 9 Library and Innovation Center – $2,000 to support their 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month celebration for the costs of entertainment, art and literacy activities, group “circle’ activities, Latino foods, and fun for all family members.