Press Release

Springdale, AR
March 25, 2004

Contact: Jan Huneycutt Lightner - 479.361.4624
Suzanne Ward - 479.361.4624

Springdale, AR— Under new strategic grantmaking initiatives, the board of directors of CommunityCare Foundation announced new gifts totaling $90,000:

• Northwest Arkansas Nursing Consortium – $15,000 to develop a model program to recruit, educate, and retain bilingual nurses.
• Bentonville School District – $5,000 to develop a Master Math Teacher Academy for grades K-12 and $30,000 to develop an application to become an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
• Springdale School District – $10,000 to develop a Literacy Initiative for middle grades and $30,000 to complete their application to become an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Suzanne Ward, executive director at CommunityCare Foundation, stated, "Last year we looked at the most critical needs in northwest Arkansas. Clearly, we saw education as a necessary component in meeting any of those needs. After wrestling with what we most wanted to be identified with and apply our resources to, we saw our niche — in one way or another — could be providing funding for education."

Chairman of the Board, Walter Turnbow, added, "Each of these grants has the potential to make a big difference in northwest Arkansas. Growing a pool of bilingual nurses can have a huge impact in health services for everyone. Strengthening our literacy and math programs and offering the International Baccalaureate Programme can help to ensure that more students, whether they're struggling or excelling, are provided with additional tools to make their schooling more rewarding."

For more information about CommunityCare Foundation, Inc. and its new strategic grantmaking initiatives, log on to www.ccfound.org. Information about the nursing consortium may be obtained by contacting Marianne Neighbors, EdD, RN, at neighbo@uark.edu.

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