21 Nov United Inner City Services Receives $15,000 Grant from Curry Family Foundation

Posted at 18:28h in Grants in Action, Industry News, Success Stories by

United Inner City Services (UICS) recently received a grant for $15,000 from the Curry Family Foundation in general operating support for its early childhood education programs at St. Mark Center and the new Metro Center location.

Funding will support approximately 275 children and their families through the following program services:

  • Early Education: Infants, toddlers, and preschool including Early Head Start and Head Start classrooms, and extended care from 6:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
  • Arts@UICS: Robust arts programming infused within curriculum and extended to families through family engagement events and experiences in the arts
  • Wrap-Around Supports: Caring family advocates help families through crisis, healthy meals prepared by an on-site chef, extended care hours for all ages and a variety of family engagement activities
  • Student Success: Professional development, teacher coaching, and early behavioral intervention offered by on-site student success coordinators

UICS addresses the need for high-quality early childhood education within the context of the considerable challenges of poverty. UICS children and families are an underserved population.  Despite challenges of poverty, UICS has developed an effective model which graduates more than 90% of students to be “kindergarten ready,” as measured by the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP), the Missouri-adopted kindergarten readiness assessment.

United Inner City Services (UICS) is a multi-service community based agency that has served Kansas City, Missouri’s 12th Street corridor since 1967. Over the years, UICS has addressed the issues of the urban core including employment, emergency assistance, housing, violence intervention, early childhood education and youth services.  UICS serves as a neighborhood anchor, providing a safe, warm, and inviting site for a variety of social services, early education programs, community arts programs, and neighborhood outreach.