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August 2021 Updates

Hello Wayne County!

This month we focused on Employability and how we are doing in Wayne County. And this was just small piece of a busy month. This month’s newsletter reflects on our work around the county. Please share with your family, friends, and colleagues. And encourage them to sign up.

OUR PEOPLE

Updated Big Indicators of Success

We have worked on updating our Big Indicators of Success to show our progress. Here is a quick snippet. Be on the lookout in September for the full document to be added to our web site.

Early Childhood Success Coalition Update

The Early Childhood Success Coalition worked with schools over the summer and helped support Kindergarten Boot Camps. This support was provided by Early Learning Indiana’s Strong Start grant. Richmond Community Schools reported that 156 students attend, 45 of which it was their first school experience not having attended preschool prior. Great job!

Closing the Gap Grant

Early Learning Indiana is also announcing a series of grants, up to $100,000, to organizations looking to bridge the early learning gap in their communities. The goal is to help create at least 1,000 additional high-quality seats across the state. Click here to learn more. Here is also a link to the full report.

OUR COMMUNITY

Main Street Structural/Feasibility Study

Forward Wayne County is leading a Main Street Structural/Feasibility Study on our Main Streets in Richmond, Cambridge City, Centerville, and Hagerstown. The project will investigate the shape of the buildings, the cost to rehab, and more. We are thankful that this was funded by multiple partners across the county.

Forward Wayne County Receives Two Awards

Forward Wayne County was recognized twice this month. The first was being named one of Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County's Economic Development Partners. The second was being named a 2020-2021 Community Partner of the Year by Junior Achievement of Eastern Indiana. We are happy to be a partner with both of these organizations and look forward to continuing our work in Wayne County.

Indiana Farm Bureau Speed Test

We need you again Wayne County. Take a moment to do the Indiana Speed Test at infb.org/speedtest in your home. You may recognize this test, but Wayne County is now partnering with INFB and several partners across the state to document the need for broadband access to unserved and underserved communities in Indiana. So please take this speed test again!

Blogs

We talked about employability in August. Check out these blogs:

Follow our Social Media

If you don't follow our social media, you might be missing out! We share lots of information from us as well as from other community partners. Please follow us at @forwardINwayne and encourage your local Wayne County friends and family to follow us too!

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