MONTGOMERY, AL - The City of Montgomery has been awarded a $115,000 grant from AmeriCorps Seniors for the Foster Grandparent Program. 

Foster Grandparents are volunteers aged 55 and over who will mentor and tutor children in kindergarten through eighth grade at the Therapeutic Recreation Center, McIntyre Community Center, and Highland Gardens Community Center to improve their reading levels.

Work will not only help the city's children academically, but it will also provide them with the support and encouragement they need to succeed in life.

Foster Grandparents that sign up to help volunteer in the program will receive a stipend and an opportunity to stay active by serving children and youth in their community.

The Montgomery Police Athletic League will train the volunteers. The Grants Department will manage the program and has hired Rhonda Watson as the Program Director.

Programs aim to launch at the end of October, but needs volunteers to make it happen. 

The Foster Grandparent Program, sponsored by AmeriCorps, provides grants to organizations with a dual purpose: to engage Americans 55 years and older in volunteer service and to provide one-on-one support to children with special needs to improve their academic, social, or emotional development. The volunteers in this program help children learn to read and provide one-on-one tutoring; mentor trouble teenagers and young mothers; care for premature infants or children with disabilities; help children who have been abused or neglected. 

To volunteer for the program, visit the link below or scan the QR Code.

Foster Grandparents Program Signup