Support from partners benefits young children

Miller Dwan Foundation supports Mothers and Babies Project

The Miller Dwan Foundation recently awarded the Northland Foundation’s KIDS PLUS Program a $27,000 grant for the Thrive Initiative: Mothers and Babies Project.

The goal of this project is to implement a community-wide intervention to prevent and reduce Perinatal Mood and/or Anxiety Disorders in mothers, and improve infant social emotional development. The Northland Foundation will work with eight pilot sites to implement the program through ECFE, Head Start, Home Visiting, and community mental health settings in Duluth and surrounding communities. The project will launch in January with a training featuring Dr. Deborah Perry and Erin Ward.

“Depression and anxiety are common among mothers of infants and toddlers,” stated Lynn Haglin, Northland Foundation’s Vice President/KIDS PLUS Director, “and make it hard for moms to be fully present in the way their babies need them to be.

“This initiative will provide training to individuals and organizations that work with new mothers to see the signs, understand, and serve as resources,” Haglin said.

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Minnesota Department of Education grants $30,000 to advance educational alignment in region

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has awarded the Northland Foundation an additional $30,000 to expand PreK to Grade 3 Alignment efforts in northeastern Minnesota. Earlier this year, MDE had awarded the Northland Foundation $30,000 in support of PreK-3rd Grade training and grants.

Lynn Haglin, Vice President/KIDS PLUS Director shared, “This significant investment from MDE is helping to build strong connections and linkages between early childhood and early elementary to help children birth to age 8 on a pathway to lifelong learning success.”

The Northland Foundation will use the funds to help school districts undertake strategies aimed at strengthening learning and continuity for young children, including participation in the MDE Leadership Training Series.