Community Raises Half-Million Dollars to Fund “Leanring Hubs” in MoCo

For Immediate Release: October 14, 2020 Contact: Amy Snyder / (410) 591-9242

Laytonsville, MD – A community driven effort, initiated by Sophie (Ruppert) Felts, and with the involvement of other public-private partnerships has led to over $500,000 in funds being raised to support “learning hubs” in Montgomery County.

With schools (and associated before and after care) not open during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is great need in the community for those struggling to pay for childcare and facilitate distance learning. One solution has been developing “learning hubs,” which are safe places for students to go during the day where they will receive supervision and help with remote learning. Providing scholarships to fund participation became the passion project of Felts and others in the community. Felts—who is a mother of four, founder of Montgomery County-based business Sophie Felts Floral Design, and member of the Ruppert Family Foundation—recognized this need and began to assemble organizations such as the Greater Washington Community Foundation, Montgomery County School System and other organizations and individuals that she thought might be able to provide support for the cause. “The academic component of school is being provided by teachers online, but the childcare component of schooling, so crucial to working families, is missing,” she remarked.

She continued, “Many families are figuring it out. Out of necessity, many women are leaving the workforce to care for children now at home and are living off one salary. Others are hiring facilitators to create their own learning pods or are relying on friends and family for assistance. Unfortunately, thousands of other families have fewer resources, and their children are left home alone or in the care of older siblings juggling their own schoolwork.” To learn more of Sophie’s story and how she become involved with the Children’s Opportunity fund, read her blog post.

According to their website, Montgomery County public schools “will remain in a virtual-only instructional model through the first semester —January 29, 2021; or until state and local health officials determine conditions in our county allow for students to return safely after the first semester.” This means that the families of over 162,000 children must find the resources to facilitate distance learning for the foreseeable future.

“For vulnerable populations it’s often hard for families to access the tools, structures and systems for families to keep kids learning at home,” said Kimberly Rusnak, Project Director for the Children's Opportunity Fund at Greater Washington Community Foundation. “Learning hubs are an interim solution for vulnerable students and their families to bridge the gap and raise the quality of education children are receiving.”

These learning hubs will be held in school buildings and overseen by organizations which typically provide before and after school care, such as Bar-T in Gaithersburg. Strict safety precautions—such as temp checks, masks, physical distancing, frequent sanitizing, and limited learning pods of 13 or less students—will be adhered to for the wellbeing of students and staff. This model differs from a traditional school day in that parents have to drop children at the location (so no bussing is required), the class size is limited to 13 kids with one adult supervisor, with dedicated entrance/exits and no cross-over with other learning pods, all of which make this model scalable with less of a chance of increasing the spread of the virus.

Candidates for learning hub scholarships will be identified by a partnered effort between the Children’s Opportunity Fund, the Montgomery County School System and local providers of learning hub services to ensure that funds reach students and families in low-income areas who are in the most need.

While the need is far greater than the $532,000 raised thus far for this public-private partnership, the initial plan is to generate funding for at least 100 students to attend learning hubs for the first four months of the school year. The cost of providing services for one child for a week is just over $300 (or $5,000 for the entire four months, which constitutes the fall semester). To that end, Ruppert Companies and the Ruppert Family Foundation have donated $150,000.

“In September, our first 32 scholarship students started school in their hubs and there are more hubs opening up in the coming weeks, which are available to help at least 100 kids,” said Felts. “That is but a tiny percentage of the 29,000 county children who need our help.”

While there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, this grassroots effort was initiated by a younger generation of Montgomery County residents who saw an existing need, rallied both public and private organizations quickly, and has been able to provide funding that in turn, solves the challenges of families in need. Those interested in supporting this initiative can donate here.

The Children’s Opportunity Fund, an initiative of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, champions and funds strategic investments to improve the lives of low-income children and families in the county. The fund was launched jointly by the Montgomery County Government and Montgomery County Public Schools to support innovative, evidence-informed efforts targeted at closing the opportunity gap. The Children’s Opportunity Fund identifies priority areas for investment based on unmet need, aligns resources toward effective multi-sector collaborations serving the county’s most vulnerable youth and their families, and seeks new funding sources. Click here to learn more.

Since 1973, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has been a champion of thriving communities and a catalyst for change through local philanthropic engagement, effective community investment, and civic leadership. We work with donors and partners to enhance the quality of life in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, and Prince George’s County by aligning resources and leveraging shared interests to amplify

impact. As the region’s largest local funder, The Community Foundation has invested more than $1.3 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can live, work, and thrive.

Ruppert Companies, comprised of Ruppert Landscape, Ruppert Properties and Ruppert Nurseries, is a family and employee-owned business that delivers high quality products and services ranging from commercial landscape installation and maintenance, to commercial real estate development and leasing, to wholesale tree-growing and moving. The company, which will soon be celebrating 50 years in business, is headquartered in Laytonsville, Maryland, and employs over 1700 people. The company has a long-standing tradition of growing its team and giving back to the community. Learn more at www.ruppertcompanies.com.

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