Medina County Women's Endowment Fund fosters the success of exceptional children

In 2021, OPEN-Bees received a $2,500 grant to provide professional advocacy services for exceptional children, who often find it challenging to navigate through school and extracurricular activities. As a direct result of the grant, OPEN-Bees paid the registration fee for two Medina City School District teachers to attend a local International Dyslexia Association training.

In addition, the grant allowed OPEN-Bees to provide financial assistance to five children and their parents to consult with an advocate or educational lawyer to assist in getting a learning disability diagnosis, as well as to learn evidence-based practices to close the literacy gap.

Finally, the grant also paid for a portion of the organization's website design, allowing OPEN-Bees to reach and impact more families.

Outcomes

OPEN-Bees supported families by not only assisting in the process of creating Individual Education Plans (IEPs), but also by providing evidence-based literacy learning materials. In addition, the teachers who attended training by the International Dyslexia Association were able to share best practices with their colleagues and provide students with instruction in order to meet the Department of Education's standards for a free and appropriate public education.

Continuation and Changes

The organization will continue all programs. We plan to secure additional funding by applying for every grant we qualify for through services provided by a grant writer who has significantly reduced her rate in light of our nonprofit status and mission statement. In late 2022, we received donations for a raffle that occurred in early 2023. The funds raised during this raffle will help us continue to assist more teachers and families. As of 2022, the OPEN-Bees network has grown to over 1,200 families.

A Success Story