Contact: Keith Barnish keith.barnish@td.com (201) 522-7229
Denise Stokes denise@dsmarketingandpr.com (443) 503-9931
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Arc Prince George’s County Receives $325,000 TD Ready Challenge Grant
2021 TD Ready Challenge supports organizations addressing predicted learning loss as a result of COVID-19 pandemic
LARGO, MD, (January 26, 2022) – The Arc Prince George’s County, celebrating its 70th year of advocating for, defending and supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, was recently named by TD as a 2021 TD Ready Challenge recipient, receiving a $325,000 grant for their Catalyst Project.
The goal of the Catalyst Project is to help 100 students with special needs in the Prince George’s County school system negatively impacted by COVID-19 who lost learning opportunities as well as social and workforce skills. The program will provide additional academic support, therapies, work-based learning experiences and other services to recover invaluable learning and experiences for special needs students lost during the pandemic.
Schools across North America repeatedly closed and reopened throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to curb the spread of the virus, with students and teachers quickly adapting to online instruction. As a result, research predicts students could experience significant learning loss.
Given the potential widespread and long-lasting impacts of predicted learning loss, the issue was selected as the problem statement for the 2021 TD Ready Challenge. Eligible non-profit and charitable organizations were encouraged to submit their innovative, scalable solutions to assist disproportionately impacted students in grades K-12 who are experiencing pandemic-related learning loss in math and reading.
“We are proud to support the Arc Prince George’s County’s Catalyst Project and help tackle predicted learning loss in the community, particularly among children with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Hugh Allen, Regional President for Mid Metro-South at TD Bank. “These kids have been particularly hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Catalyst Project, with the support from the TD Ready Challenge, will help provide them additional resources and services to help bridge the gap.”
“We are now in a position to break new ground, address a critical need of a special population and help plug a gap of the negative impact of the pandemic,” said Rob Malone, Executive Director of The Arc Prince George’s County. “The grant funds will be put to very good use.”
A key component of the TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Challenge is an annual initiative aimed at helping provide funding to programs focused on helping to solve societal issues. Acting as a springboard for social innovation, TD established the TD Ready Challenge in 2018, and has since provided more than $40 million CAD in funding to 50 organizations across its North American footprint to support scalable solutions identified within the four drivers of The TD Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health.
In total, TD awarded $10 million CAD for the 2021 TD Ready Challenge to organizations in Canada and the U.S. that are addressing predicted learning loss in math and reading.
To learn more about the TD Ready Challenge and for a full list of this year’s winners, please visit www.td.com/thereadychallenge.
About The Arc:
The Arc Prince George’s County is celebrating its 70th Anniversary in 2022 and operates over 45 group homes with more than 150 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The agency provides in-home supports to over 80 people with disabilities and their families and serves as many as 650 people. Visit www.thearcofpgc.org for more information.
About The TD Ready Commitment
TD has a long-standing commitment to enriching the lives of its customers, colleagues and communities. As part of its corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, TD is targeting CDN $1 billion (U.S. $775 million) in total by 2030 towards community giving in four areas critical to help open doors for a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow – Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. Through the TD Ready Commitment, TD aspires to link its business, philanthropy and human capital to help people feel more confident – not just about their finances, but also in their ability to achieve their personal goals in a changing world. For further information, visit td.com/tdreadycommitment.
