  PNC Grow Up Great is a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing young children, from birth to age five, for school and life. So that an entire generation won't just grow up... but grow up great. PNC Grow Up Great is the most comprehensive corporate-based school readiness program in the country. The ultimate goal of the program is to help produce stronger, smarter, and healthier children, families, and communities. PNC Grow Up Great will invest in grants, sponsorships, television and print content, communications and volunteerism over ten years to school readiness - we will help prepare young children, from birth to age five, for school and life. School readiness means focusing on the whole child, including cognitive, social and emotional abilities. PNC Grow Up Great is partnering with experts in the field, including Sesame Workshop and Family Communications, Inc. to:
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With the headline, "PNC Invests in Preschoolers," a brief article showcasing PNC Grow Up Great's employee volunteerism effort is included in Working Mother magazine's "NewsBreak" column in the September 2005 issue, on newsstands now.
"The bank has mobilized its workforce into a volunteer force by giving employees 40 paid hours a year to assist in early childhood programs," the article reads. "Some workers donate their IT expertise to local child-care centers. Many more head straight for the tykes."
PNC Grow Up Great Director Eva T. Blum is pictured (above left) and quoted in the article. Of her personal volunteer experience at a Pittsburgh early child-care education center, Blum says, "The teachers told me, 'If you motivate one child, you've accomplished a lot.' What you find out is that the children motivate you, too." Working Mother magazine has recognized PNC as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" three times, most recently in 2004.
"The bank has mobilized its workforce into a volunteer force by giving employees 40 paid hours a year to assist in early childhood programs," the article reads. "Some workers donate their IT expertise to local child-care centers. Many more head straight for the tykes."
PNC Grow Up Great Director Eva T. Blum is pictured (above left) and quoted in the article. Of her personal volunteer experience at a Pittsburgh early child-care education center, Blum says, "The teachers told me, 'If you motivate one child, you've accomplished a lot.' What you find out is that the children motivate you, too." Working Mother magazine has recognized PNC as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" three times, most recently in 2004.
Ready to play.
Put a blanket over a table to make a tent. It makes a cozy area for play—and a fun place to learn about important words for school, like "in and out," "over and under." To encourage creative thinking, give your child an empty cardboard box and ask, "I wonder what you could make from this?" A box can be a house, a boat, a car or a garage for cars. When children feel good about their ideas, they're becoming confident learners. For playing "office," give your child catalogs, old phone books, a toy phone, notepads and pencils. When children pretend they're reading, writing and working with numbers, they want to learn those skills later on in school.
