ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National PTA announced today the recipients of over $700K in funding to support local PTAs across the country as they engage families and support student success through PTA programs. The funding is made possible by PTA Proud National Sponsors AT&T, Google and YouTube, Norton (part of Gen™), Discord, The Allstate Foundation, the New York Life Foundation, Walmart, The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Bayer Fund and Huntington Ingalls Industries, as well as the family of Mary Lou Anderson, as part of the association's PTA Connected, Healthy Lifestyles, STEM + Families and arts education initiatives.

"PTAs work hard every day to bring knowledge, tools and resources into the lives of families in their communities to help connect them to their children's school and support their health, safety, well-being and success," said Yvonne Johnson, president of National PTA. "We are pleased to provide over $700K in funding to PTAs across the country to support their efforts and help them host PTA programs this school year in the areas of digital safety, healthy lifestyles, STEM and the arts."

Following are the funding recipients:

• 200 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, supported by AT&T, to host an interactive PTA Connected: Ready, Tech, Go! program for parents and caregivers to engage in meaningful peer-to-peer conversations about the various aspects of screen readiness; become familiar with tools and resources that help families determine screen readiness; and gain new ideas to promote a healthy digital home. The Ready, Tech, Go! program is a collaboration between National PTA and AT&T that helps families build knowledge and skills to use technology safely and responsibly right from the start.
• 50 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored by Google and YouTube, to host an interactive PTA Connected: Be Internet Awesome program to engage parents and caregivers in meaningful and interactive peer-to-peer conversations about raising children in an online world and create a shared understanding of healthy online habits and what it means to Be Internet Smart, Alert, Strong, Kind and Brave.
• 40 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored by Norton, to facilitate PTA Connected: The Smart Talk family conversations in their school communities. The Smart Talk is an interactive online tool created by National PTA and Norton that walks families through a series of guided digital safety questions, then creates a personalized family agreement for how technology will be used at home.
• 25 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored by Discord, to host a PTA Connected: Build Up and Belong program to facilitate meaningful and interactive discussions between teens and their caregivers about community and belonging. The goal of the program is to help families explore ways to foster positive relationships, learn healthy online habits and build belonging in our digital world.
• 50 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored by The Allstate Foundation, and 50 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored the New York Life Foundation, to build the knowledge and skills of parents and caregivers to support and strengthen their children's mental health and build their children's social-emotional skills and resilience as part of National PTA's Healthy Minds program. The goal of the program is to empower families to make mental health an everyday priority.
• 40 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored by Walmart, to host a PTA Wellness Fair to provide students the opportunity to engage with health topics beyond the traditional classroom environment and in a fun, flexible and interactive way. The new PTA Wellness Fair program is part of National PTA's Healthy Lifestyles initiative, which includes the three pillars of healthy bodies, minds and earth.
• 27 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored by The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, to help educate students and families that youth e-cigarette use remains a serious public health problem, about the dangers of flavored tobacco products, and to promote tobacco use prevention, including hosting Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action anti-tobacco campaign activities.
• 30 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each and two district/council/region/special education/community PTAs have been selected to receive $5,000 each, sponsored by Bayer Fund, to engage families together in hands-on science activities as part of National PTA's STEM + Families Science Festivals program. The goal of the program is to make science more accessible and less intimidating to students and their families—especially among girls and underrepresented youth.
• 40 local PTAs have been selected to receive $1,250 each, sponsored by Huntington Ingalls Industries, to host hands-on engineering design challenges that bring students and families together as part of National PTA's STEM + Families Propelling Our World program. The goal of the program is to help all kids experience and explore activities and careers in STEM, especially those in skilled trades.
• Two local PTAs have been selected to receive the 2023-2024 Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant of $1,250 each. The funding is designed to help PTAs provide new pathways for at-risk and underserved students to participate in arts education experiences, including National PTA's Reflections program.

National PTA's programs are designed to provide access to engaging, educational and fun opportunities that inspire; recognize; and support the physical, social-emotional and learning needs of all students and their families. National PTA offers in-person and at-home program models to meet students and families where they are. While funding is being provided to help eliminate barriers that may exist for a PTA in hosting a program event in their school community, National PTA's programs are free and available to all PTAs and schools.

"Our association remains committed to increasing family engagement in education; increasing access to educational opportunities; and ensuring that all families and schools have tools and information to best support students' learning, development, health, safety, well-being and success," said Nathan R. Monell, CAE, National PTA Executive Director. "We are grateful to our sponsors for supporting our efforts and making the funding possible, which is needed now more than ever. In fact, when we reported to them that the demand far exceeded the funding we had available for this school year, AT&T and The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids both immediately stepped up to increase their support. For example, we were able to jump from funding 150 to 200 recipients for our PTA Connected: Ready, Tech, Go! program, which will impact thousands more families."

About National PTA
National PTA^® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c) (3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health and welfare of children and youth. 

SOURCE National PTA