As part of a commitment to improve the quality of life in its communities, Perdue Farms is awarding The Haitian Development Center of Delmarva Inc. in Salisbury, Md., a $10,000 grant funded through the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation. The donation from Perdue’s charitable giving arm is part of the company’s Delivering Hope to Our Neighbors initiative focused on building strong communities.

The Salisbury center provides services such as helping Haitian parents enroll their children in school, interpretation, and document translation, according to the Rev. Roosevelt Toussaint, the center’s executive director.

The Perdue Foundation grant helps pay for the center’s after-school program called Brights and Futures, he said, explaining that the center’s program coordinator and college students tutor, provide homework help and polish learning skills for Haitian students in grades three to eight. The center also provides transportation and dinner for the students.

Toussaint said the Brights and Future program held 74 after-school sessions, providing transportation 148 times and 2,088 meals to students and staff in the 2021–22 school year.

“Our records indicate that of the 20 students we helped in the school year 2021-2022, 13 of them achieved a grade-point average of three or better, and we recorded only four excused and unexcused absences that year,” Toussaint said.

The after-school program eases students’ transition to a new environment, he added.

“It is quite evident that the majority of our Haitian students have had to struggle with a new education system,” Toussaint said. “Our overall goal is to help our Haitian students succeed in their education experience.”

Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation, applauded the work of Brights and Futures.

“The center is such a valuable resource for Haitian parents and their children. The after-school program makes it easier for students to acclimate to U.S. schools and improve their grades,” she said. “We’re happy to support the good work of those at the Haitian Development Center.”

Source: Perdue Farms