State Farm Insurance recently teamed with The Bubel/Aiken Foundation (TBAF) to provide funding that will allow the development of an educational curriculum focused on teaching social and life skills to children of all abilities.
State Farm’s three-year grant to TBAF will spear the creation of a primary education curriculum that provides ideas and strategies that will engage children of all abilities in giving back to their communities. The hope is that by teaching the language of diverse abilities, communities will be encouraged to view children with disabilities as contributors and active members of society.
“The Bubel/Aiken Foundation will create innovative materials that embrace the philosophy of inclusion and support educators that work with children with and without disabilities. This curriculum will create awareness and change behaviors by educating individuals about what young people of ALL abilities are capable of doing,” says Kristy Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, TBAF. The curriculum will be developed in three stages with the first year of the project focused on kindergarten through fourth grade.
A key supporter of service-learning—a teaching strategy that connects real-world applications of learning to school curricula —State Farm has combined efforts with The Bubel/Aiken Foundation as a reflection of its strong commitment to education and to community partnerships that foster collaborative environments for all ages.
The Bubel/Aiken Foundation was created in 2003 to serve children with developmental disabilities by creating, implementing, and funding programs of inclusion in the social, educational, recreational, vocational, and community settings. Schools, after-school and community programs, such as those held at various YMCAs, will be able to use this curriculum to educate young people who are eager to work collaboratively with their peers in a positive way.