BankNewport grant supports Newport literacy program

FROM LEFT: Rebecca Berger, Bradley School representative; Ydalis Perez and her three children, participants in the Baby Steps session; Dr. Charles Shoemaker, president of Baby Steps; Jennifer Pratt, vice president and Newport branch manager, BankNewport; and Rochelle Fritz, Bradley School representative, at a recent Baby Steps session at the Florence Gray Center.
FROM LEFT: Rebecca Berger, Bradley School representative; Ydalis Perez and her three children, participants in the Baby Steps session; Dr. Charles Shoemaker, president of Baby Steps; Jennifer Pratt, vice president and Newport branch manager, BankNewport; and Rochelle Fritz, Bradley School representative, at a recent Baby Steps session at the Florence Gray Center.

BankNewport recently awarded a $5,000 grant to Baby Steps of Newport, providing support to the educational nonprofit’s community outreach and program-evaluation efforts.
Baby Steps was founded in 2009 by medical and social-service professionals, as well as members of the Newport school system. Its programs are aimed at improving the literacy social skills of children in their pre-kindergarten years through interactive sessions with their parents. Baby Steps also provides resources to the parents, who learn about their own role in their child’s education as well as techniques for handling behavioral issues, as well as safety in the home, speech and language.
Baby Steps is led by Dr. Charles Shoemaker, and primarily uses volunteers to provide its monthly sessions in Newport. BankNewport Vice President and Newport Branch Manager Jennifer Pratt visited Baby Steps during a recent Saturday session at the Florence Gray Center in Newport in order to present the grant to Shoemaker. &#8226

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