West Palm Beach Library Foundation Inc

Programs: Afterschool homework centerhomework centers are the anchor of the library's after-school initiatives and serve as a lifeline for children and teens by providing free academic support to students grades k-12. Elementary and teen homework centers are open four days a week and on sunday provide everything students need to successfully study, learn and complete homework and research projects. Equipped with basic supplies like paper and pencils, laptops, printers, databases and the latest technologies, homework centers offer educational games, software and tools and are stocked with healthy snacks to feed bodies and minds. Most importantly elementary and teen homework centers are staffed teachers certified by the school district of palm beach county and professional librarians, as well as volunteers and americorps members. These adults serve as teachers, advocates, mentors and cheerleaders for children and teens on their educational journeys. Less than one-third of kindergarten-aged children who live in west palm beach, specifically those in the public elementary schools that are nearest the library, arrive in their classrooms ready to learn. These numbers improve only slightly when students are tested for grade level reading in third grade, where 40% of children are proficient readers. Research shows that children who have not mastered reading by 3rd grade are less likely to graduate. Adults without high school diplomas make less than their peers who graduated high school, for many a diploma is the difference between poverty and a living wage. To help address these needs and partner with children and families on their educational journeys and build a stronger community, mandel public library of west palm beach created homework centers.

incremental-u is the library's award winning, dynamic, lifelong learning program that encourages participants to explore talents, grow as individuals and learn more about the world. Incremental-u encompasses a breadth of programming including academic lectures conducted by university professors, exhibitions, civic engagement panel discussions, audience performance classes, professional music performances, an aspiring author series, and hands on art classes. Since its launch in 2014, over 31,000 adults have attended over 500 incremental-u programs to learn, develop new skills, expand their relational networks and enrich their lives. Incremental-u programming creates opportunities for seniors to stay independent by providing mental stimulation, it allows the arts and culture to flourish among people who have the time to dedicate to a newly learned art form, and it combines, under one roof, academic lectures, hands on arts, performance arts, performances, panel discussions, and more each week. Incremental-u programming provides a place and platform for people to connect to new ideas, experiences and to one another. The volume, variety, breadth and depth of offerings is unprecedented in the county.

healthy you! Is the mandel public library's programming design to foster health and community through free exercise classes such as baby and adult yoga, pilates, rollology, ballet for kids, tai chi and zumba and programs that promote healthy lifestyles and disease prevention such as kids can cook.