General Mills Foundation is making a significant investment in helping Playworks Minnesota create a healthy and productive classroom and recess environment for more youth in Minneapolis. The General Mills Foundation has awarded Playworks Minnesota a $100,000 grant, expanding on prior support from the foundation.
The funding will help Playworks continue serving schools in Minnesota with a specific focus on schools in North Minneapolis. Playworks is currently serving four North Minneapolis schools with its high impact program that leverages kid’s natural attraction to play and physical activity as a powerful lever to transform student experiences on the playground and in the classroom.
“We know from Playworks’ results in Minnesota and in schools across the country that the benefits go well beyond student health and wellness,” noted Ellen Goldberg Luger, Executive Director, General Mills Foundation. “The evidence shows that schools using Playworks are able to reclaim an average of 20 hours of instruction time per year, per classroom, and that student engagement rises while disciplinary incidents drop. That’s a powerful new asset for Minneapolis schools.”
A national nonprofit that creates a place for every kid on the playground to belong, have fun and be part of the game. Playworks works on-site with low-income schools, engineering and implementing a powerful system of play that makes a daily difference where it is most needed. The organization also provides training to schools throughout the country. Equipped with powerful training, a vast library of games, and play equipment, Playworks takes to the blacktop or hardwood every recess to facilitate healthy, inclusive play that moves kids off the sidelines and engages them in the action. Playworks’ program model reflects an understanding that physical activity and more positive social experiences result in students who are more ready and able to fully engage in the classroom.
To date this year, more than 7,000 children in Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools have benefitted from Playworks’ programming.
