BellXcel receives $3 million investment to expand access to summer and afterschool learning from the New York Life Foundation

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Apr 23, 2019, 09:00 ET

BOSTON, April 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BellXcel, a national education nonprofit, today announced a $3 million, three-year grant from the New York Life Foundation that will help the organization to expand access to evidence-based summer and afterschool learning for 12,000 at-risk middle-schoolers across the U.S.

This grant will help BellXcel develop new solutions to support its national network of program partners, which aim to strengthen the academic and social-emotional skills of middle school students. BellXcel programs have been proven to yield measurable gains in academics and social-emotional learning. Last summer, BellXcel scholars gained two and a half months of math skills and two months of reading skills through five to six-week programs, reversing summer learning loss.

"The New York Life Foundation has been a strong supporter of BellXcel since 2007 because its proven success in the out-of-school time space aligns with our efforts to ensure that youth have year-round holistic learning experiences that develop important academic and social emotional skills," said Marlyn Torres, senior program officer, New York Life Foundation. "We are dedicated to expanding access to high-quality out-of-school time programs for middle school students because they help prepare youth for long-term success."

The New York Life Foundation's funding will enhance BellXcel's service offerings, including the development of an innovative technology platform that will allow for greater customization of program offerings to better meet the needs of BellXcel partners. It will also allow BellXcel to provide hundreds of middle school educators with professional development and in-service learning opportunities to enhance their teaching practice.

"With New York Life Foundation's generous gift, we will strengthen our program model and delivery practices to scale up our collective impact on at-risk middle school students from urban, peri-urban, and rural communities," said Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, BellXcel CEO. "It will expand our ability to empower partners to deliver summer and afterschool programs that yield measurable outcomes for both students and educators on a greater scale."

About BellXcel

Founded in 1992, BellXcel, formerly BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), is a national nonprofit leader in out-of-school-time education. BellXcel's modular solutions make it easier and more cost-effective for school districts and other youth-serving organizations to customize evidence-based summer and afterschool learning programs with measurable outcomes that transcend into the school-year. In 2018, BellXcel-powered programs reached approximately 19,000 PK-8 scholars and 2,100 educators at 154 sites in 32 U.S. states. BellXcel is supported by Ballmer Group, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, The Deerbrook Charitable Trust, New York Life Foundation, and The Norman R. Rales and Ruth Rales Foundation. For more information, visit www.BellXcel.org.

About the New York Foundation

Inspired by New York Life's tradition of service and humanity, the New York Life Foundation has, since its founding in 1979, provided nearly $280 million in charitable contributions to national and local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation supports programs that benefit young people, particularly in the areas of educational enhancement and childhood bereavement. The Foundation also encourages and facilitates the community involvement of employees and agents of New York Life through its Volunteers for Good and Grief-Sensitive Schools programs. To learn more, visit www.newyorklifefoundation.org.