Event Title
Mapping the Success of Storytime at Sundaes
Location
Exhibition Hall, DeVos Center
Description
INTRODUCTION: This is a term project for PA644, GIS in the Public Service. Storytime at Sundaes is a summer reading program sponsored by GVSU College of Education. On Tuesdays throughout the summer of 2010, any child (age 0 to 15) accompanied by a parent or guardian was given a free book and free ice cream at an ice cream shop located in the Alger Heights neighborhood.. PROCEDURES: My objective was to explore whether participants of Storytime at Sundaes program were coming from mostly low areas, as the program sponsored desired.. Using ArcGIS, I compared the location of the participants homes to poverty and race data obtained from the Census. CONCLUSION: For being a neighborhood-based program with little advertising, there was a surprisingly wide distribution of participant locations. Within Grand Rapids, the plurality of participants (54) came for the Alger Heights neighborhood, followed closely by those from the Garfield Park neighborhood (49). According to the Census, Garfield Park is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, as well as one of the most nonwhite. However, the South East End neighborhood is also poor and nonwhite, but contributed relatively few participants to the program. IMPACT: The organizers could use this information to refocus their advertising if the program continues next summer.
Mapping the Success of Storytime at Sundaes
Exhibition Hall, DeVos Center
INTRODUCTION: This is a term project for PA644, GIS in the Public Service. Storytime at Sundaes is a summer reading program sponsored by GVSU College of Education. On Tuesdays throughout the summer of 2010, any child (age 0 to 15) accompanied by a parent or guardian was given a free book and free ice cream at an ice cream shop located in the Alger Heights neighborhood.. PROCEDURES: My objective was to explore whether participants of Storytime at Sundaes program were coming from mostly low areas, as the program sponsored desired.. Using ArcGIS, I compared the location of the participants homes to poverty and race data obtained from the Census. CONCLUSION: For being a neighborhood-based program with little advertising, there was a surprisingly wide distribution of participant locations. Within Grand Rapids, the plurality of participants (54) came for the Alger Heights neighborhood, followed closely by those from the Garfield Park neighborhood (49). According to the Census, Garfield Park is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, as well as one of the most nonwhite. However, the South East End neighborhood is also poor and nonwhite, but contributed relatively few participants to the program. IMPACT: The organizers could use this information to refocus their advertising if the program continues next summer.