Accepting the donation from Craig Chevalier, branch manager of the Potsdam KeyBank, are SUNY Potsdam representatives Nancy Griffin (left), and Tina Wilson Bush, director of the college's Sheard Literacy Center. Also pictured are Carol Smith of St. Lawrence University's Corporate and Foundation Relations Office, and Marta Albert of SUNY Potsdam's Literacy Education Department.

POTSDAM -- KeyBank's Key Foundation recently awarded a $9,000 grant to "Branching Out With Books," a collaborative literacy program between SUNY Potsdam and St. Lawrence University.

The "Branching Out With Books" program provides college students with an important hands-on learning experience, working with approximately 400 high-need children during the school year. Students work at Massena's Jefferson Elementary School, Herman-DeKalb Central School, Madrid-Waddington Central School and the Akwesasne St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.

In addition to grant support, KeyBank employees have also agreed to serve as volunteers for the program in the coming year.