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Current initiatives and projects include:
- Direct and Timely Care — Providing cost-free or low-cost consultation, care, coaching and instruction to learning disabled individuals and their parents and/or caregivers.
- ADD Strategy and Support — Helping students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and other executive function problems, along with their families, to develop appropriate strategies and skills to deal with these challenges.
- "Gifted Child" Resource Development — Developing resources for parents and teachers of gifted children, providing them with ready-made, age-appropriate activities that engage and enrich the children, rather than standard "drill-and-practice" activities.
- "Twice Exceptional" Resource Development — Developing appropriate school and home curricula, materials, information, and resources for children who have intellectual and creative gifts as well as learning difficulties, in order to better provide for their unique emotional and intellectual needs, as well as their learning styles.
- Neighborhood Book Clubs and Local Partnerships — Creating partnerships with neighborhood retailers, organizations, and nonprofits to set up accessible "Neighborhood Book Clubs" where learning-challenged students can develop their critical thinking, writing, computer, and social skills while participating in book discussions and exchanges.
- Strategic Cross-Sector Collaboration — Creating and strengthening strategic relationships and cross-sector collaborations with the private, nonprofit, educational, governmental, and academic sectors and other such entities that, through effective partnering, can better support the learning-challenged population. Potential collaborative partnerships might include working with individual schools or school systems, youth centers, YMCA's, United Ways, special education support and advocacy organizations, religious institutions, and bureaus of education, as well as mentor and service organizations such as Big Brother/Big Sister, Girls and Boy Scouts, AmeriCorps, and City Year.
Other areas of interest for the Mannis Foundation include:
- Parent Support — Providing parents with information, resources, and coaching regarding their child's learning style and how to more effectively collaborate with educators and schools.
- Professional Training and Support — Providing professionals who serve children with adequate support, training, and knowledge of methods and tools to enhance their awareness and understanding and work with the learning-challenged more effectively — whether at the school level, at after-school programs, and/or at community and youth centers.
- Specialized Consultation and Care for Medically Challenged Children — Coordinating with doctors, parents, teachers, and caregivers for children with cancer and other illnesses and medical disorders that may impact their learning.
(Examples include children who are hospitalized, homebound, and/or transitioning back to school.)
- Enrichment Programming — Developing meaningful enrichment materials, activities, and programs that educators and parents can access free of charge. (Examples might include utilizing games and sports that engage children in learning math and computer skills; or music, art, and dance/exercise activities that enhance relaxation, focus, retention and creativity.)
- Creativity & Giftedness — Exploring and originating additional avenues for sparking children's imaginations, creative thinking, problem-solving skills, self-expression, and inspiration to learn. (Examples might include new ways of boosting children's technology and literacy skills through the use and study of "robotics," architecture, or animals.)
- Adult Learner Awareness — Providing consultation to college professors and institutions to educate them about the specific learning needs of adults with learning disabilities and ADD.
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