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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2020

iThrive Games Foundation Receives NEH CARES Grant for Distance Learning Program 

Funds will support the creation of scenarios for iThrive's civics role-playing simulation 

BOSTON—iThrive Games Foundation announced that it was awarded a $250,022 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) CARES grant. The award will support the expansion of the iThrive Sim program—a library of role-playing simulations that make U.S. government and history come alive for teens. The funds will support the creation of additional scenarios that can be used in distance learning for high school students.

The three scenarios that are funded by the grant embed game-based learning, support social and emotional skill-building in humanities-focused academic content, and are delivered through web-based technology. Created in partnership with the team behind the Situation Room Experience role-playing simulation, the scenarios will engage students in using and interpreting humanities content as they interact in real-time with each other. 

"iThrive is honored to receive this prestigious grant from the NEH," said Susan E. Rivers, Ph.D., Executive Director and Chief Scientist at iThrive Games Foundation. "We believe this acknowledgment reflects our mission to provide tools and resources that help teens to thrive and develop perspectives on the big questions of life that only the humanities can deliver, learning to make decisions and take actions for the betterment of the world."

Board Chair and Founder Dorothy Batten believes the grant is an important step in helping teens to thrive while navigating COVID-19.

"Addressing the educational needs of youth and those who work with them is now more important than ever, as the education landscape changes and the pandemic continues," she said.

Visit ithrivegames.org to learn more about iThrive Sim and to learn about project milestones.

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Media Contact:
Eghosa Asemota
eghosa.asemota[at]ithrivegames.org

ABOUT iTHRIVE GAMES FOUNDATION
iThrive Games Foundation prepares teens to thrive by meeting them where they are and working in partnership towards a world where all have the voice, choice, and agency to reach their full potential. We use games and game design to equip teens with the social and emotional skills they need to be healthy and resilient. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.