Baton Rouge, LA – The Board of Directors of Knock Knock Children’s Museum is excited to announce a $100,000 gift from CN railroad. This community support gift will be utilized to help advance the early literacy and educational vision and mission of Knock Knock Children’s Museum.
“Through supporting early learning through play, we help to inspire and promote children’s intellectual curiosity. Their love of learning will yield greater potential to stay in school and discover career opportunities. Investing in the future helps us develop future leaders in our industry,” remarked Jim Kvedaras, CN’s Director of U.S. Government Affairs. “We are pleased to be a community partner with Knock Knock in this community-wide effort.”
CN recognizes its citizenship responsibility to the communities in which it operates – not only in its commitment to safety, but also in making communities better places to live and work. This spirit of caring is expressed in a responsible community investment program that focuses on specific core areas, including the health and safety of young people.
Currently, Knock Knock Children’s Museum is actively fundraising for its Learning Zone Campaign for the interactive hands-on activity spaces within the children’s museum. Community support such as CN’s contribution is essential to completing the campaign and moving forward with breaking ground for the community’s new early learning resource center.
Knock Knock Board Chair Staci Deumite Duhe’ thanked Mr. Kvedaras and CN railroad for their philanthropic leadership and their most generous gift of support. “We are excited about CN’s interest and contributions to Knock Knock and early education. We look forward to other community corporations joining CN railroad in partnering with Knock Knock to support educational activities and programming that will help prepare young students for the future that awaits them,” acknowledged Ms. Duhe’.
CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting approximately $250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a railroad network spanning Canada and mid-America. CN’s rail network extends from Halifax, Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada to Vancouver and Prince Rupert on the west coast of Canada, and all the way to the heartland of the United States to the Gulf Coast. Here in Louisiana, CN operates nearly 240 route miles of track including a key industrial corridor from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, and then north through Hammond toward Mississippi. CN’s railroad yard in Baton Rouge is one of its biggest in Louisiana, a state where CN employees about 320 workers.
Knock Knock Children’s Museum is a private non-profit organization committed to making a positive difference for the Louisiana Capital Region by providing opportunities for young children (birth to 8 years old), their families and their caretakers to connect play with learning and education. Its mission is to create a best- in-class children’s museum delivering extraordinary play experiences and programs to inspire and promote young children’s intellectual curiosity, self-expression and early literacy development. Knock Knock will be located in BREC’s City-Brooks Community Park at 1-10 and Dalrymple Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A community-wide campaign is currently underway to fund the children’s museum Learning Zones.