We are pleased to announce 16 grant awards totaling $390,000 from our Early Childhood Care Fund. The recipients were announced and recognized at a press conference on Thursday at the Small Town Hope Tree House.

The primary goal of the Early Childhood Care and Education initiative is to provide support for programs that focus on the educational, health, and social needs of young children within Cambria and Somerset counties. This year’s funding will support a wide variety of needs, including projects related to employee retention and incentives, parental and caregiver engagement, safety enhancements, professional development, and tuition scholarships.

“Each year that we are able to award funding through this initiative, we become increasingly aware of how invaluable our region’s early childhood programming is,” said CFA Program Officer Emily Wood. “This year is no exception. These organizations are working hard every day despite the long waitlists, high turnover rates, and low wages. Their dedication to providing excellent care and services for families in our region does not go unnoticed, and we are grateful for our donors who allow us to support them.”

“Without the support of the Community Foundation, we would not be able to continue providing the best support and opportunities to the families we work with,” said Jessica Nickel, executive director of the Cambria County Child Development Corporation. “This grant funding will enhance school readiness, strengthen family engagement, address barriers to learning, and ensure children and families have access to the educational, social, and community supports they need to thrive.”

The following grants were awarded:

• $20,000 to Beginnings Inc. for their Caregiver Emotional Wellness project, which will train and support their team in regulation strategies and parent resilience while increasing family engagement in home visits, parent workshops, and collaboration with partnering child care centers.
• $5,000 to Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center for their Little Learners program. Little Learners is an extension of the Arts Academy and Life-Long Learning Initiative programming, which combines visual art, fiber art, music, and movement to inspire young minds and bodies of children ages 3-6 while engaging their parents and guardians.
• $9,000 to Burkett’s Watch Me Grow Early Learning Center for their Playground Enhancement project.
• $9,000 to the Cambria County Library to support their Baby Bags, Safe Sitter, and CPR Training programs.
• $80,000 to Cambria County Child Development Corporation for their Ready, Set, Grow! project, which will help to provide critically needed teachers and staff, classroom equipment, and family engagement activities.
• $20,000 to Flood City Youth Fitness Academy for their Early Learning Resource Center Initiative, which will support professional development for staff and scholarships for students.
• $15,000 to Hope Beyond Hurt Trauma Informed Coalition to support a coordinated professional development and implementation initiative that equips early childhood providers with HOPE-informed and trauma-aware strategies to better understand and effectively respond to children’s behavior and developmental needs.
• $10,000 to Jen’s Learning Leap for their Childcare Center Upgrades project, which will allow the facility to install fencing around the property, increasing safety around the heavily trafficked area.
• $50,000 to Mom’s House to support their facility expansion project as well as staff incentives. for their Expansion and Employee Retention project.
• $10,000 to Professional Family Care Services for their Birth-to-Three Learning Enhancement project, which focuses on play-based materials and resources for infant and toddler development, specifically from birth to the age of three.
• $10,000 to Richland Learning Center to support quarterly incentives to staff, as well as the installation of an updated security system and an updated fridge and freezer.
• $15,000 to Small Town Hope for their Family Engagement Partnership, which implement and sustain PA Keystone STARS 4-aligned practices to ensure every child’s progress is clearly understood from infancy through kindergarten readiness.
• $80,000 to The Learning Lamp to support facility improvements at two locations, as well as employee tuition assistance programming.
• $10,000 to Trinity Lutheran Child Care Center for updating the fencing in their outdoor play area.
• $37,000 to the United Way of the Southern Alleghenies for their Early Childhood Initiative Coordinator and related programming.
• $10,000 to the YWCA of Greater Johnstown for their Kuddle Korner facility, to provide a retention incentive bonus to caregivers, allow for the purchase of cleaning supplies, and to provide healthy snacks for the children.

CFA’s Early Childhood Care Fund helps donors fight for the future of their community by giving more children access to high-quality care and education. Every dollar raised toward the Early Childhood Care Fund makes these grants possible. Contact us to learn how you can help change the story for generations of vulnerable children or click here to make a donation.