Every young person deserves the opportunity to thrive. At United Way, we help children get off to a good start and empower youth to reach their full potential by breaking down barriers to success. We advance what works, including early childhood education, literacy development, access to a high-quality K-12 education, enrichment opportunities like afterschool and summer programs, college and career readiness, and family engagement, fostering a future where every young person can realize their dreams.
One of the very first programs we launched after the merger, back in 2001, was Success by 6, a United Way of America’s early childhood initiative to help children to be prepared and ready to learn when they enter school. It brought together non-traditional partners from the public and private sectors to focus the community's attention on the importance of early childhood development to help young children succeed in kindergarten and for life.
Locally, Success By 6 involved leaders from the private sectors, including business, government, labor, education, health, and human service, to raise awareness, enhance and coordinate service systems, and educate the community about the importance of healthy early childhood development. The Community Awareness Campaign was jointly sponsored by KSBW TV8 and the United Ways of Monterey County and Santa Cruz Counties. It was active through 2007 and later evolved into other partnerships supporting early childhood development such as the Bright Beginnings partnership.
And we didn’t stop there. We introduced our Summer Bridge Program in Castroville, to help young learners transition into kindergarten successfully. We’ve engaged hundreds of volunteers through Read Across America, throughout Monterey County, sharing the joy of books and inspiring a love of reading.
And over the past 15 years, our Stuff the Bus program has provided nearly 48,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students experiencing housing insecurity, making sure they start the school year prepared.
With the help of many volunteers, some of you in this very room, we’ve transformed school spaces from Castroville to San Ardo and nearly everywhere in between, creating healthy, welcoming environments for students to learn and thrive.
Because we know that kindergarten readiness doesn’t just happen in the classroom, it starts at home and in the community. That’s why we support the people who care for our youngest learners every day.
Our Family, Friends, and Neighbors program focuses on informal caregivers, grandparents, relatives, and trusted friends who provide care outside licensed childcare centers. We give them the tools, training, and resources they need to create safe, nurturing, and learning-rich environments.
And then there’s our Preschool Service Corps. Through this program, trained AmeriCorps members serve in preschool classrooms across Monterey County. They provide extra one-on-one support to help children build the skills they need in early reading, math, and social-emotional growth, so they walk into kindergarten ready to succeed.
Together, these programs and the incredible people behind them are helping us give every child the strongest possible start.
Thank you to Dr. Deneen Guss from Monterey County Office of Education for the interview!
Music by Joystock - https://www.joystock.org
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