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The McKnight Foundation awarded West Central Initiative (WCI) and the five other Minnesota Initiative Foundations (MIFs) a $3 million, three-year grant to expand the Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative…A Campaign for Our Youngest Children. In the Fall of 2008, the MIFs plan to add 12 early childhood coalitions, raising the statewide network of coalitions to 78.
In 2003, the MIFs launched the Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative with the support of an initial multi-year grant from The McKnight Foundation. They also provided a second grant in 2005.
The Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative was an effort started in response to the dire fact that only half of Minnesota's children enter kindergarten fully prepared. Since then the 66 grassroots early childhood coalitions have begun turning the tide for Minnesota’s youngest children – giving them the chance they deserve. One indicator of success comes from a state survey in January 2006 that indicated voters now place early childhood care and education as a top priority.
“Communities across Greater Minnesota have banded together to address the key issue of school readiness,” says Nancy Straw, WCI president. “Studies continue to show quality early care and education programs contribute to a child’s readiness for school. This makes them more likely to perform at grade level, graduate from high school, and more likely to get and keep a job."
Nancy Jost, WCI Early Childhood Initiative Coordinator states, “Through our collective efforts, we are building on local assets to improve conditions for families with young children to ensure they receive the care, support, and education they need to succeed in school and in life.”
Already over 400 projects and programs, known as Promising Strategies, have been implemented as an outgrowth of coalition work in early childhood communities throughout the state. Resources from The McKnight Foundation will help engage more communities throughout Minnesota to create local citizen-based plans to strengthen resources for young children and their families. Funding support will also allow current coalition communities to dig deeper in program development, reach more young children and their families through comprehensive school readiness efforts, and embed model projects in the community for long-term sustainability.
"The first five years in a child’s development can lay the groundwork for a lifetime of successes," says Kate Wolford, president of The McKnight Foundation. "Every day, we learn more about the crucial impact that early experiences have on future well-being. In partnership with the Minnesota Initiative Foundations, McKnight is pleased to continue our support for the Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative, to help communities create positive local environments for early childhood development."
West Central Initiative and the five other Minnesota Initiative Foundations serve six regions of the state outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and were created in 1986 as a partnership between The McKnight Foundation and the citizens of Greater Minnesota.
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