Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund receives requests for more than $1.5 million from North Carolina child care programs

Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund receives requests for more than $1.5 million from North Carolina child care programs

North Carolina child care programs received more than $135,000 in grants from the Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund Phase II.

Chapel Hill, N.C., October 19, 2020: More than $1.5 million. That is the amount nearly 600 child care programs in North Carolina requested from Phase II of the Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund. As the only relief fund in North Carolina specifically designated for child care programs, the Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund granted more than $135,000 in its second phase of funding.

The Relief Fund supports the immediate and long-term needs of child care programs as they serve children of families returning to work, as well as essential workers on the front lines. Phase II of the Relief Fund shows that child care needs our support more now than ever to survive the pandemic. Child care requires investment, time, attention and creativity to get through this crisis and help our state and its economy get back on its feet.

“While many North Carolina businesses have re-opened, the needs we saw from child care providers in Phase II emphasize that the situation on the ground for child care programs hasn’t changed for the better,” said Marsha Basloe, president of Early Years. “The supply of child care depends on a stable and qualified child care workforce, and parents returning to work outside of their homes need access to child care.”

Basloe said, “We are grateful to our donors that supported the Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund, allowing us to support child care programs and the early childhood workforce across the state that care for children every day. It is not enough. We must all continue to raise our voices to advocate for high quality early care and education and the local, state and federal investments necessary to do so.”

Early Years has always played a role in helping child care programs provide the highest quality early learning experience for our state’s youngest children. Phase II of the Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund provided grants to child care programs to support their operating and staffing needs as they care for and educate our most vulnerable children.

The Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund has given more than $260,000 in grants to child care programs in North Carolina. These funds were made possible by contributions from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, the PNC Foundation, Truist Charitable Fund, the ChildTrust Foundation and many private donations made to the Early Years COVID-19 Relief Fund.

More information about the Relief Fund can be found at www.childcareservices.org/ccsa-covid-19-relief-fund.

Early Years
Founded in 1974, the mission of Early Years is to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for all young children and their families. Using a holistic approach, Early Years supports children and families, helps child care professionals improve the quality of early education children receive and ensures all families can afford and access the high-quality early care and education that is so important for a child’s early development. With spoonFULL, Early Years also provides nutritious meals to children at child care centers, where they may eat 50-100 percent of their meals. Our TEACH Early Childhood®, Child Care WAGE$® and Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$ Plus® programs give child care professionals the means to obtain an education and supplement their salary based on that education. Early Years also licenses TEACH and WAGE$ across the U.S. and conducts early childhood systems research and policy development statewide and nationally. For more information, visit www.childcareservices.org.

-end-