Donate
The Starting Point Annual Fund is on! Please donate. Here are some of the reasons why:
Quality child care and early education matter–to all of
us. They matter to the future of our children. They matter
to the stability, health and well-being of our communities and citizens.
Today, a majority (over 60 percent) of children under age six have all
their parents working outside the home. Studies have shown that the
early care children receive has lasting effects on their later life–on
how they develop, learn, deal with stress and handle their emotions:
• 90% of a child's brain is developed by age 5. The brains of
young children actually grow when they get good nutrition, surroundings,
care, stimulation and teaching.
• 1/3 of the academic skills children have at age 18 develops
between birth and age 4.
• 130,000 Ohio children entering kindergarten are unprepared.
Children who enter school ready to learn are more likely to graduate
from high school and go on to college.
• 70% of law enforcement officers and prosecutors say early education
programs are the most effective strategies for reducing youth crime
and violence.
Click below to make an online donation to Starting Point:
To submit Board Pledge Form click here
Starting Point for Child Care and Early Education helps Northeast Ohio children get the best possible start through quality child care and early education programs and by making this care affordable and accessible. It is our area's child care resource and referral agency, serving families, early childhood professionals and communities in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties. Formed in 1990 to address the escalating demand for child care, Starting Point's mission has grown with the recognition of the importance of a child's early years to later success. Today, the agency works to: • connect families with child care and early education options,
through its Parent Hotline, online search, Good Child Care Book, Daily
Parent and consumer education;
• increase the supply of and improve access to child care and
early education programs through recruitment of family child care professionals,
workshops, scholarships for families in need and grants/loans for development
of new and improved facilities;
• improve the quality of early care/education through training,
consultation, site visits, credentialing, accreditation and linkages
to State of Ohio and county programs;
• stimulate early education alternatives, including special needs
child care, teacher education subsidies and career education;
• alert public and private communities to social, cultural, political
and economic challenges to quality child care/early learning and advocate
for needed legislation.
As the demand for quality child care and early education has grown–and
as Starting Point has initiated new and more comprehensive quality enhancement
initiatives–the need for additional sources of financial support
also has grown.
The Starting Point Annual Fund Drive. Your contribution will:
• expand the scholarships that allow children in need to receive
quality early education,
• expand and improve physical facilities to ensure healthy, safe
environments for early care and learning; and
• increase consumer awareness of and access to quality child care/leaning
environments.
Addressing these needs is key to ensuring a bright future for our children
and for Northeast Ohio. For our communities to thrive, we must nurture
our youngest children physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually
by ensuring they have access to high quality programs.
Please give. Please make a generous contribution to
the Starting Point Annual Fund Drive. Quality early care and education
will lift the lives of countless youngsters and lead them to later success.
That, in turn, helps create healthier communities, fewer people in poverty
and a renewed vitality for our region. Every $1 invested in early childhood
education yields a $7 return.
Your gift will be a starting point toward a better future for all of
us.
