Summary
Organization name
St. Charles Elementary & Early Childhood Initiative (ECI)
NCES ID Number
273345001475
Categories
Education, Children & Family
Address
925 Church AvenueSaint Charles, MN 55972-1429
EARLY CHILDHOOD MATTERS AND YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Thank you for your interest in donating to the St. Charles Early Childhood Initiative (ECI) group. Each donation makes a difference and every dollar will be matched by the Otto Bremer Foundation’s March Millions. The money raised through this campaign will be specifically used for purchasing curriculum and educational materials, sponsoring training attendance, and general support of daycare providers and preschools right here in St. Charles. Your donation will have a direct impact on the quality of education young children in our community receive.
St. Charles ECI is a group that aims to raise awareness of the needs, challenges, and opportunities that are present for young children and their families. In St. Charles, a local leadership team of teachers, childcare providers, early childhood educators, community officials, and parents have been working hard over the past couple years to invest in our community’s youngest citizens.
In 2012, the community of St. Charles applied for and received an Early Childhood Initiative grant from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF). SMIF-sponsored Early Childhood Initiatives have helped implement over 120 projects in Southern Minnesota, all aimed at investigating, improving, and promoting early childhood opportunities for children ages birth to 5 and their families at the local community level. We know that each dollar invested into opportunities for young children has the greatest return on investment, out of any age group for our children.
With your help and the matching funds from the Otto Bremmer Foundation’s March Millions, we look forward to continuing many of our projects and developing new opportunities for children in the near future.
ST. CHARLES ECI PROJECTS
· Welcome bags to new families in town with young children or families with newborns to increase communication between families and the community, as well as provide information about local resources.
· Placed Bookshelves, with early childhood level books, in the community. There are currently3 bookshelves at locations throughout our community, including: Olmsted Medical Center, City Hall and the Laundry Mat.
· Developing an Early Childhood Care Learning Community for in-home childcare providers, daycare center providers and early childhood educators, to purchase materials such as curriculum for providers’ use, sponsor provider training attendance, and act as general networking and educational resource for these individuals.
· Hosted a Family Fun Walk in September of 2013 and 2014, which emphasized the importance of an active lifestyle and physical fitness as well as the opportunity for families to socialize and meet other families in the community
· Organized the Family Fun Event, which brings together local businesses and local civic organizations to host activity booths for children. These booths provide fun and learning activities for children in a variety of ways – reading, music, crafts, education, exercise, & more!
· Spring Event – last year ECI sponsored a Teddy Bear Band concert, which for many children was their first concert experience. For 2015, we are currently exploring a few event possibilities and look forward to making an announcement in the next few months!
The St. Charles ECI committee greatly appreciates your donation. If you have any questions regarding ECI please contact Heather Millard, the ECI Coordinator, using the information below. You can also visit the St. Charles Early Childhood Initiative Facebook page to see more photos and updates from our group.
THANK YOU!
Media gallery
Organization Data
Saint Charles, MN 55972-1429