Celebrate Children Foundation

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Internet Access Grant Opportunity- City of Milwaukee Child Care Programs!

The Public Service Commission (Commission) of Wisconsin has awarded a grant to the Celebrate Children Foundation (CCF) to help fund internet connectivity to child care centers in the city of Milwaukee. CCF will reimburse programs for internet expenses so that programs have more money to purchase things like curriculum materials, teacher training, and healthy food for children.

CCF would like to support 70 programs with this grant with up to $50 per month. To qualify, a child care center must:

    1. Serve low-income children &/or families in Milwaukee,
    2. Participate in YoungStar, the state’s new quality rating and improvement system,
    3. Provide copies of their Internet provider receipts (in six month increments),
    4. Adhere to all grant deadlines, and
    5. Be willing to respond to a post-grant survey.

Grant applications are due to CCF by June 30, 2011. Please visit their website for more information on this opportunity, as well as application instructions.

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Goodnight Moon 2011- What a Night!

Our 2011 fundraiser and celebration, Goodnight Moon, took place on February 17 and was a huge success! We honored Jim Leonhart of Celebrate Children Foundation for all of his hard work, fundraising, and advocacy on behalf of the entire early education field in Wisconsin. Thanks to all who attended, donated, participated in our silent auction, and coordinated the event. Check out our pictures from the evening on facebook and let us know what you think!

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YoungStar has Begun- Apply now!

Applications are now available for YoungStar!
Celebrate Children Foundation, Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA), and Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) have been chosen to manage YoungStar across the state. We are ready to begin the work of supporting early education programs as they demonstrate the quality of care they offer to Wisconsin’s youngest children.

YoungStar applications are now available. Staff from WECA and Resource and Referral Agencies are ready to work with programs and statewide trainings are being planned. Apply now and don’t miss out on the following opportunities:

• Programs can choose to receive FREE, individualized technical assistance as a participant in YoungStar. Don’t wait in line for this assistance!
• Programs that receive 3 stars or higher could receive increases in Shares payments as early as July, 2011. Don’t miss out on this chance to increase your revenue!
• Programs that participate in YoungStar can request and receive FREE technical consultation and may be eligible for micro-grants for quality improvements!
• Programs that participate in YoungStar, are in regulatory compliance, and are currently accredited through approved accrediting bodies will automatically receive 4 or 5 stars!
• Parents will be able to view program ratings online on December 13th- make sure your program is visible for parents searching for care!

Application for Group Program (Part 1/ Part 2)

Application for Family Child Care Program (Part 1/ Part 2)

After you have completed your application, please submit both forms to your YoungStar regional office (find it here).

To receive the most accurate assessment, make sure:
• The Registry has all the information it needs: All family child care providers, group child care program directors, and group child care lead teachers should have current individual Registry profiles. Click here to visit The Registry for more information.
• Group child care directors have a CURRENT program profile on The Registry: Center directors can update their program profile here.

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Join Celebrate Children Foundation’s New Consortium: Receive Discounts on Expenses for Child Care!

The Celebrate Children Foundation has established a Purchasing Consortium to benefit child care programs throughout Wisconsin. The purpose of the Celebrate Children Purchasing Consortium is to provide considerable discounts on everyday expenditures like: janitorial and cleaning supplies, building and grounds maintenance, payroll processing and HR solutions, first-aid, hygiene, and personal care products, and much more!

By leveraging the combined purchasing power of the state’s early education and childcare industry, the Celebrate Children Foundation is able to offer pre-negotiated discounts exclusively to members of the Purchasing Consortium.

Additional benefits to members include:
– Free membership for all family and group child care centers in Wisconsin.
– Flexibility of selecting products and services that best meet the needs of each business.
– Advocacy for the most effective early learning systems for young children. A portion of the vendor partner profits will be donated to the Celebrate Children Foundation and its work of strengthening early learning programs throughout the state.

For more information or to complete your free enrollment, visit celebrate-children.org/consortium.

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Week of the Young Child 2010 was a Success!

This year, we kicked off the 2010 Week of the Young Child (WOYC) with a special concert event with Ella Jenkins in Milwaukee. Over 200 people were able to enjoy and interact with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner and “First Lady of the Children’s Folk Song.” Make sure to check out pictures from the event on our facebook page! The event was made possible in partnership with Milwaukee Public Library Books2Go and with generous sponsorship by Time Warner.

Midway through the WOYC, Celebrate Children Foundation hosted an online giving challenge. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this Celebrate Children Day Giving Challenge, which took place from April 14th-16th, 2010. It was a wonderful celebration of the early education field and a great way increase giving to organizations that focus on Birth to Five early learning issues in Wisconsin. This year, the first of the event, almost $21,000 was raised in celebration of young children.

What did you do to celebrate this year’s WOYC? Add your pictures to our facebook page or tell your story below. We love to hear from you!

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Celebrate Children Day Donations are Still Being Accepted!

GREAT NEWS! Generous sponsors of the Celebrate Children Day Giving Challenge have offered to extend the donation deadline to 11:59 pm on Friday, April 16th, giving you 2 MORE DAYS to join in! And, in order to help our participating organizations earn the challenge funds, the match will be provided as follows:

* When the total reaches $5,000 in donations, the pool will earn $5,000.
* After that, donations will be matched dollar for dollar up to an additional $10,000.

All monies raised will be split equally between 7 early education organizations. Show your support for high-quality early education by making a one-time donation. And don’t forget to spread the word- help support WECA and several other organizations who are dedicated to the field. A gift of just $10 helps us to meet the match requirement. Please consider giving at any amount you are able. Thank you so much for supporting Birth to Five early learning in Wisconsin!

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Get Ready to Donate Today for Celebrate Children Day!

Power up your computer and get ready for an online giving challenge sponsored by the Celebrate Children Foundation (CCF). The 24-hour web-only fundraiser begins today, April 14th at 8 am CST and runs through Thursday, April 15th at 8 am CST. Celebrate Children Day hopes to increase giving to organizations that focus on Birth to Five early learning issues in Wisconsin.

Held during the Week of the Young Child, the goal is to spread awareness and to raise as much money as possible for the following seven statewide organizations:

-Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA)

-Wisconsin Council on Children and Families

-Supporting Families Together Association

-Parents Plus, Inc.

-Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health

-Partnership for Wisconsin’s Economic Success

-Celebrate Children Foundation

All monies raised will be split equally between these organizations. Show your support for high-quality early education by making a one-time donation. And don’t forget to spread the word- help support WECA and several other organizations who are dedicated to the field.