July 11 2024 0comment

United Way Announces Successful Parenting Initiative Grant Opportunity

Terre Haute, IN – To support new parents, United Way’s Success By 6 Impact Council is introducing the Successful Parenting Initiative. The goal of the new grant opportunity is to connect parents to community resources that will help them gain the knowledge and skills they need to promote the optimal early development, learning and health of their children. With the Successful Parenting Initiative, qualified organizations may request funds to support creative initiatives that will increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices, provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues, and increase children’s school readiness and school success.

United Way’s Success By 6 Impact Council is making available a total of $30,000 to be provided over 18 months from the grant start date. Applicants may apply for up to $10,000 for investment; however, awards exceeding $10,000 will be considered for truly innovative proposals. Through this investment, United Way hopes to foster the creation of new programs or expand existing ones that have a record of success.

From birth to age five, a child’s brain develops more rapidly than at any other time in life. And while genetics plays a significant role, scientific research makes clear that the quality of a child’s experiences in the first few years of life – positive or negative – helps shape how their brain develops. These early experiences have a lasting impact on a child’s health and ability to learn and succeed in school and in life.

The most important influences on a child’s development are their relationships with the adults in their life. Loving relationships with warm, responsive, dependable adults are essential to a child’s healthy development. Parents are their baby’s first teachers, and all parents want to do the best they can to support the healthy development of their young child. Yet parents don’t receive a “how-to” manual to guide them through the often challenging and overwhelming responsibilities in the first years of their child’s life. While resources exist to support Wabash Valley parents, often parents aren’t aware of them, or don’t know how to access them, or have other barriers that prevent them from connecting with help that can be beneficial to their young family.

Holly Curtsinger, director of ISU’s Early Childhood Education Center and co-chair of United Way’s Success By 6 stated, “Parents are their children’s first teachers. When parents are prepared with the tools and resources necessary, they create a stronger framework for long-term education attainment. This initiative helps create stronger outcomes for children, their families, and our community.”

On July 30th at 5:00pm there will be an introductory meeting to learn about the investment and the application process. Attendance is strongly encouraged for application submission. Please RSVP to Dorothy Chambers at phone 812.235.6287 or by email [email protected]. The online application can be accessed on United Way of the Wabash’s Valley’s website and will close on September 30th at 4:00pm. For more information and to apply visit uwwv.org/funding.

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