Acre Family Child Care announced they are receiving an Early Education and Care Catalyst Gift from the Wellington Management Foundation. The three-year grant totaling $250,000 will support an additional key staff role, Child Care Specialist.
“The gift from Wellington Management Foundation comes at a crucial time. While the child care industry has been impacted over the past few years, the need for high quality early education and care remains high. The Acre Family Child Care network of Educators has grown by 18 businesses over the past two years; and as we grow as an agency, we will continue to invest in supports and resources for Educators.” shares Zelma Lyons-Khadar, Co-Executive Director.
Acre Family Child Care, founded in 1988, provides opportunities for women to achieve economic independence by operating high-quality child care businesses in their homes. Acre Family Child Care directly supports 70+ woman-owned small businesses throughout the city of Lowell who provide care to 450+ children daily. Each family child care Educator works with the Acre Family team and one-on-one with a Child Care Specialist. The Child Care Specialists conduct home visits to Educators, ensure programs are compliant with state regulations, and support training opportunities for Educators, both individually and in group meetings. This additional position reduces caseloads for the team, allowing additional time devoted to every Educator, especially those new to the field.
Lucas Skorczeski, Co-Executive Director noted, “Families across the city need child care to work. We are thrilled to build our partnership with the Wellington Management Foundation. Their investment will help us grow and strengthen our programs moving forward.”
About Wellington Management Foundation
The Wellington Management Foundation (www.wellingtonfoundation.org) was founded in 1992 in Boston, Massachusetts and supports programs and organizations that improve educational opportunities for youth from traditionally underserved and economically challenged communities. Through Annual Grants, Catalyst Gifts, and Strategic Partnerships, the Foundation supports more than 80 education-focused nonprofits in eastern Massachusetts and 10 global cities where Wellington Management has offices. Since 2020, the Foundation has also contributed more than $10 million to address the impact of COVID and remote learning on students including funds to support remote learning, to address mental health needs of both students and faculty, to add academic rigor to summer programs, and more recently to support wages and benefits and expand the pipeline for educators in the early childhood education sector.