IN WAKE OF HURRICANE IRMA, SAVE THE CHILDREN PROVIDES GRANT TO EARLY LEARNING COALITION OF MIAMI-DADE/MONROE TO SUPPORT IMPACTED CHILDCARE PROVIDERS

Organizations will Work Together to Restore Early Learning Programs Serving Low-Income Families in the Florida Keys, Miami-Dade Area

Miami, FL. – As the South Florida community continues to recover from Hurricane Irma, child care programs, a crucial support for working parents, are still struggling to re-open or operate at full capacity. Several early learning programs in the Middle Keys, hit especially hard by the Category 5 storm were destroyed. Other providers across Monroe and Miami-Dade sustained damages such as flooding, broken roofs, destroyed playgrounds, and broken fences that have hindered normal operation. The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe (ELC) is partnering with Save the Children to help restore child care programs in both counties, ensuring young children most impacted can begin to recover and get back to learning.

“This joint effort will go a long way toward closing the current gap that exists in families’ access to childcare in both counties,” said Evelio Torres, President and CEO of the Early Learning Coalition Miami-Dade/Monroe. “With the generous support of Save the Children, we can get more childcare programs operating fully and get back to providing quality early education to the children in our communities.”

Through a generous grant, ELC and Save the Children will assess childcare providers’ needs, including the facilities and their employees’ loss of food, and offer funds to restore damages suffered as a result of Hurricane Irma.

“Save the Children has helped support restoration of child care and early education programs in Texas following Hurricane Harvey and in New Jersey and New York in 2012 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,” said Jeanne-Aimée De Marrais, Senior Director of U.S. Emergencies for Save the Children. “We look forward to partnering with the Early Learning Coalition to serve low-income families and children across South Florida. Our Emergency Response team has been on the ground since early September and we know how detrimental it is for children to be out of their normal routine. We’re very honored to work closely with ELC to help child care centers and early learning programs get back up and running to help ensure the South Florida economy rebounds. When children are out of child care, parents are out of work and communities suffer as a result.”

The organizations will provide trainings to 200 childcare providers serving newborns to three year olds to offer counsel for young children dealing with post-storm emotional and social trauma. This partnership will run until the end of 2017 and encompass long-term recovery working groups focused on children, particularly early education recovery.

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About the Early Learning Coalition of Miami‐Dade/Monroe:

The Early Learning Coalition of Miami‐Dade/Monroe is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that children in Miami‐Dade and Monroe counties have an opportunity to receive high‐quality early education. The organization was established following the enactment of the 1999 School Readiness Act. The Early Learning Coalition supports the school readiness of more than 50,000 children ages birth to 12 years old through a variety of innovative prekindergarten and early learning programs, while also encouraging parental involvement in the quest for educational success. Through a community‐based, collaborative approach, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami‐ Dade/Monroe is committed to promoting early learning, advocating for better public policies on behalf of children, and preparing every child for success in both school and life.

Save the Children

Save the Children gives children in the United States and around the world a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We invest in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.