July 14, 2010

Young children are amazing! They are so eager to learn. If given a positive environment with caring adults to help them along life’s path, they will absorb so much in so little time and be well on their way to a lifetime of success and becoming a positive influence within our community.

I know that early childhood experiences make a real difference: whether at home, in child care or in preschool. Child Start’s expertise is helping create the environments and experiences that promote healthy early brain development -- the foundation for all of the development and behavior that follows.

As the Chair of the Child Start Board of Directors, I am confident that a charitable donation to Child Start is an excellent investment. Will you join me in making a generous contribution to move Child Start forward? Like me, you can give with the confidence that your investment in Child Start impacts the long term future of our community.

This is not a claim I make lightly. Decades of research show that high quality preschool can break the cycle of poverty. We also have research showing that home visiting services are very effective for helping parents support their children’s optimal development. This year, we have fresh research published in the journal Child Development showing that high-quality child care in the first five years can actually close the academic achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers.

However, I am dismayed that Child Start’s home visiting program only reaches 4% of eligible families; that so many child care settings are lacking; and that the waiting list for our preschool program has topped 800. We can do so much more, but we need your help. Together, we can expand Child Start’s capacity to make a difference for young children at home, in child care, and in preschool. Child Start needs contributions from community members like you in order to reach the children that need it most.

Child Start is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and your contribution is tax-deductible.

Thank you for considering a gift to Child Start to meet the needs of the young children in our community now so that we can be confident that our community will be enriched in the future.

Sincerely,

Kathy Clark, Chair
Child Start Board of Directors

P.S. Child Start now accepts pledge installments so that you can spread your gift out over the year.