United Way of Greater Atlanta Answer Atlanta Mayor’s Challenge with $4.5 Million Investment in Early Education
Whitehead Foundation and United Way of Greater Atlanta Answer Atlanta Mayor’s Challenge with a $4.5 Million Investment in Early Education ATLANTA – At his first State of the City address, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pledged $5 million of City funds toward a $20 million goal for early education. He also called fellow Atlantans to action. Today, the United Way … Continued The post United Way of Greater Atlanta Answer Atlanta Mayor’s Challenge with $4.5 Million Investment in Early Education appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.
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Whitehead Foundation and United Way of Greater Atlanta Answer Atlanta Mayor’s Challenge with a $4.5 Million Investment in Early Education
ATLANTA – At his first State of the City address, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pledged $5 million of City funds toward a $20 million goal for early education. He also called fellow Atlantans to action. Today, the United Way of Greater Atlanta and the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation are answering that call as the first funders, committing $4.5 million toward the Mayor’s early learning initiative.
“My goal is to make Atlanta the best place in the country to raise a family, but I cannot do it alone,” said Mayor Dickens. “I am looking for partners that can help move Atlanta forward, together. I am grateful that the Whitehead Foundation and United Way of Greater Atlanta are locking arms with us to invest in early education, particularly in areas of our city that have too long lacked this critical investment. I invite other funders to join our cause.”
Mayor Dickens’ commitment of $5 million is the City’s first-ever direct support of early childhood education.
“The Whitehead Foundation has made high quality early education a priority,” said Foundation President P. Russell Hardin. “We are pleased our Mayor also believes in the paramount importance of early education. The data is clear that wise investment in literacy and early education pays long term dividends for children and our community.”
The initiative will be coordinated by PAACT: Promise All Atlanta Children Thrive, a GEEARS initiative. The Mayor’s plan calls for funds to be used to:
- Invest in the infrastructure of early childhood education facilities and programming;
- Provide funding for early childhood education teachers; and
- Provide scholarships to families to improve access.
PAACT plans to deploy funds in collaboration with a wide array of partners, including Quality Care for Children, Reinvestment Fund, Early Learning Property Management (ELPM), Low Income Investment Fund, and Rollins Center’s Literacy and Justice for All Initiative in partnership with Sheltering Arms and YMCA. Brittany Collins, GEEARS’ PAACT Director, provides leadership for the effort.
“Early Learning is a foundational component of every strong community,” said Mindy Binderman, Executive Director of GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students. “This funding will allow us to increase and accelerate PAACT’s impact in neighborhoods all over Atlanta. We’re grateful for the Whitehead Foundation’s leadership in making this significant commitment to Atlanta’s youngest students.
Mayor Dickens and the PAACT partners are thrilled to have the support of United Way of Greater Atlanta and the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation. Together, these organizations will ensure that the funds work hard and work smart for Atlanta’s neighborhoods and families.
“The organizations that will partner with us in deploying these funds have what it takes to drive real change — both community connections and astute implementation,” said Milton J. Little, Jr., President & CEO at United Way of Greater Atlanta, “We look forward to working with these partners to make lasting change in our city.”
Organizations interested in making their own contributions to early education should contact Mindy Binderman at mbinderman@geears.org.
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