PRINT ARTICLE

Print    Close This Window
Preschool Promise receives $100,000 from PNC Foundation
Grant will help child care programs keep serving families
Preschool Promise News
October 1, 2020

Dayton-Montgomery County Preschool Promise has received $100,000 from the PNC Foundation to support child care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will help child care providers cover unexpected costs related to the pandemic, such as health and safety supplies, to provide a safe space for children.
    
“Child care providers make it possible for employees to be on the job and for employers to successfully keep their businesses running smoothly, but the pandemic has made it difficult for centers to operate as they face unexpected costs related to health and safety regulations,” said David Melin, PNC regional president for Dayton. “We hope our grant will help these providers continue to deliver the necessary care needed to keep our economy running.”

In addition to care, these centers provide key socialization and hands-on learning to young children that often is not replicated at home, according to a recent study by the National Institute for Early Education Research, which was funded by the PNC Foundation. Such activities are critical to early development, which will better prepare children for success in school and life.

Robyn Lightcap, executive director of Preschool Promise, said, “Our community’s child care providers are immensely grateful to PNC for this generous grant. The programs are committed to being there for the many families whose jobs don’t allow them to work from home and who must be on the job site. PNC’s support is an important statement that child care professionals are valued and appreciated.”

PNC’s important funding builds on its commitment to young children in the Dayton region. Since 2010, PNC has supported Passport to Kindergarten, an initiative for Preschool teachers and their young learners’ families that promotes literacy and language skills in the classroom and at home.

“On behalf of all of our care programs, thank you to PNC for a gift that will benefit providers, young children and their families,” Lightcap said.

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.