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“Reading with children early turns them into life-long learners – it’s a great way to engage their brains and help children develop.” – Dr. Alison Bentley, Program Coordinator, Success By 6. The holiday season is an important time for families: children come home for the holidays, brothers and sisters exchange gifts, and generations celebrate together. Since it is the season of gift-giving, we asked our Success By 6 team of early childhood experts what books they would recommend as gifts for young children and young parents. These books can be a great gift for friends or a fun activity for you and your little ones. Books for Children Bear Snores On by Wilson Karma The whole Bear series is great, but this gem takes place in winter – a perfect match for holiday reading! Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson (also Room on the Broom and The Snail and the Whale) These books are beautifully illustrated, introduce children to many different animals and use a wide range of vocabulary and rhyming words. Over in the Meadow by Olive A. Wadsworth This book uses rhyming verses to introduce a variety of animals, their young and the numbers one through ten. Dinner at the Panda Palace by Stephanie Calmenson This book includes rhyming verses, a variety of animals and the numbers one through ten. That’s What Friends Are For by Florence Parry Heide and Sylvia Van Clief This is a wonderful story about friendship. From Head To Toe by Eric […]

More than two dozen faith leaders joined United Way for Greater Austin’s Success By 6 team to learn more about investing in our community’s youngest members. UWATX research shows that 30 percent of full-time nonprofit child care centers and 80 percent of part-time centers are affiliated with a religious organization. Beyond these, UWATX also wanted to reach families who weren’t already accessing services. “Reaching vulnerable children before they enter school is a significant challenge for our community, particularly because many parents do not access child care and rely on family, friends or neighbors.” said Sue Carpenter, Sr. Director of Success By 6. “The faith community is a valuable entry point to support those families. More than that, many churches provide services for young kids – from Sunday School to Vacation Bible School – so they have the opportunity to really change lives.” Debbie Bressette, President of UWATX, welcomed everyone and Sam Bryant, member of Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, lead the program with a non-denominational prayer. Leah Meunier, early childhood expert and Manager of Donor Engagement at UWATX, shared the need in our community and Ellen Jockusch, St. James’ Episcopal School, and Rudi Andrus, Mainspring Schools, spoke about the opportunities available for faith leaders to make a difference. The event was the beginning of a longer effort to engage the faith community in the ongoing conversation about supporting young children. As an easy first step, UWATX distributed Born Learning materials, research-based tools for parents in English and Spanish, that leaders could take […]

$41,000 Total value of WhiteGlove Health services provided through partnership with UWATX United Way for Greater Austin’s Success By 6 program has helped more than 240 children, parents and early childhood educators receive more than $41,000 of medical care over the past year, thanks to a generous partnership with WhiteGlove Health. Five child care centers have taken advantage of the on-site low- or no-cost services for staff and clients, including free flu shots. The project is designed to reduce barriers, including time and transportation, so families can more easily obtain quality health care. “Families that might otherwise not have the resources to obtain medical help are not only receiving high quality care but in a timely manner,” said Anthony Pyatt, Administrative Director at Mainspring School. According to UWATX research released in August, only 54.8% of child care centers provide full or partially paid insurance for employees. The partnership with WhiteGlove Health helps fill the health care gap for many teachers. Teachers are now able to be treated immediately at their home or on-site reducing their need to find substitutes due to illness. “We are proud to partner with WhiteGlove Health on this initiative – it’s an innovative way for a company to use their business model to serve the community, truly a win-win,” said Sue Carpenter, Sr. Director of Success By 6. “Thanks to our work together, we are bringing valuable health services to young children, their teachers and their parents.”