GIVE BACK-pack Initiative
About the Program:
Courage for Kids launched its GIVE BACK-pack Initiative in 2010, and sent all the children who graduated from Bright Beginnings to Kindergarten with a back pack filled with books and school supplies. In 2011, Courage for Kids expanded the initiative to cover children in early childhood education programs at Bright Beginnings and CentroNia. Upon graduation, each at-risk child received a backpack filled with school supplies to take with them as they start Kindergarten.
About Bright Beginning Child Development Center:
Bright Beginnings serves about 186 children annually whose families are living in crisis shelters or transitional housing. Bright Beginnings, Inc. was established in 1991 by the Junior League of Washington, who identified a critical need for quality childcare among homeless families in Washington, D.C. Since then, Bright Beginnings have met the needs of over 1,500 homeless children by providing families with childcare and on-site therapeutic and family support services. In 2005, Bright Beginnings launched its Early Learning Evening Care Program that is open to all working families in need of safe, reliable evening care.
Bright Beginnings is dedicated to meeting the immediate needs of children and families living in homeless environments and was established to:
- Provide children with a safe, nurturing educational environment,
- Prepare children to enter kindergarten ready to learn,
- and Support homeless parents to stabilize their home lives and become self-sufficient.
About CentroNia Early Childhood
CentroNía is a nationally recognized, multicultural learning community with a pioneering approach to bilingual education. They offer a welcoming environment that encourages intellectual adventure and provides guidance each step of the way for children and families to achieve their goals. Their full-day program for children from birth through age 5 lays the foundation for school readiness by working to develop the whole child in a dual-language environment. On any given day a child will learn through music, movement, gardening, technology and the visual arts.
They are also committed to supporting parents in their roles as their children’s first, and most important, teachers. They are committed to the highest quality of education and are proud to be accredited by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Maryland State Department of Education.
