OWATONNA, MN, February 28, 2022 – Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), recently approved 17 grants through its Early Care and Education Wrap Around Grant program totaling $220,818, impacting 3,562 young children. This special grant program helps fund early care and education wrap around services for children birth to age eight from underserved and diverse populations in SMIF’s 20-county region.
SMIF received funding from MDE on behalf of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund for this program. The GEER Fund provides emergency assistance for education agencies and services that have been impacted by the pandemic. Wrap around services, a system of care management which supports children in all aspects of life, are one of many education services that the GEER Fund supports. As a leader for more than three decades in the early childhood field, SMIF was awarded this funding in order to disperse grants to organizations in SMIF’s region. Since 2021, SMIF has awarded 45 organizations a total of $590,818 through this program.
The 2022 Early Care and Education Wrap Around Grant award recipients are:
•$4,405 to Austin Public Schools – Kids Korner to provide supports and services for children’s social, emotional and physical health.
•$14,500 to Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (Mankato) to enable children to access resources, expand reach for parent education and outreach to educators and family child care providers.
•$19,963 to Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center (Lanesboro) to expand their training and development to effectively operate and address the needs of preschoolers.
•$20,000 to Jeremiah Program (Rochester) to increase access to high-quality early childhood education for children of low-income single mothers and underserved populations.
•$17,000 to Kasson-Mantorville Schools to effectively reach the growing need for additional mental health support for children and their families.
•$7,450 to Kenyon-Wanamingo Schools Community Education for wrap around programming to accommodate three-year-olds with a focus on social emotional skills.
•$20,000 to Le Sueur-Henderson Public Schools to bring a children’s museum-like experience to all families in the community that can be experienced through their wrap around and early childhood programs.
•$10,000 to Listos Preschool and Childcare (Rochester) to connect social-emotional curriculum and support in English and Spanish to homes through family education.
•$4,000 to Little Blue Jays Daycare (Caledonia) for wrap around services for preschool children.
•$20,000 to Mankato Area Public Schools to establish wrap around programming at a central location and to expand services to diverse community members.
•$10,000 to New Foundations Saint Peter to collaborate and increase year-round, nature-based, play-based learning opportunities and experiences for children ages birth to eight years.
•$10,000 to Northfield Public Schools Community Education to maintain the operation of and continuity of services for early care.
•$10,000 to Red Cottage Montessori School (Red Wing) to train and develop self-regulation, social skills and pre-academic skills for all children.
•$10,000 to Spring Grove Public School to align and create partnerships between early childhood entities to create smoother transitions and support all children and families in early learning and development.
•$10,000 to St. Charles Public Schools to train and develop a literacy program for students, teachers and families.
•$13,500 to Wellcome Manor Family Services (Garden City) to educate mothers on positive parenting for children who have experienced trauma and to give those children healthy social emotional skill-building.
•$20,000 to YWCA Mankato for the New American Families program to eliminate barriers using a curriculum that promotes parent-child interaction, child development and family well-being in a home visiting model.
“These organizations are providing critical services to the young children in southern Minnesota,” said Rae Jean Hansen, vice president of early childhood at SMIF. “We are honored to once again partner with MDE and the GEER Fund to support the children and families who rely on these organizations for their overall well-being.”
In addition to the grants, hundreds of early learning books were distributed to many of these organizations, thanks to a partnership with ABDO Publishing.
About Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), a donor-supported foundation, invests for economic growth in the 20 counties of south central and southeastern Minnesota. The Foundation has provided more than $136 million in grants, loans and programming within the region during the past 36 years. SMIF’s key interests include economic and early childhood development and community vitality. To learn more about our work and mission, visit www.smifoundation.org.