Art supplies have been purchased for every child care center, family child care home and part-day program in Ada with the money raised in Project Invest's first fundraiser, the Christmas Tour of Homes last December.
Laura Spivey (left) and Trish Little of East Central University's Project Invest, are shown with art supplies purchased for area child care programs. The funds for the supplies were raised through the Christmas Tour of Homes last December in Ada.
"Since the money for the supplies came from the fundraiser, these items are truly a gift from the community," said Cheryl Bell, coordinator for East Central University's Child Care Resource & Referral Agency.
Project Invest, a program of ECU's CCR&R Agency and Smart Start South Central, is designed to enhance learning opportunities for Ada's youngest children through business and community support of local child care programs.
In addition to the art supplies, Smart Start South Central purchased activity books with art ideas specifically for toddlers and young preschoolers.
"Art for young children should be about exploration and allowing children to create and see what happens when they do certain things," Bell said. "Many times the cost prohibits child care programs from providing these opportunities for children. We are happy the community understands the important work our child care programs do and is willing to support them by providing opportunities for additional learning experiences."
As a result of Project Invest's book drive last fall, more than 1,000 new and gently used children's books were donated to the child care programs. Area businesses also allowed employees to take time off from work to be volunteer readers in local programs.
For more information on Project Invest, contact Cheryl Bell or Laura Spivey at 559-5873, Trish Little at 559-5367 or Cindy Byrd at 559-5872.
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