The Jim Moran Foundation Awards Fuller Center Grant to Secure Future for Affordable Community Child Care and Early Education
Boca Raton, FL —The Jim Moran Foundation recently awarded a two-year grant totaling $90,000 in support of the Child Care & Early Education Workforce Development Initiative at the Fuller Center.
The Workforce Development Initiative was created by Fuller Center to increase the low number of early education professionals as the demand for child care rises – a problem widely reported as the “national child care crisis.” The Jim Moran Foundation’s support is a recognition of the positive impact of this program in providing a career pathway for early learning educators in the South Palm Beach County area. The Initiative will prepare passionate individuals to pursue rewarding careers in early education by recruiting from trusted schools and partner agencies, providing individuals the opportunity to learn hands-on in the classroom with the guidance of an assigned teacher mentor, and supporting them as they earn their credentials.
“Quality, affordable child care and early education are becoming nearly impossible to find, because it’s become nearly impossible to make a living as a child care and early education professional,” said Ellyn Okrent, CEO of Fuller Center. “This hurts not only the children and their families, but also our economy by removing countless hardworking parents from the workforce and sending them back into the home – and for many, back into poverty. This makes The Jim Moran Foundation’s investment in the Workforce Development Initiative especially impactful. We all have a stake in ensuring the future of child care and early education. Tomorrow begins today.”
The Jim Moran Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the youth and families of Florida through the support of innovative programs and opportunities that meet the ever-changing needs of the community. The Foundation has invested more than $230 million in education, elder care, family strengthening, and youth transitional living initiatives since its inception in 2000, with efforts currently focused in Broward, Palm Beach, and Duval counties.
About the Fuller Center
For more than 50 years, Fuller Center’s mission has been to embrace, educate, and empower hardworking, under-resourced families and children to achieve their full potential. We build a positive future through education for more than 900 children (infants through teens) who we serve annually, as well as 600 of their family members. Fuller Center reaches families in more than 40 zip codes throughout Palm Beach County, as well as North Broward County.
Most Fuller Center parents are the essential, frontline, and service industry workers keeping our local economy alive and ensuring a healthy and vibrant community for us all. They deserve the peace of mind of a safe and enriching place for their children while they work.
Fuller Center empowers children to succeed in school and in life through educational programs (including infant care, preschool, afterschool complete with transportation from select schools, non-school day care, summer camp, a private K-3rd elementary, and teen leadership), as well as their hardworking families through comprehensive support services, so they may all be positive contributors of our community. Fuller Center also offers mentoring programs, adult on-the-job training, and internship opportunities for local college and university students. We serve more than 1,400 nutritious meals and snacks daily.
East Campus: 200 NE 14th Street, Boca Raton
West Campus: 10130 185th Street South, Boca Raton
Website: www.fullercenterfl.org
