Opportunity gaps start early for children living in poverty. A child who enters kindergarten unprepared is 25% more likely NOT to finish high school and 60% more likely to skip college. With only half of children
in Idaho entering kindergarten prepared, we have work to do. Of those unprepared at least half are living in low to moderate income families without access to quality early care and education.
This coming school year Giraffe Laugh will open a center in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club in Kuna to serve up to 66 more children. This will allow us to serve more families in Kuna with young children while the Boys and Girls Club will provide school age care, meaning wrap around services for families from birth through teens.
Additionally, we are building a center at Franklin and Orchard at the affordable housing complex, The Franklin. We will be able to serve up to 80 children there annually. Our impact is doubling this year as our waiting list has blossomed to over 600 children in the last year. Every child and family on that list deserves quality care and education, so it is our intent to provide as much as we are able, to as many folks as possible.
It is our aim to move the dial for all children, especially those underserved in our community and to ensure school readiness for future students that might not otherwise thrive without a program like this. In the past 34 years we’ve graduated over 100 preschoolers who are ready, prepared and excited to take on the academic world. We are proud of our accomplishments there and our presence in an area that needs our services to provide equitable, quality care and education to young children.
If you would like to support these expansion projects, please reach out to Cassandra or Lori and let us know how you’d like to become involved in transforming lives for generational change.
July is about freedom and we are thrilled to provide our children the freedom to gain the knowledge they need, the emotional support that is critical, and family support that will launch them into a brighter future.
Enjoy your holiday and thank you for supporting freedom through education.