News
Qwest grants benefiting local childcare providers
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By Karen Walenga
Seven area providers of childcare services are recipients of grants from the Qwest Foundation.
Shepherd’s Fold Preschool and Day Care on North La Canada Drive was awarded a signature grant of $10,000 for outdoor playground improvements.
Sahuarita home-care providers earning mini-grants are Kiralee Mir ($4,950.97), Carmen Carrillo ($2,053.80) and Lourdes Uzarraga ($4,903.90).
Childcare centers receiving Qwest mini-grants include the Sahuarita LINK program ($1,125.70), Continental School’s preschool program ($5,000) and Sahuarita Unified School District’s Early Childhood Center ($4,723.48).
“We are very excited Qwest has shared this money,” said Mary Lamm, chief operations officer for Tucson-based Child and Family Resources, which applied to the Qwest Foundation for these educational funds.
Qwest pledged a total of $50,000 to enhance the quality of childcare programs, especially for school-aged youth and school readiness, Lamm said. Of that total, Sahuarita/Green Valley programs were eligible for $38,000.
Funds were designated to improve the quality and developmental-appropriateness in five areas: play equipment, toys and furniture, health and safety supplies, professional resources, and supplies for activities, Lamm said.
“Most are using the funds for supplies like outdoor play equipment, indoor toys, books, cabinets, shelves, car seats, trikes, push carts and strollers,” says Child and Family Resources’ Leah Eckley, program director for Child Care Resource and Referral.
“To a small center that’s nonprofit, it’s a blessing. We are just thrilled,” says Debbie Palmer, director of Shepherd’s Fold, a Christian preschool sponsored by the Green Valley Baptist Church.
This preschool and day care serves ages 12 months to pre-kindergarten for families from Sahuarita to Rio Rico, Palmer says.
Shepherd’s Fold will use the Qwest grant to improve its playground with a drinking fountain, a wash tub for arts and crafts projects, additional shade on the playground, more sand surfacing and, if the funds allow, more playground equipment, Palmer says.
SUSD’s Early Childhood Center on Calle de las Tiendas in Green Valley will use its Qwest grant for school equipment, more than half of it going for the center’s special-needs students, says Director Carol Webb.
Purchases will include an inflatable rock and relaxation mat, balance beams, massage balls, several light tables, prism cubes, and five sets of big books for group readings, Webb says.
kwalenga@gvnews.com | 547-9739
Shepherd’s Fold Preschool and Day Care on North La Canada Drive was awarded a signature grant of $10,000 for outdoor playground improvements.
Sahuarita home-care providers earning mini-grants are Kiralee Mir ($4,950.97), Carmen Carrillo ($2,053.80) and Lourdes Uzarraga ($4,903.90).
Childcare centers receiving Qwest mini-grants include the Sahuarita LINK program ($1,125.70), Continental School’s preschool program ($5,000) and Sahuarita Unified School District’s Early Childhood Center ($4,723.48).
“We are very excited Qwest has shared this money,” said Mary Lamm, chief operations officer for Tucson-based Child and Family Resources, which applied to the Qwest Foundation for these educational funds.
Qwest pledged a total of $50,000 to enhance the quality of childcare programs, especially for school-aged youth and school readiness, Lamm said. Of that total, Sahuarita/Green Valley programs were eligible for $38,000.
Funds were designated to improve the quality and developmental-appropriateness in five areas: play equipment, toys and furniture, health and safety supplies, professional resources, and supplies for activities, Lamm said.
“Most are using the funds for supplies like outdoor play equipment, indoor toys, books, cabinets, shelves, car seats, trikes, push carts and strollers,” says Child and Family Resources’ Leah Eckley, program director for Child Care Resource and Referral.
“To a small center that’s nonprofit, it’s a blessing. We are just thrilled,” says Debbie Palmer, director of Shepherd’s Fold, a Christian preschool sponsored by the Green Valley Baptist Church.
This preschool and day care serves ages 12 months to pre-kindergarten for families from Sahuarita to Rio Rico, Palmer says.
Shepherd’s Fold will use the Qwest grant to improve its playground with a drinking fountain, a wash tub for arts and crafts projects, additional shade on the playground, more sand surfacing and, if the funds allow, more playground equipment, Palmer says.
SUSD’s Early Childhood Center on Calle de las Tiendas in Green Valley will use its Qwest grant for school equipment, more than half of it going for the center’s special-needs students, says Director Carol Webb.
Purchases will include an inflatable rock and relaxation mat, balance beams, massage balls, several light tables, prism cubes, and five sets of big books for group readings, Webb says.
kwalenga@gvnews.com | 547-9739
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