“Lets Grow. Every Child. Every
Chance. provides us with an
opportunity to give kids the right
start, but the community needs to
work together to make that happen.”
-Ed Vogel , Chair
United Way Community Impact Cabinet
Investing in early childhood
education improves lives and
improves communities. That’s why United Way of Central Florida is launching a new 5-7 year Community Early Literacy Initiative: Let's Grow. Every Child. Every Chance.
This initiative’s goal is bold and clear: to eliminate the gap in early childhood literacy between children from low income and middle/high income levels.
Why Early Literacy Matters
Early childhood education is a business issue.
Ignoring the needs of our youngest citizens is
a threat to the well being of our community.
• 38% of the children entering Polk
County kindergartens in 2007
lacked the language skills they
need to succeed in school.
• 30% of the work force in Polk
County does not have a high
school diploma.
• Children with weak language skills
cannot learn to read words they cannot
speak.
• Academic success is built on the
foundation of skills learned from birth to
5 years of age.
• Florida’s drop out rate is among the worst
in the nation.
• Each drop out represents a lifetime of loss
earnings of roughly $303,000.
Initiative in Action
Three pilot sites have been chosen
in Polk County based on their concentration of low-income
families, high population of students
falling short on language proficiency tests and community support.
The three sites are:
Fort Meade
Lake Wales
Crystal Lake
86% of children who failed school readiness screenings in our pilot sites came from low income families.
Let’s Grow’s pilot sites will address
four research-based best practices:
• access to healthcare
• family involvement
• community awareness
• quality childcare
A variety of strategies, specific to
the needs in each community, will
combine to meet annual
benchmarks in each pilot area.
How Can I Help?
There are a variety of ways to support Let's Grow. Right here in Polk County,
business, government, faithbased,
and non-profit groups
working together can close the
gap in early literacy between
children from low income and
middle/high income levels.
• Sponsor children for Dolly Parton Imagination Library. For an investment of $3,000, a business can sponsor 100 children. The Dolly Parton's Imagination Library sends a book a month to children from birth to 5 years of age.
• Sponsor a Parent Lending Library in a childcare center, family childcare home or the common area of a business for your own employees. Contact Coleen Pizzuti for more information.
• Sponsor a literacy event like a family night, parent education series, reading or health fair.
• Buy an ad in the Parent Resource Guide. This publication, geared at helping parents, is published four times a year with a distribution of close to 300,000 annually. Contact Jodi Tucker for more information.
• Link your website to early literacy websites. United Way's bornlearning.org is a great one to start with.
• Provide early literacy information in company newsletters. You can get great content by visiting bornlearning.org.
For more information about Let's Grow. Every Child. Every Chance. contact Penny Borgia at
United Way of Central Florida
863.648.1500 ext. 275.
