The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) has announced the organizations identified to lead coordination of essential childcare and early education services in Virginia’s nine Ready Regions. Following a rigorous competitive process that included assessment of applications by external reviewers, VECF selected United Way of Greater Charlottesville to continue serving as the lead for Ready Region Blue Ridge. Launched in 2022, Ready Regions is a transformative statewide network bringing unprecedented levels of coordination and accountability to early education programs in every community across the Commonwealth. United Way of Greater Charlottesville has led Ready Region Blue Ridge since its launch.
“We’re proud to partner with the Virginia Department of Education, continuing to strengthen Virginia’s nation-leading, public-private early childhood care and education system,” said Kathy Glazer, President of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. “Each Ready Region lead agency demonstrated readiness and a deep commitment to leading their region’s early childhood progress. We look forward to working collaboratively with the regional lead agencies so Virginia families and children can thrive.”
United Way of Greater Charlottesville will continue to provide strategic leadership for early childhood care and education services in 21 cities and counties in the Blue Ridge region, assuring full implementation of a set of core responsibilities that strengthen program quality, increase access to services, and ensure family voice shapes early childhood services, as well as convening public and private partners to collaborate on strengthening Virginia’s early childhood systems.
Currently, there is a gap of more than 8,000 childcare slots in the Blue Ridge region, making it challenging for many families to maintain financial stability and set their child(ren) up for success in school and life. As the lead of Ready Region Blue Ridge, United Way of Greater Charlottesville has been able to address this substantial shortfall by supporting the growth of new and existing early learning and childcare centers, among other initiatives.
Ravi Cooper, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Charlottesville, explained how being a part of Ready Regions supports their work in childcare and early education, as well as their overall mission: “Our goal with each initiative we oversee at United Way of Greater Charlottesville is to help all families in our area thrive. Being able to continue serving as lead of Ready Region Blue Ridge and collaborate with likeminded partner organizations helps us work towards making that a reality.”
Read more about United Way of Greater Charlottesville’s impact here.