Fox Valley United Way’s SPARK Program has recently received a grant of $ 8,000 from the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley. SPARK, which stands for Strong, Prepared And Ready for Kindergarten, is a community collaboration that promotes equal access to exemplary early childhood care and education for all of Aurora’s children.

The grant from Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley will provide funds essential for printing SPARK’s 2016 Early Childhood Calendars and Parent Resource Guides. Ten thousand Aurora families will receive these materials that are distributed in partnership with the Aurora Public Library.

The SPARK guide and calendar provide parents with timely, easy-to-access, bilingual information that helps promote kindergarten readiness—those skills and abilities which have proven critical for success in school and beyond. Specifically, the calendar offers ideas for parents to promote early learning activities at home.

The guide helps parents:

• Choose a quality childcare and/or preschool program
• Learn which common skills indicate readiness for kindergarten
• Understand developmental milestones and know when to get recommended screenings
• Know how to register for kindergarten and provides contact information for area school districts
• Discover other community resources that foster family health and parent/child activities.

“Without the assistance of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley as a major sponsor, we would not have the funds to provide these essential resources for families, many of whom need a great deal of information and support to make sure their child is ready for kindergarten,” says Trish Rooney, SPARK director. “Studies have shown that children need strong families, good early learning experiences — especially in the early years — and good health and supportive communities to succeed

“The Community Foundation is able to award charitable grants to the community due to the thoughtfulness of donors who have contributed to one of our unrestricted funds and also through the generosity of individuals who have created their own charitable funds which support our discretionary grant making program. It is a privilege to provide support to so many worthwhile organizations on their behalf.” Julie Christman, director of community involvement and partnerships.

The calendar and guides will be ready for distribution in December 2015. Families can pick them up at any of the three Aurora Public Library locations.

 About SPARK

SPARK is a collaboration between the City of Aurora, Fox Valley United Way, School Districts 129 (West Aurora), 131 (East Aurora), 204 (Indian Prairie) and 308 (Oswego), Aurora Public Library and Illinois Action for Children in partnership with  local Aurora agencies who serve  children and families. Its mission is to empower our diverse families and children to attain full success in learning and life by ensuring all Aurora’s young children have equal access to exemplary early childhood care and education. For more information, please visit www.sparkaurora.org or call (630) 896-4636.

About the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley

The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley is a non-profit, philanthropic organization that administers individual charitable funds from which grants and scholarships are distributed to benefit the citizens of the Greater Aurora Area, Tri Cities and Kendall County, Illinois. For more information on the Community Foundation, please visit communityfoundationfrv.org.

SOURCE: Fox Valley United Way news release