Stamford Cradle to Career Receives a
$200,000 Grant from StriveTogether
STAMFORD, Conn. (March 25, 2021)―Stamford Cradle to Career (SC2C) announced today that it has received a $200,00 grant from the national StriveTogether network. This StriveTogether Cradle to Career Community Challenge grant will help SC2C achieve its goal of providing equity and excellence in education for every Stamford child. Funds will be used to support SC2C’s operations and infrastructure, allowing it to build upon its successful initiatives while collectively aligning resources to support Stamford’s children. More than 60 community organizations across Stamford partner with SC2C to improve lives for children and youth.
SC2C is a member of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, a national movement to help every child succeed in school and in life, regardless of race, ethnicity, zip code or circumstance. The Cradle to Career Network impacts the lives of more than 12 million youth―including nearly 9 million children of color―across 29 states and Washington D.C. Other Connecticut members of the network are Norwalk ACTS and Bridgeport Prospers.
The Cradle to Career Community Challenge is a grant program by StriveTogether that invests in efforts to improve equity and economic mobility for children and their families. The goal is to strengthen and align the many systems, such as education, employment, health and housing, that shape opportunity for every child.
“With this grant, we can continue the valuable work we have done over the past few years with our partners, and start to plan new programs to help create brighter futures for our children,” said Bridget Fox, President, Stamford Cradle to Career. “The events of the last year have highlighted the need for educational equity in all communities, and these funds will put energy and resources behind those efforts in Stamford.”
Since its launch in 2016, SC2C has brought schools, community-based organizations, and businesses together to implement a number of initiatives including:
- Making the Sparkler App available to parents of preschoolers, to help them track their child’s healthy growth and development
- Providing professional development opportunities for Stamford teachers to help them improve early grade reading
- Launching a Summer Literacy Initiative to help children who are struggling with reading gain extra support in summer programs
- Launching Bridge to College, which has helped Stamford high school seniors make it to college in the fall after graduation by assisting with deadlines, paperwork, and filing for financial aid
- Co-hosting a series of virtual presentations and workshops on Community Racial Justice
United Way of Western Connecticut serves as the anchor and backbone support for Stamford Cradle to Career, which has more than 60 community partners.
For more information about Stamford Cradle to Career, contact Bridget Fox, President, at 203-883-0960 or bridget.fox@uwwesternct.org.
ABOUT STAMFORD CRADLE TO CAREER
Stamford Cradle to Career (SC2C) is a collective impact partnership with a solid and committed cross-sector collaboration that is based on the nationally recognized StriveTogether Cradle to Career Framework in creating a community-wide partnership. It is a road map to change and a new way for community stakeholders to work together. The overarching goal of Stamford Cradle to Career is to collectively align community resources to ensure that all youth succeed in education, career, and life because successful children lead to a vibrant and thriving community. The partnership convenes over one hundred volunteers from the community, non-profit agencies, Stamford Public Schools, the City of Stamford, and the business community to create, align, implement, assess, and grow interventions that support the educational success of children and their families. United Way of Western Connecticut is serving as the anchor and backbone entity providing management and fiscal support for the partnership. For more information about the StriveTogether Framework, visit www.strivetogether.org. For more information about SC2C, visit www.stamfordc2c.org.
ABOUT UNITED WAY OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT
United Way of Western Connecticut (UWWC) improves the lives of hard-working, struggling households by mobilizing the resources of local communities to create lasting change. We help residents across Northern Fairfield County, Southern Litchfield County, and the City of Stamford by focusing on the vital building blocks for a good life: Education, Financial Stability, and Health. We are committed to ensuring that every child enters school ready to learn, every family is financially stable, and every community we serve is healthy and strong. We are particularly focused on a population that United Way identifies as ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) in our communities. A United Way report published in September 2020 revealed that in Connecticut, more than 1 in 4 households has earnings above the Federal Poverty Level, but below a basic cost-of-living threshold. Combined with those who are struggling below poverty level, 38% of all households in the state are experiencing financial hardship. By leveraging the collective power of the community, we are focused on creating an environment where individuals and families are self-sufficient and can achieve financial independence. For more information about United Way of Western Connecticut, please visit: www.uwwesternct.org. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Instagram. Watch us on YouTube.
ABOUT StriveTogether
StriveTogether partners with nearly 70 communities across the country to advance equity so local success stories can become the reality for every child, everywhere. They work to transform failing systems using collaborative improvement and a proven framework for change. The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network is closing disparity gaps in education, housing and so much more. Together, they impacted the lives of more than 12 million youth — more than half are children of color — across 30 states and Washington, D.C. Learn more at StriveTogether.org.