Helping children and families in our community grow and thrive truly takes a village. We cannot close the achievement gap, or help our families become financially stable, without the support and partnership of our Corporate and Community Partners. Often, as we get to know these partners, one touchpoint grows into a deeper, long-term relationship.
This is the case for the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), a unique nonprofit with a mission to enrich lives by uniting the collective strength of the insurance industry through grants, volunteer service, and leadership. With gratitude and thanks to Peninsula Family Service Board member, Kurt deGrosz, and his business partner, Brian Hetherington of ABD Insurance, we received a $10,000 grant from IICF to support Early Learning services for children and families overcoming homelessness.
After learning more about our work, Melissa-Anne Duncan, Executive Director of IICF Western Division, made a second special donation through their partnership with Sesame Workshop (the education arm of Sesame Street). IICF donated over 500 books so that every child at our nine centers and home-based services could take home their very own copy of Book Buddies, written in English and Spanish, featuring Sesame Street’s favorite duo, Bert and Ernie.
This gift supports multiple goals that encourage reading, parent-child bonding, and quality family time. Ann Torres, Site Manager of Mission Child Development Center reflected, “Our children were so excited and began to read the books right away. When their parents picked them up that day, they couldn’t wait to share the gift. The fact that it’s dual language helps our parents with their English, too!”
Thank you Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation and Sesame Workshop for lighting up the faces of our
children. Your generosity helps change lives!