After Joe Cunningham drops off his 11-year-old son Patrick at school, he carefully watches the fifth grader enter a crowd of classmates. Even after all of these years of therapy, he can’t help but worry about how the children will receive his son.

Diagnosed at age 3 with autism, Patrick and his family faced an uphill battle. It wasn’t until Joe got involved with the Fathers Network, a program offered by United Way grantee Kindering Center, that he got a clear sense…

Carol Wood, United Way of King County’s Director of Public Policy, recently spoke at a Department of Early Learning hearing on proposed rule changes to Working Connections Child Care, a program which provides working, low-income parents with quality, affordable child care.  Changes to WCCC made in the last legislative session increased the amount of time low-income families are authorized to receive state subsidized child care to a full 12 months (instead of 2-6 months), initially focusing on children enrolled in ECEAP, Head Start and Early Head…

  The United Way of King County’s Volunteer Reader Program has been sending volunteers out into our community to read aloud to preschoolers since March of 2007, and what would these three years of hard work be without getting to throw a three year anniversary party for one of our most dedicated volunteers? Volunteer Reader May Shimbo has been reading at Grammis’ House in White Center since May of 2007, and when her reading anniversary day came up last month the director of the…

At our annual Breakfast on June 2, United Way of King County President and CEO Jon Fine opened the event with a report on the progress United Way is making to relieve hunger, end homelessness and to support children and families.

Some highlights of his speech:

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As part of her monthly report on the number of hours our Volunteer Readers spent reading, we got this note from the lead teacher at a low-income preschool that’s one of our Volunteer Reader Program sites:

Today was graduation. Both Monica and Kathy were key volunteers on our last day of school. A few students did not have any family members at the celebration. Monica for the PM class and Kathy for the AM class provided smiles, hugs and TLC for these children. Because of United…

Exciting news! The University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) is now home to the most advanced magnetoencephalography (or MEG) brain imaging device in the world. The MEG will allow scientists like Dr. Patricia Kuhl and Dr. Andrew Meltzoff to explore new discoveries in the area of neurological studies of young children. Through the use of the MEG, scientists will be able to safely map the minds of infants and young children as they see, learn, feel, and experience…

          As part of its celebration of National Volunteer Week, the Volunteer Reader Program asked the teachers and directors at its 39 child care and preschool sites what makes their readers so special. These caring and fun adults give an hour each week to read aloud to preschoolers, and the inspiring responses we got are extremely reflective of the great work that our volunteers do.  The words paint a picture of the enormous impact that our team is having throughout King County, and when we published them in our monthly newsletter, they were a really…

Given the budget challenges facing the state this session, the legislature and Governor prioritized early learning by enacting the following bills:

2SHB 2731: Implements an Early Learning Program for low-income three and four year olds by initially focusing on children enrolled in the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Act (ECEAP).  The bill protects this funding,  provides opportunities for children and families to participate in voluntary preschool programs with comprehensive services (as needed) starting in the 2011-12 school year and targets preschool availability to all eligible…

Two months ago, if you had asked me what my feelings were on the Disney Give a Day get a Day promotion, I would have been less than enthusiastic. I had the whole thing sprung on me the day after I returned from my holiday vacation, and from what I could tell at the time, the hundreds of emails that I received were from self-interested people that cared about Disney first, and the kids second. People would be so blunt as to tell me, “I…

Join us June 2 at the Paramount Theatre for the United Way of King County Breakfast. We’ll report on the progress we’re making to create smart solutions that deliver lasting change. Hear the latest on the ways we’re working to prepare children for success in school and in life. Speakers Patricia Kuhl and Andy Meltzoff from the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS) will share stunning new insights on the developing brains of babies and young children.