Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s Early Childhood Initiative (ECI) program is celebrating its 10th anniversary in October. The Governor of the State of Minnesota, Mark Dayton has proclaimed October 24th as Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative Day.
The twelve northwest Minnesota coalitions join in celebrating this achievement and recognizing the important partners who work with local leaders to ensure that the quality care and education of our youngest children is a top priority.
The purpose of Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative (MECI) is to promote high-quality early care and education for children from birth to age five, while supporting parents in their important work. Since 2003, the Initiative has grown to include 86 local early childhood coalitions covering over 200 greater Minnesota communities.
Investing in early childhood care and learning pays big dividends for communities and businesses. Scientific research confirms that a child’s earliest experiences dramatically affect their ability to succeed. Unfortunately, every year about half of Minnesota’s children enter kindergarten not fully prepared to succeed, according to studies by the Minnesota Department of Health.
Through the efforts of MECI, thousands of young children in Minnesota have been given a strong start to learning, achieving and succeeding due to the contributions and shared vision of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations, program funders, and many volunteers, community partners and donors statewide.
Generous funding has been provided by the McKnight Foundation from the start. Their decade-long commitment has been ambitious and continues to make a remarkable difference. In a recent report, McKnight President Kate Wolford stated, “Thanks to the hard work of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations, the Early Childhood Initiative, and its 500-plus evidence-informed projects operating statewide, we have a better framework today to provide opportunities and inspiration to improve the well-being of Minnesota’s youngest children—for generations yet to come, and for the generation that has just begun.”
Each of the ECI coalitions in the NMF region are celebrating in their own communities. We encourage all citizens to celebrate MECI Day and support efforts to invest in early childhood care and learning.
The Northwest Minnesota Foundation is a public, charitable foundation serving 12 counties of Northwest Minnesota by investing resources, facilitating collaboration and promoting philanthropy.
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