Meet our 2020 Think Babies™ NC Community Partner Micro-Grant Recipients!
The following organizations will receive micro-grants to support community advocacy efforts focused on infants, toddlers, their educators, and their families in North Carolina:
Alamance Partnership for Children will conduct a qualitative research process to engage community stakeholders most impacted by issues of maternal and child health in the process of exploring the feasibility of implementing Family Connects, an evidence-based universal postpartum home visiting model, in Alamance County. This information will be shared with local stakeholders and policymakers to help inform decisions on funding and services.
Alliance for Children* will create a State of Union County Babies campaign to raise awareness of how babies and their families are doing in Union County. The campaign will include traditional and social media outreach, story collection engaging parents and early educators, a virtual child care center visit, and a virtual forum with a multi-disciplinary audience to focus on policies that support infants and toddlers.
Buncombe Partnership for Children will collect qualitative data about changing parent perceptions of ideal program size, quality, and equity in infant-toddler child care, in light of the COVID-19 crisis and heightened awareness of systemic racism. Stories collected will be used in a public awareness campaign and the data will be presented to local and state policymakers to highlight the severe shortage of infant-toddler child care and parents’ experiences in accessing child care before and after COVID-19.
Partnership for Children of Johnston County* will launch a digital billboard campaign to raise awareness of issues impacting babies, their families, and those that care for them. They will also run a traditional and social media campaign featuring the voices of parents, child care providers, and community partners.
Partnership of Ashe* will create videos about local challenges facing babies and their families, which will be shared in multiple venues to raise awareness, engage stakeholders, and inform policymakers. They will hold virtual meetings targeting groups of early childhood advocates, community stakeholders, and policymakers in order to show the videos and facilitate discussions around the importance of quality care and education and family support.
Randolph County Partnership for Children* will work with their Family Engagement and Leadership Coalition on a letter-writing campaign to raise public awareness of issues affecting infants and toddlers in Randolph County. They will assist parents in telling their stories, identify barriers parents face in being a voice for their children, and then guide them to platforms upon which their messages can be amplified for policymakers and the general public.
Rockingham County Partnership for Children* will create a Family Stakeholder Advisory Council to share stories of impact from COVID-19, inform decision making in early childhood systems, and gain advocacy and leadership skills. They will use these stories to elevate family voice through the existing Birth to Three: Invest in Me public awareness campaign and to inform policymakers of local needs and challenges facing babies and their families.
Smart Start of New Hanover County* will collect stories from parents of infants and toddlers to create videos about the needs of infants and toddlers and their families and how those needs are and are not being met. The videos will include a call to action to viewers to support programs and policies that further the health, development, education, and overall well-being of infants, toddlers and their families.
Smart Start of Pender County* will perform a local needs assessment of the availability of high-quality infant and toddler care in light of COVID-19. Upon completion of the assessment, they will hold a virtual presentation for the public and policymakers where they will discuss the findings and specific areas of advocacy for infants and toddlers in the county.
Smart Start of Yadkin County will work with their existing Early Education Advocacy Group to host a community forum on infants, toddlers, their families and their educators that includes a screening of the documentary No Small Matter.
*indicates a previous recipient of a Think Babies™ NC Community Partner Micro-Grant.