Families First Receives $10,000 Grant for Enriching Early Childhood Development
Grant provided by Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation will help provide Families First’s Power of Parenting program to more than 250 parents with young children in eastern Massachusetts.
September 18, 2019 – Families First, Boston’s leading provider of parenting education, announced today that it has received a $10,000 Grant for Good from Eastern Bank, America’s oldest and largest mutual bank. The grant is part of a $1 million commitment Eastern has made to local nonprofit organizations strengthening options for children and families across Eastern’s New England footprint.
This grant will help replicate Families First’s Power of Parenting program across Greater Boston and bring it to the Chelsea community for the first time.
Families First’s Power of Parenting program gives parents of children ages 0-8 the opportunity to gain new parenting strategies that promote their children’s learning and healthy development. As a result, parents are equipped to guide their children through current and future developmental stages and set them up for success in school and life.
Families First Executive Director Sue Covitz commented, “We are thrilled to have Eastern Bank’s support during such a critical period of growth for the Power of Parenting program. In the coming year, this grant will help bring the program to more families. As a result, hundreds of parents will be equipped to lay a strong foundation for the long-term academic, career, and life success of their young children.”
Eastern Bank is awarding grants to organizations focused on strengthening socioemotional and cognitive skills development among children in the communities it serves. Grants are intended to ensure children and their families have more equitable access to the resources needed early in life for healthy development, while funding a sector that receives a staggeringly small proportion of all philanthropy.
“Providing every child with an equal opportunity for a bright future is a basic right,” said Bob Rivers, Chair and CEO of Eastern Bank. “By supporting organizations that assist parents and caregivers and prepare children to be ready to learn and succeed, we are helping to create the foundation children need to thrive. On behalf of everyone at Eastern, we congratulate the grant recipients and thank them for their dedication to the children in our communities.”
As part of Eastern’s $1 million commitment to support enriching early childhood development, Families First is among 50 organizations that provide leading early childhood development programs across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island and are each receiving a $10,000 Grant for Good. These grants are focused on providing support in four critical areas: achieving early learning quality standards, strengthening parent engagement, supporting professional development for educators, and upgrading early learning facilities and supplies.
The project will benefit 12 under-resourced neighborhoods over three years. The Basics will be shared with thousands of families with infants and toddlers, and more than 200 families will experience the Power of Parenting program.
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About Eastern Bank
Founded in 1818, Boston-based Eastern Bank is America’s oldest and largest mutual bank, with over $11 billion in assets and more than 115 locations serving communities in eastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Eastern provides exceptional access to fairly priced banking, investment and insurance products and services for consumers and businesses of all sizes. Eastern Bank, which includes Eastern Wealth Management and Eastern Insurance, is known for its outspoken advocacy and community support that has exceeded more than $140 million in charitable giving since 1999. An inclusive company, Eastern employs 1,900+ deeply committed professionals who value relationships with their customers, colleagues, and communities. Join us for good at www.easternbank.com and follow Eastern on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Families First
Families First’s mission is to bring parents of young children together in their communities to strengthen their parenting knowledge, skills, and support systems.
Founded in 1988, Families First provides high-quality parenting education programs that are rooted in current research and proven to result in positive family outcomes. After more than thirty years of experience, Families First now provides Boston’s most comprehensive parenting education program: the Power of Parenting™.
Media Contact
Courtney Kramer, Development and Communications Associate
Email: ckramer@families-first.org
Phone: 617-868-7687 x23
