Since the first Kiddie Academy child care center opened in 1981, we’ve worked to provide solutions for families. As part of our ongoing commitment to our communities, our corporate office continues to invest in resources and opportunities that connect our Academies with other community partners to address the needs of parents and children. As leaders, our Franchisees play a pivotal role in these efforts and relationships, disseminating information and rolling out initiatives that support their Academy communities and beyond.
Now, in honor of Kiddie Academy’s 40th anniversary, our corporate office has donated $40,000 to Family Promise to fund a new training program and provide scholarships focused on helping women achieve career growth in early childhood education. Kiddie Academy’s contribution will help launch the Family Promise Leadership Academy in 2022 to offer training for staff at Family Promise affiliates that provide prevention, shelter and stabilization services to their respective communities.
“More than 59% of families served in our affiliate shelters are composed of female heads-of-household,” said Claas Ehlers, chief executive officer of Family Promise. “Our aspiration is to equip these women with stability and the opportunity to develop their careers, which will help us reach our goal of changing the future for 1 million children by 2030 through community-based programs.”
Ehlers said partnerships with organizations like Kiddie Academy help support and scale this goal. Franchise locations help bring the partnership to life through fundraising events and direct support of Family Promise Affiliate locations.
Plus, the early childhood education space is largely led by women; and Kiddie Academy is acutely aware of the impact women have in the workforce, said Ehlers, who added that Family Promise looks forward to working with Kiddie Academy to address this area of need in its communities.
According to McKinsey & Company’s annual “Women in the Workplace” study, conducted in partnership with LeanIn.Org, the pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on women, who are often the primary caregivers in their families. Therefore, Kiddie Academy-funded scholarships will be available to women served by Family Promise who plan to start a career in early childhood education. These scholarships will help them earn the appropriate state credentials, like a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential™ that is accepted in classrooms across the country.
“We have relied on the immense contribution women provide to the workforce through our own business over the past 40 years,” says Nicole Salla, chief marketing officer at Kiddie Academy. “Nearly 99% of teachers and staff at our franchise locations and more than 61% of employees in our corporate offices are women, many of whom have young children of their own, which makes the cause of supporting working mothers even more important to us.”
Working with Family Promise on initiatives to support working women is integral to our holistic approach to finding sustainable solutions for families.
Throughout our four decades in operation, and particularly in response to the hardships experienced by parents in recent years, Kiddie Academy has developed excellent benefits for our corporate employees, including increased parental leave, phase-back-in plans after family leave, additional child care tuition support and more flexible working hours. We also encourage our franchise owners and other businesses to offer benefits like this to their employees.
“We’re truly inspired by everything Family Promise does to assist families in need and look forward to supporting these critical initiatives,” said Casey Miller, Kiddie Academy executive vice president. “Every business, no matter its size, can play a part in supporting working parents and ultimately making an impact in the life of a family.”
Creating opportunities for us all to engage in meaningful philanthropy speaks to the core of what we do, and brings deeper, tangible meaning to Community Begins Here. Plus, consumer studies show that a business’ charitable involvement affects nearly 75% of Americans’ purchasing decisions.
