The United Way of the Wabash Valley's (UWWV) Successful Parenting Initiative Grants aim to connect new parents to community resources, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to foster optimal early development, learning, and health in their children. This initiative aligns with the UWWV's broader mission of "Success By 6," which focuses on early childhood development and school readiness. By supporting programs that enhance parenting practices and increase parent knowledge of early childhood development, UWWV seeks to lay a strong foundation for children's future success.
The primary beneficiaries of this grant program are new parents and their young children in Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo Counties in Indiana, and Clark County, Illinois. The impact goals are to improve parenting practices, provide early detection of developmental delays, address health issues, and ultimately increase children's school readiness and success. The initiative emphasizes connecting parents to resources that will help them gain skills in areas such as language, cognitive, social-emotional, and motor domains.
The program prioritizes creative initiatives that demonstrate the potential to increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices. This includes promoting understanding of various developmental domains and facilitating early detection of any delays or health concerns. The UWWV SB6 Impact Council seeks proposals that will effectively contribute to these areas, with a total of $30,000 available over 18 months.
Expected outcomes include enhanced parent knowledge and skills, improved early childhood development, and increased rates of school readiness among children in the targeted counties. Measurable results would likely involve tracking parental engagement with resources, improvements in parenting practices, and indicators of children's developmental progress and readiness for school.
The UWWV's strategic priorities are centered around early childhood development and creating supportive environments for families. Their theory of change suggests that by investing in parental knowledge and access to community resources, they can positively influence early childhood development, leading to better school readiness and long-term success for children. While individual awards can be up to $10,000, truly innovative proposals exceeding this amount will be considered, indicating a commitment to impactful and creative solutions within their strategic framework.
