The Collaboration for Early Childhood shared a report last week outlining the organization’s 2025 impact and programming plans for the coming months.
The Collaboration is a nonprofit group primarily funded by the local governments dedicated to supporting local families with children aged five and under prepare their children to succeed in elementary school. In an annual report, the group highlighted its recent work providing health and developmental screenings for young children, connecting parents with resources like professional early head start in-home visits and workshops, offering specialized professional development training to staff at local schools and daycares.
“We are a mighty and joyful team,” said Mary Reynolds, the executive director. “That’s because our work is mighty and joyful.”
The organization reported $1.91 million in revenue for the last year, more than 83% of which came from local government contracts, and over $1.97 million in expenses, according to the report. The Collaboration also received over $30,000 in funding for its programming last year after being selected by LemonAid, the local staple of a charitable event which has memorialized the 9/11 attacks each year by selling lemonade and raising funds for local charities since 2002.
Programs the Collaboration ran this year included providing “baby bundle” kits to expecting parents, holding a Blast Off to Kindergarten resource and information fair for incoming District 97 families at Rehm Park last May and donating “social-emotional learning kits” to area schools and libraries. The Collaboration also worked with staff at nearby Elmhurst University to conduct a study of Oak Park parents’ experiences raising young children in a post-Covid world.
“This past spring we teamed up with consultants at Elmhurst University to sharpen our understanding of families’ experiences raising young children in Oak Park through a community-wide family survey and series of focus groups,” Reynolds said of the study. “How do families feel about climate change, screen time, and safety in our community in 2025? How does our community support children with disabilities? With over 300 submissions that the Elmhurst team is analyzing now, the responses will provide a post-pandemic pulse-check on the hopes, concerns, and dreams of our families. I look forward to sharing what we learn with you, and I look forward to responding to those voiced needs through our future initiatives and programming.”
The Collaboration also shared information on plans to collaborate with a national organization called “The Basics” on implementing the organization’s “community-wide approach” to emotional and cognitive development strategies for parents of children under three.
“We selected The Basics for Oak Park because it aligns with our mission to cultivate the development of the whole child. It provides concrete, actionable principles that all caregivers can implement. It creates a common language around early childhood development across our community. It offers an equity-focused approach that can benefit all families while potentially having the greatest impact for children who have more barriers to access to resources. It recognizes that learning happens everywhere, not just in formal educational settings,” The Collaboration said of the new programming. “By implementing The Basics across multiple sectors (healthcare, business, schools, libraries, parks, etc.), we’re building a web of support around families and sending a consistent message that our entire community values early childhood development and is committed to providing families with the resources and encouragement they need.