Stamford Nonprofit Receives Neighborhood Builders Award

Information via Bank of America

STAMFORD, CT – The Stamford-based Children's Learning Centers of Fairfield County has been named one of two recipients of the 2020 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders award for Southern Connecticut.

According to a news release, both CLC and the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology were selected for their work in the southern Connecticut community to address issues fundamental to economic mobility, specifically by providing job training programs to the unemployed and underemployed and ensuring that children have access to early education programs.

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As an awardee, each organization receives a $200,000 grant, a year of leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader, a network of peer organizations across the U.S., and the opportunity to access capital to expand their impact.

Since 2004, Bank of America has invested over $260 million in 50 communities through Neighborhood Builders, partnering with more than 1,300 nonprofits and helping more than 2,600 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills.

"The health crisis continues to underscore the need for the educational and job retraining programs provided by our 2020 Neighborhood Builders, the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology and Children's Learning Centers of Fairfield County," Bank of America spokesperson Bill Tommins said in a news release. "Throughout the years, Neighborhood Builders has made a lasting impact in local communities across southern Connecticut, and we look forward to seeing how this year's recipients make even greater strides toward sustainable change in the region to advance economic mobility for all."

The Neighborhood Builders program is an opportunity to provide relevant skills development and topics to help nonprofit leaders address current and future community challenges. Each year, Bank of America refines the Neighborhood Builders Leadership Program to include topics ranging from strategic storytelling to human capital management, and highlights themes that are critical to moving the nonprofit sector forward within broader societal and economic context.

CLC aims to advance education in Stamford at a critical stage in life. The nonprofit's mission is that together, we'll shape a generation through early childhood education.

CLC is the second largest provider of early education and care in Connecticut. CLC typically serves nearly 1,000 children daily, 87% of whom are considered low-income. As COVID-19 protocols have increased expenses, the Neighborhood Builders funds will be used to support operational costs including PPE for teachers.

It will also be used in developing a Blended Pre-K model (distance learning) with a central goal of family engagement while also providing operating flexibility during the pandemic. This will help CLC continue their vision of building a just future where every child and family thrives because of early childhood education.

"America's early childhood system was fragile and operated on razor thin margins prior to the pandemic. Now extended closures and increased operating costs due to COVID-19 coupled with reduced capacity is pushing the early childhood system that working parents rely on, to the brink of collapse," CLC CEO Marc Jaffe said in a news release. "The Neighborhood Builders grant will have a tremendous impact on CLC and the children we serve and will allow us to continue our mission. Thank you, Bank of America, for your partnership!"