Early Connections Inc

OUR STORY

Early
Connections: A Legacy of Nurturing Erie County’s Youngest Learners

With a proud
history spanning 130 years, Early Connections—formerly known as the YWCA—has
been a cornerstone of outreach, programming and support for children and their
families in Erie County. Dedicated to empowering young children and their
families, Early Connections currently operates five high-quality early care and
education centers: three in the City of Erie, one in Union City, and one in
North East.

At each center,
children engage in developmentally appropriate learning experiences aligned
with Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Standards. We serve approximately 200
children, ranging from infants to school-age, in nurturing environments
designed to support growth, curiosity, and school readiness.

Four of our sites
offer Pre-K Counts (PKC) programs, while three include Infant Toddler
Contracted Slots, ensuring access to high quality care for children at critical
stages of development. All centers also participate in our Family Support
program in partnership with the Office of Children and Youth (OCY) to provide
stable, high-quality child care for families actively involved with OCY
services.

Other Initiatives:

·        
Erie’s
Future Fund:
Early Connections administers Erie’s Future Fund, which receives support
through EITC, the Erie Community Foundation, private donors, and other funders.
Preschool scholarships are provided for children at 40+ participating childcare
centers in Erie County.

·        
1199C
Training and Upgrading Fund, PA State System of Higher Education’s Professional
Development Organizations, and the NWPA Job Connect: As Intermediary for the Registered
Early Childhood Education Apprenticeship Program, EC helps set up processes
to connect and support child care workers while they work to obtain higher
credentials.

·        
School
Districts throughout the NW Region:  EC
is the Sponsor for the Registered Pre-Apprenticeship Program in the
Northwest Region. Currently we have 9 School Districts that have officially
partnered with our organization and are working to help grow
Pre-Apprenticeships in Early Childhood in 12 school districts total, with the
goal of connecting high school students to child care employers and higher
educational opportunities in an effort to aid in the child care crisis.

We invite you to
learn more about our organization by visiting www.earlyconnectionserie.org or reviewing
our Annual Report for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Your gifts, both
large and small, will help us to achieve our mission of supporting the growth
and education of children in our community.

 We
are proud to announce that Early Connections has continued to earned the
prestigious Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly Guidestar). This
recognition is a testament to our commitment to openness and accountability in
our operations. The Gold Seal of Transparency acknowledges our efforts in
providing clear, accurate, and accessible information to our stakeholders,
including funders, nonprofit members, and the community we serve.