Easterseals Receives $10,000 from Eastern Bank

Easterseals NH in Manchester recently received a $10,000 “Grant for Good” from Eastern Bank to support efforts at two its Manchester-based child development centers. The grant is part of a $1 million commitment Eastern has made to local nonprofit organizations strengthening options for children and families across Eastern Bank’s New England footprint.

The grant will support continued accreditation through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), curriculum and instructional tools to support the programs’ maintaining this accreditation, and staff training and curriculum to support practices that promote young children’s healthy social and emotional development.

Easterseals NH’s two Manchester based child development centers served nearly 250 children last year and provide an inclusive, comprehensive, early-learning education for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. The centers are committed to their goal of supporting school readiness for all, while providing additional supports for children with disabilities, special needs, and their families.

Persistent gaps in the quality of and access to early childhood development programs, as well as in parent engagement, are known to cause disparities in opportunities to succeed throughout life. Without engaging, safe, and stable environments during the first three years of life, children are likely to enter school already behind. Students who cannot read at grade level by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of school before high school graduation. And lacking a high school diploma significantly impacts future employment and earnings opportunities.

Eastern is awarding grants to organizations focused on strengthening socioemotional and cognitive skills development among children in the communities it serves. Grants are intended to ensure children and their families have more equitable access to the resources needed early in life for healthy development, while funding a sector that receives a staggeringly small proportion of all philanthropy.