United Way held its Woodland KinderCamp program's graduation ceremony celebrating more than 25 incoming kindergarteners Saturday at Prairie Elementary School located at 1444 Stetson St. in Woodland.
The four-week program helps children who did not attend preschool prepare for kindergarten.
Dr. Dawnté Early, president and CEO of United Way California Capital Region, explained that her organization has served the community for 100 years focusing on their goal of ending poverty in the capital region.
"School is square one for ending poverty because education is the great equalizer," she stressed during the ceremony. "Education helps to end poverty before it even starts."
Early highlighted that United Way has raised $1.5 million of the $3 million goal it set to be able to provide the program to 10,000 children in the region by 2025.
"We are able to have this because of all those philanthropic donations that we have gotten," she emphasized. "We're halfway there."
Furthermore, Early emphasized the importance of her organization's partnership with YMCA, which is in charge of running day-to-day activities for the program.
Sharna Braucks, CEO and president of YMCA of Superior California, noted during the ceremony that this partnership is a "testament to [their] shared commitment to fostering the growth and development of [the community's] youngest learners ensuring that they have the best possible start in their educational journey."
"Research consistently shows that children who are prepared for kindergarten are more likely to excel academically, socially and emotionally," she stressed. "They are better equipped to embrace learning opportunities, develop essential skills and build the confidence needed to navigate their educational path."
Braucks argued that the collaborative effort between YMCA and United Way demonstrates that "when organizations unite with a shared vision, the impacts can be profound."
"We see children entering kindergarten not just ready to learn, but eager and excited to embrace new challenges," she remarked.
Superintendent Elodia Ortega-Lampkin also attended the ceremony to welcome the graduates to the Woodland Unified School District while thanking their parents for the work they've done thus far to prepare them.
"Time is going to go really fast and before you know it, you're going to be on one of our campuses, Pioneer High School or Woodland High School, watching them graduate and going off to college," she said to the parents. "A piece of advice I could give you is to be with them every step of the way through elementary, middle school and high school experiences. There's going to be downs, there's going to be ups, they're going to make mistakes and that's ok."
Aurelyn Garcia, a mother of one of the KinderCamp graduates, explained that she and her husband work a lot and this program has been critical for them.
"This helps by providing childcare and a place to learn so we don't have to take them to someone else to take care of him," Garcia said in Spanish. "Instead, he comes here and he gets to learn a lot."
The program's website listed several community partners who contribute to the program. The school district provides three classrooms and helps recruit students; Empower Yolo offers onsite classes to parents and caregivers to gain skills to support their child's development; CommuniCare Health Center gives lessons on oral health and provides dental screenings and referrals; and the Yolo County Ofice of Education administers individual developmental assessments.
To learn more about the program and its partners, visit yourlocalunitedway.org/our-work/help-kids-excel/kindercamp.
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