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CFO’s Ozarks Early Childhood Support Grant Program round is funded by an anonymous donor.
SBJ file
CFO’s Ozarks Early Childhood Support Grant Program round is funded by an anonymous donor.

CFO grants $300K to child care agencies

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Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. granted $300,000 made available by an anonymous donor.

Ten child care agencies received funds as part of the Ozarks Early Childhood Support Grant Program, which is designed to reduce barriers to quality child care so parents can return to work or maintain employment, according to a news release. The grants help organizations in central and southwest Missouri.

Ozark Action Inc. received the largest grant amount, at $44,766, to support current staff and fill vacancies at Head Start programs in Bakersfield, Grovespring and Houston.

The remaining grants went to:
• All Aboard Learning Center/Crawford County Foundation Inc., $30,000 to support current staff and fill vacancies in Cuba;
• Cabool Second Baptist Daycare, $30,000 to support current staff and fill vacancies at the center;
• Children’s Learning Center of Camden County Inc., $30,000 to provide tuition assistance to families and improve the organization’s Camdenton facility;
• Community Support Services of Missouri/Jasper County Sheltered Facilities Association, $30,000 to provide scholarships to low-income families for the organization’s Early Learning Center in Webb City;
• Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corp., $30,000 to support current staff and fill vacancies at the DAEOC’s Children’s Services Department, which serves communities in the Bootheel region;
• I Can Too Learning Center/ICTLC Inc., $30,000 to supplement tuition payments for low-income families in Salem;
• Lafayette House/Family Self-Help Center Inc., $30,000 to support current staff and fill vacancies at Lafayette House’s Pumpkin Patch in Joplin;
• Life360 Community Services: $30,000 to add a family support coordinator to help low-income families navigate resources and to increase staffing hours at the center in Bell City; and
• Presbyterian Preschool/First Presbyterian Church of Rolla, $15,234 to support construction of an infant care room and expand the facility’s capacity to include all ages of pre-K children.

“This program has the potential to provide so many levels of opportunity, not only for children to receive good quality care and education, but also for parents to be able to return to work knowing their children are being well cared for in a safe environment,” said CFO Board Chair Robin Morgan, who led the grant selection committee, in the release. “This will also give caregivers the opportunity to find good-paying jobs in child care.”

CFO recently announced it surpassed $500 million in grants and distributions since its inception in 1973, according to past reporting.

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