United Way of Central Illinois

Wee Grow is a wrap around program for our working parents and our parents who are enrolled in school. This program provides care before and after Head Start /Early Head Start hours and is open throughout the summer, when traditional Head Start is not in session. Services are offered for families at our Cook Street site. These services are available from 6:45am-8:45am (Before) and 3:30pm -5:30pm (After). Financial assistance is available to families who qualify through Community Child Care Connection (CCCC). The Wee Grow program is an extension of our EHS and Head Start Program at the Cook Site, therefore the quality program that is offered in Head Start and Early Head Start program is continued throughout the Wee Grow program.

Thank You United Way!

This year the Wee Grow program received a $50,000 Grant from United Way; $30,000 of the grant went for scholarships for families that are struggling to pay for their child care. So far, during the months of August and September the program has been able to help at least 28 families! The program hopes to continue to help on an average 14 families each month. The other $20,000 was given to the program for 3 new classroom computers, and 9 tablets to be shared throughout the 4 designated classrooms at the site.

Through United Way, and it its partnership with "Dolly Parton's Imagination Library", our Early Head Start and Head Start children, from birth to five years old in Sangamon County, are registered to receive a new, free book each month to their homes. Currently over 600,000 children are registered in the USA, Canada, and United Kingdom for the program.