GIVING BACK

from Hinsdale Magazine April 2021

SCHOOLS

RAISING THE QUALITY OF LIFE, FAMILY BY FAMILY

The Willowbrook Corner Early Childhood Collaborative

For a family living in poverty in DuPage County, taking a new baby home from the hospital is both joyous and fraught with unbelievable challenges.

As just one example of the perils ahead, consider car-seats. The hospital may provide a family with an infant car-seat if they cannot afford one themselves; but generally, a baby outgrows that gift before its first birthday.—Then what? How does a family choose between keeping their baby safe in transit (and not breaking the law), or providing food, medicine or housing? When families are stressing over such grave decisions, the importance of early childhood development can often become a backburner issue, even when it should be

BY LARRY ATSEFF

among the first priorities for a young child. “It fills a need for our families network that was needed to get things done, without In the case of one family in Willowbrook Corner, to find additional resources as it. It was a springboard to improve the hierarchy of an under-resourced area located in the southeastern they start on the journey of family needs, from jobs, to food, to transportation, to corner of DuPage County, that second car-seat was being parents.” ultimately childcare and early childhood education, provided through the Willowbrook Corner Early - DR. TOM SCHNEIDER, superintendent, School District 180 that was needed.” For more information on Childhood Collaborative and we are incredibly appreciative of the collaborative initiative, (WCECC). The WCECC is making DuPage Foundation for the program.” visit https://dupagefoundation.org/ a big impact in the region thanks in a large part to funding from the Snodgrass Family Fund at the DuPage Foundation through the foundation’s Bright & Early DuPage initiative. As a result, the lives of children in the region, who funnel into Hinsdale South High School, are positively impacted. initiatives/bright-early-dupage.html/ title/how-snodgrass-family-fund-of-dupagefoundation-is-delivering-impact-throughthe-willowbrook-corner-early-childhoodcollaborative?page=. ■ “Bright & Early DuPage is incredibly important for our families, so they have access to birth to five support systems," said Dr. Tom Schneider, Marianne Pokorny, director of civic engagement for the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, oversees the leadership for Bright & Early DuPage. superintendent of School District “Grants from the Snodgrass Family 180. “It fills a need for our families Fund of DuPage Foundation through to find additional resources as they Bright & Early DuPage have provided start on the journey of being parents. critical funding for so many initiatives We’re thrilled to be able to work as and actions,” Pokorny said. “We partners with Bright & Early DuPage, would not have had the meetings, the