Challenge Grant. A Dunham Fund challenge grant of $1 for every $1 raised up to $100,000 will support the continuation and expansion of SPARK and will build much-needed informed and active parent engagement in the program. The Dunham Fund has already provided support for the first two years of a five-year $1,250,000 plan to create this early learning initiative which has increased access to quality early learning services for young, at-risk children in the Aurora area. Hide
This initiative is a collaboration of United Way of the Aurora Area, City of Aurora, local school districts 129, 131, 204 and 308, YWCA Child Care Resource and Referral, local child care providers and other organizations interested in promoting school readiness skills, including socialization, early literacy, math and vocabulary skills. This grant will prepare SPARK to benefit from state investment in early childhood, including Aurora’s “Race to the Top” state-wide initiative.