Early Years Initiative — a $50 Million grant opportunity generously supported by Lilly Endowment, Inc. — is actively seeking organizations across Indiana to submit proposals for new, enhanced or expanded programs or projects that influence healthy brain development and the development of physical, social-emotional and cognitive skills in infants and toddlers (children from birth through age three). We hosted three webinars over the past few weeks to guide organizations in understanding the submission process, eligibility requirements and our Data Dashboard. If you missed the webinars, don't worry - we've made the recordings and additional resources available on EarlyYearsInitiative.org.
We are excited to see the innovative and impactful proposals. The submission deadline is June 15 at 5 p.m. ET. If you have any questions regarding Early Years Initiative, please contact us below.
We are thrilled to announce that as part of Indianapolis Public Schools' Rebuilding Stronger plan, we are partnering with IPS to open a new Day Early Learning center.
Located on the campus of the historic Thomas Carr Howe High School, Day Early Learning at Howe will add 80 infant through pre-K seats. Our Chief Engagement Officer, Heather Pease, and Superintendent, Dr. Aleesia Johnson recently toured Howe and shared how ELI will bring high-quality early education to a new area on Indianapolis' near east side — furthering our mission to ensure children throughout Indiana are empowered with essential skills to thrive in kindergarten and beyond.
We are very excited to welcome new families and team members to Day Early Learning at Howe later this year.
With support from PNC Grow Up Great initiative, Deeply Ingrained — an Indianapolis nonprofit committed to providing youth woodworking opportunities that develop creativity, learning and skill-building — brought their workshops to IU Health Day Early Learning. The impact of their visit was clear to see – our preschoolers were absolutely thrilled to learn new skills. What was especially impressive was how focused and safe the children were while using adult items like hammers and nails to create their hand-crafted calendars. This event would not have been possible without the support of parent volunteers who worked alongside Deeply Ingrained to make it a success. We are grateful to the PNC Grow Up Great Initiative, Deeply Ingrained and our dedicated parent volunteers for their ongoing commitment to education and service in our community. Deeply Ingrained will visit IU Health Day Early Learning a few more times throughout April and May for more custom activities. Learn more about Deeply Ingrained here.
Celebrating Grow Up Great Month with PNC
In recognition of PNC Great Month and Grow Up Great initiative, special visitors from PNC visited our centers all throughout the month of April, reading to children and touring spaces. Jason Eckerle, regional president, central & southern Indiana, PNC Bank, helped us kick things off by visiting our Day Early Learning Lilly Family Center and reading to a group of very interested students. Our thanks to PNC for all of their support. See more photos here.
Visiting Rosie's Room
Day Early Learning at Manual hosted the Day Nursery Auxiliary for their monthly meeting. School leader Ashley Morton provided a tour of the center — a first-time visit for many Auxiliary members since the center’s opening last summer — with a special stop in Rosie’s Room, dedicated to the legacy of the late Rosie Tanner. Rosie was a longstanding Auxiliary member and benefactor of Early Learning Indiana along with her husband, Gene. In fact, it was Gene’s donation in Rosie’s honor that provided the capstone gift to complete our fundraising campaign, making Day Early Learning at Manual possible. We remain grateful for the Day Nursery Auxiliary's dedication to volunteerism, generosity and early education advocacy. Our thanks to the United Way of Central Indiana, the Tanner family and many more generous supporters who helped bring our Manual center to life. Learn more about the Day Nursery Auxiliary here.
Adventures with Grace and Box: Week of the Young Child
Week of the Young Child (WOYC) was a success for children, families and teachers at our centers! Classrooms celebrated all week with a take-home activity kit, eating new and yummy foods, going on a scavenger hunt, doing various crafts and many more fun activities with their loved ones. The students and parents enjoyed a special reading and book signing event — at each DEL center — by “Grace and Box” author Kim Howard. We are thankful to United Way of Central Indiana in partnership with the Indianapolis Public Library for supporting the Indianapolis-based events. Be sure to check out the blog to see all the fun and stay tuned for additional author reading events scheduled this month.
Early Learning Indiana, 1411 Roosevelt Ave., Suite 202, Indianapolis, IN 46201, United States
