Wednesday Newsday

June 7, 2023

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TEAM HAPPENINGS

Why We Do What We Do

We're excited for you to see how we continue to positively evolve our recruitment efforts showcasing our incredible talent... YOU! 

Introducing the ELI Store

Shop the ELI store and take the guesswork out of what to wear to work. Explore our full range of ELI and DEL apparel by clicking below. Order your favorite items by adding them to your cart and entering your payment information. Orders are conveniently processed in bulk on the 25th of each month, with delivery to the statewide office. Orders placed after the deadline will be added to the following month's shipment. For larger team or event orders, please coordinate with Kelly Kough directly.  

Clean Audit  

This year’s annual audit was a piece of cake! We celebrated a completely clean audit with no findings, adjustments or deficiencies noted. In addition to this feat, the single audit over federal funding also resulted in no findings. Congratulations to the finance team – and all other team members involved – on all of the hard work that went into making it happen. To top off this sweet success, there was plenty of cake to celebrate.

ELI ACROSS THE STATE

EYI Deadline Approaching 

The Early Years Initiative — our $50 Million grant opportunity generously supported by Lilly Endowment, Inc. — request for proposals closes June 15. We are actively seeking community and child-focused organizations 

across Indiana to submit proposals for new, enhanced or expanded programs or projects that influence the healthy development of physical, social-emotional and cognitive skills in infants and toddlers (children from birth through age three). Learn more at EarlyYearsInitiative.org. 

ELI in Sullivan County

Elected officials, business leaders, community leaders and high-quality providers met to discuss the economic impact of child care in Sullivan County. Jonathan Dilley, our Chief of Staff, gave an overview of the child care access gap and the opportunities in Sullivan County. He then joined an expert panel – including Clint Lamb, mayor of the City of Sullivan, Kristi Burkhart, CASY program director, and Erin LeDune, marketing and recruitment specialist at Sullivan County Community Hospital – to discuss sustainable solutions.   

Juneteenth Jamboree  

ELI joined in the Children's Museum of Indianapolis' Juneteenth Jamboree celebration on Saturday. We hosted a booth where we provided bilingual books to early learners, while families learned about enrollment and recruitment opportunities at the Day Early Learning centers. A huge thank you goes out to all team members who volunteered their time and signed up for shifts at the event. Your enthusiasm and efforts helped raise awareness about the essential work we do to ensure children thrive in kindergarten and beyond.

Child Care Provider Fairs 

Early care and education providers meet one of the greatest needs in our communities, yet balancing start-up and ongoing operational demands with what matters most – supporting the growth and development of our littlest learners – is a constant reality. To address this challenge, the Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) Network is hosting a second round of one-stop shop Child Care Provider Fairs to help emerging and established child care providers navigate starting or advancing their programs. ELI will host a booth at each event where we will help providers claim their profiles on the Early Learning Marketplace and walk them through the Marketing Best Practices Guide. The fairs kicked off in Lake County hosted by Geminus Child Care Resource & Referral. To view the full schedule of upcoming events, click here.

TRENDING ACROSS OUR DAY EARLY LEARNING CENTERS

Ready. Set. Go!

DEL students revved up their engines leading up to the 2023 Indianapolis 500. We kicked off with six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon making a pit stop at our IU Health center. Joining forces with PNC, Dixon read to our preschoolers, igniting their love for reading. The fun continued at  Fort Harrison and Lilly Family centers with their very own Mini 500s. Families worked together to create vibrant box cars for our students to race around the schools and playgrounds. 

Day of Impact - Make it Possible

Mark your calendars! Our fifth-annual Day of Impact is on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Early Learning Indiana’s annual Day of Impact provides an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of more than 1,000 children who attend our Day Early Learning centers. Each day, we strive for our centers to serve as welcoming, high-

quality environments where children and families thrive. Day of Impact is about making it possible. Day of Impact is about coming together for one special day to support early learners and make important enhancements possible in our early learning environments. 

Fort & Federal Closing for Maintenance 

In accordance with our agreement with the General Services Administration, they retain the option to temporarily suspend operations at any government building for necessary maintenance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, routine maintenance procedures have been unavoidably postponed in our facilities and throughout the country. Consequently, Fort Harrison and Federal Building have now been scheduled for week-long temporary closures. Alternate care will be available at our Eastern Star Church location. Closure dates are:

• DEL at Fort Harrison: Saturday, June 17 - Sunday, June 25
• DEL at Federal Building: Saturday, July 1 - Sunday, July 9

SUBMIT AN UPDATE

If you have important news to submit to Tuesday Newsday, please do so via the ELI Internal Communications Submission Form. All content is due the Wednesday before Tuesday Newsday (biweekly) and is routed through senior leadership for approval.

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