A primary Reading Great by 8 role is helping Weld County child care providers start and expand their businesses. When they do, more parents can be in the workforce. For instance, since it was founded in 2016, the Weld Child Care partnership with Weld County Department of Human Services has led to 59 new licensed home-based child care businesses with 472 new child care slots.
The more recent State of Colorado Emerging and Expanding Child Care Grant program, as managed by United Way staff, has invested $1.1 million in child care providers in 13 Weld County municipalities. This has benefited 59 providers and nearly 2,500 children, through creating more child care opportunities and increasing quality.
While already doing quite well, John Jaquish of Tiny Tykes in Firestone saw this new funding as an opportunity to expand his business and better serve the Carbon Valley community. 3079 Through United Way coaching and investments, Tiny Tykes recently went from being licensed as a large family child care home to a full-fledged center, from serving 12 children to 20, including those aged 30 months and above. To bring this about, Tiny Tykes received $50,000 to assist in paying for a fire hydrant, a paved driveway and a fire wall, all of which were required by the local fire department. In turn, Jaquish put in over $100,000 of his own money to complete the expansion of the business.
Tiny Tykes and United Way thank you for your investments in children throughout Weld County.
