ELCOC is organizing their 2021 Virtual First Five Years Celebration on Thursday, June 24, 2021 from 11:30 am to 1 pm. The online fundraiser will have a silent auction, live auction, networking and performances by Central Florida Community Arts. The theme for this event will be "Let's Glow Wild"!

Your sponsorship will support special programs that will help over 470 young children under the age of five develop academically and socially and childcare providers better serve the children they care for. Some of the children have parents who are essential workers and first responders working to keep us safe.

The programs your donation will support are:

Artists in Residence – provides children in early learning programs in Orange County with expanded opportunities to enjoy firsthand diverse creative arts experiences and participating programs the opportunity to connect outside of their program with community arts providers by attending age-appropriate activities. Teachers completing the Artist in Residence program showed a 42% increase in knowledge and each program put on an Artist Showcase for their children & families at the end of the school year.

Circle of Security - offers early childhood staff in centers in the Pine Hills community an evidence-based program that works to support attachment between children and the adults who care for them. As Orange County moves toward becoming a trauma-informed community, having early childhood teachers who know how to best support attachment with young children will help ensure that children’s adverse experiences are lessened, to their long-term health benefit.

LENA Grow – helps to increase teachers’ awareness of their language interactions with young children that build children’s use of vocabulary and communication to help children start school at a level playing field with their counterparts. Infant/toddler teachers in the LENA Grow program showed a 74% increase in knowledge and a 55% increase in the number of conversational turns they had with the infants & toddlers in their care.

Your support towards these programs will provide a domino effect – equipping child care teachers with tools and training which only better prepares Orange County children to get ready for kindergarten, which also provides peace of mind to working parents, essential workers and first responders. Orange County’s youngest children will continue to thrive thanks to your support.