Community Foundation Salutes South Dakota Voices for Children

Sioux Falls, S.D. ? Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation recently announced South Dakota Voices for Children as the winner of its 2008 Community Spirit Award. The award and a $5,000 grant were presented to executive director Susan Randall on May 1 during City Blossom, a fundraiser for SFACF?s unrestricted Community Fund endowments.

In presenting the award, SFACF board member Mary Pat Sweetman recognized the significant contribution South Dakota Voices for Children has made to pre-kindergarten education in the community.

In 2004, the agency applied for $10,000 in seed money to rally area business and civic leaders to explore the relationship between investing in early childhood education and future economic success. They pointed out that

• 85 percent of brain development occurs from birth to age three
  
• 75 percent of South Dakota mothers with children younger than six are in the workforce, and that
  
• Studies show that every dollar invested in early childhood education for at-risk children ultimately saves the public seven dollars.
  

That initial grant from SFACF led South Dakota Voices for Children to start a pilot project to improve access to pre-kindergarten education. The project grew and, last year, the Starting Strong initiative was adopted and funded to the tune of $1.6 million by commitments from the Governor?s Future?s Fund, United Way, and Forward Sioux Falls. The three-year pilot project will give 205 at-risk 3- and 4-year olds access to a preschool education.

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