FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Safeway Foundation Donates to Birth To Three
Employees' Contribution Helps Children's Program
Minalee Saks (center), executive director and co-founder of Birth To Three, accepts the donation from a group of Safeway employees at the Coburg Road (Eugene) store.
The Safeway Foundation has donated $5,000 to Birth To Three’s Children’s Program. The Program serves families participating in our First 3 Years® groups. Skilled staff and interns provide developmentally appropriate activities for the children whose parents are attending groups.
Birth To Three’s meets The Safeway Foundation’s goals by making a significant and lasting impact in our community. Many First 3 Years® groups have continued to meet informally after groups officially ended; some have been meeting for 33 years! Our work continues to be an essential factor in youth development. Parents are their children's first and most important teachers. More than a decade's worth of research shows the connection between positive early childhood development to long-term benefits for youth development: higher graduation rates and educational attainment, and decrease in child abuse, neglect, juvenile/adult crime, and teen pregnancy.
"If more children were born to parents who are ready and able to care for them, we would see a significant reduction in a host of social problems...from school failure and crime to child abuse and neglect." (Why It Matters, 2010)
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