News Release

December 19, 2005

The James Irvine Foundation Awards Community Grant to Crystal Stairs to Develop Parents into Advocates

WHO: The James Irvine Foundation recently awarded funding to Crystal Stairs to support its Community Voices project. Crystal Stairs will work with six other child care agencies across Los Angeles County on this 2-year project designed to develop parents into leaders. “This is an enormous opportunity for us as an agency to provide parents support and to help develop them into community leaders”, says Holly J. Mitchell, CEO of Crystal Stairs. “Parents are out there trying to figure things out on their own, and we have an opportunity here to change that.”

WHAT: Crystal Stairs and its partnering agencies will host monthly parent workshops throughout the county. Agencies will host advocacy trainings, as well as workshops on topics such as Eating and Shopping Healthy while on a Budget; Coping with Restless Babies; and Stress Management for Parents. Workshops are free. Food and child care will be provided.

WHY: More work needs to be done to educate the community on the importance of accessible, quality child care and its strong link to improved child health; school-readiness; family self-sufficiency; and maintaining a stable workforce.

One-third of California’s child care funding goes to serve Los Angeles County. The participating agencies serve families with annual incomes of $11,960 while child care costs can average $7,340 annually. The parents that head these families represent some of the most resilient people in our community. They are predominantly African American and Latino, struggling to be self-sufficient with low-wage jobs, or transitioning from welfare to work. Many negotiate school, social service systems, searching for, securing and keeping employment, and maintaining their household. They need accessible, affordable child care. They also need a supportive structure designed to develop grassroots leadership and guide the channeling of their skills for survival into skills of advocacy. Advocacy and family well-being are distinctly related and Community Voices will help parents witness how advocacy can effect how they manage their future and that of their children.

WHEN: Workshops will start in January 2006. For more information on the workshop series, please contact Sydney Kamlager at Crystal Stairs at 323.421.2631

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