Early Matters Chattanooga is asking residents and businesses to join communities across the nation on Friday, May 6 as they thank local child care providers for their tireless efforts in the classroom.
Provider Appreciation Day is celebrated the Friday before Mother’s Day each year to recognize child care providers, teachers and other educators of young children everywhere. The purpose is to amplify our nation’s collective gratitude for those who support the social, emotional and physical care of our youngest children.
Research shows that 90 percent of a child’s brain growth happens before they start Kindergarten. Child care teachers work year-round to provide quality, consistent care and education to young children during that time. In Hamilton County, there are at least 15,000 children for whom both parents work full-time, which means they need access to quality early childhood education, while both working families and employers rely on their consistent care for parents to participate in the workforce.
“Across the country, child care providers are working at a reduced capacity, due to a staffing crisis,” said TN Child Care Resource and Referral southeast coordinator, Charlotte Hubert. “Now more than ever, we need to thank those early childhood teachers who remain in the classroom and are working hard to cover the gaps and still show up smiling every day for the young children they serve.”
On their website, Early Matters shares ways you can thank your favorite child care teacher or center:
Handwritten note of thanks
Pool together with your office and cater breakfast or lunch for a provider near you
Gift cards
Sponsor an employee volunteer day and work at the child care center for a few hours
Care closets or monthly snack carts
Let your social followers know how much you appreciate your child’s child care teachers using #thankyouchildcare
A video featuring local leaders and families thanking child care teachers for their role in educating the community’s youngest residents will be shared on the Early Matters website on Friday, May 6.
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About Early Matters Chattanooga:
Early Matters Chattanooga is an action team of Chattanooga 2.0 made up of 30 local early organizations invested in positive early childhood outcomes. The group was formed in 2016 with the vision that Chattanooga-Hamilton County will be the best place in the nation for a child to be born and raised. To achieve this, the organizations are working together to build a coordinated early childhood system focused on equitable access to quality early care and learning resources. For more information visit www.chatt2.org/earlymatters
