Southwestern Oregon Community College is the recipient of a $15,436 grant from Oregon! Ready to Learn Initiative, of the Oregon Community Foundation, to support the training and mentoring of childcare providers in children's language, literacy, and social and emotional development.

CARE Connections, the supervising program for childcare education at Southwestern, strives to improve the quality of life for individuals of all ages by providing education and support to families and care providers in Coos and Curry counties. CARE Connec-tions is collaborating with multiple partners, including the North Bend and Myrtle Point public libraries, Even Start and the Southwestern Family Center.

“Increasing children's school readiness, combined with positive interaction with their caregivers, improves dramatically their future success in school, and ultimately, the work place,” said CARE Connections Director Laura Nier.

The Oregon Community Foundation is partnering with the Lora L. and Martin N. Kelley Family Foundation trust for the second phase of the Oregon! Ready to Learn Initiative. This represents a second five-year commitment on behalf of OCF, with half of phase two being supplied by the Kelley family. The initiative is designed to expand access to proven early childhood programs that promote literacy and language development. In February, 12 grants were awarded totaling $223,017.

The OCF endowment consists of more than 1,200 funds with combined assets of $850 million.