YWCA Clinton Works to Crush the Housing Barrier
IWF extends a special thank you to our 2022 Grant Partner, YWCA Clinton Empowerment Center, for writing this guest blog, shining a light on a primary barrier to women’s success, and working diligently to improve the lives of Iowa’s women and girls. Housing instability is a major problem in Clinton County, and the YWCA Clinton
How The UI Labor Center is Building New Opportunities for Women
Thank you, UI Labor Center, for writing this guest blog and building sustainable solutions for Iowa’s women and girls. We are proud to have you as a 2022 Grant Partner. Across Iowa, a small—but growing—number of women are opting for hard hats, work boots, and tool belts as they join Iowa’s skilled construction trades. This
Easterseals Works Hard to Fight Unemployment for Women with Disabilities
In 2021, the rate of unemployment for women with a disability was 10.1 percent, nearly double the percentage of unemployed women without disabilities (5.1 percent). Across the board, women with disabilities traditionally have much higher rates of unemployment or underemployment. The team at Easterseals Iowa is working hard to change this. Easterseals offers several innovative
SMART Girls Today. Strong Women Tomorrow.
Young women need a solid foundation for building healthy attitudes and lifestyles, now more than ever. The Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands helps solidify that foundation through SMART Girls, an educational program designed to build self-esteem, develop positive relationships with peers and adults, explore societal attitudes and values, and learn about health and
New Child Care Director Certificate Training Expands Opportunities
IWF extends a special thank you to our 2022 Grantee Partner, Hawkeye Community College Foundation, for writing this guest blog and sharing more about the Foundation’s work to raise funding for scholarships, assistance in educational opportunities, staff equipment and development, and other support services, such as child care. Guest Contribution from Hawkeye Community College Foundation:
IWF’s Child Care Solution Fund Helps Families Enroll Their Children in KidsPoint (through Waypoint)
When Lucinda had her second child, she had planned to be a stay-at-home mom, but after a few months, she decided it was not a good fit for her and began pursuing employment opportunities. She and her husband didn’t have any family in the area, so after she enrolled her daughter at KidsPoint, she quickly
News from Little Knights Learning Center – Dysart Campus
On July 27, 2021, we officially moved into our new facility. Going from 3 rooms inside of an elementary school to 5 rooms, 2 offices, a laundry room and full kitchen has been an exciting time for us, yet trying at times. Our current challenge is to hire enough staff to cover the wait lists
How Scholarships Make Child Care More Affordable for Working Families
A special thank you to Mt. Pleasant Childcare Center, one of IWF’s 2022 BCCCS Grant Fund Recipients, for writing this guest blog. To learn more about this organization and get updates from the center, visit facebook.com/mpchildcarecenter/. The Mt. Pleasant Childcare Center opened in July 2021, providing much needed child care to residents of Mt Pleasant
Greetings from the Family Resource Center
Greetings from the Family Resource Center. We are located in the county seat of Ringgold. We are the only licensed child care center in our town of Mount Ayr. A group of community members came together in the early 90’s to put together an Early Childhood Center and in 1997 broke ground for our current
Check Out the Community Early Childhood Center
In November of 2020, our child care center began an expansion project to increase our licensed capacity from 151 children up to 207. We applied for, and received, a Community Development Block Grant totaling $600,000. We then kicked off a capital fundraising campaign to raise the necessary funds to start construction. In June of 2021,