Penquis receives child development grant from Maine Community Foundation

Penquis recently received $10,000 from the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund of the Maine Community Foundation to purchase supplies necessary for providing care and education to young children and support services to Maine families. The Penquis Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide quality early learning experiences to low-income Maine children, supporting intellectual/emotional and social development as well as promoting school readiness.

Penquis provides Head Start, Early Head Start and Child Care to children six weeks to age 5. Penquis follows the Whole Family approach, developing children to their highest potential, recognizing parents as the prime educators of their children and assisting families in attaining resources and personal development, resulting in a healthier and more prosperous community.

Mary Lynn Hersey, child development director, states, “The Maine Community Foundation’s support recognizes the importance of quality child care to children and their families as well as to the state of Maine. The grant will be used to purchase supplies necessary to maintain child care services in safe, healthy environments, helping children to learn and enabling parents to stay in the workforce, thereby strengthening Maine’s overall economy.”

Penquis Child Development is recognized as a quality program by the New England Head Start Association and the State of Maine Quality Rating System. It currently serves 300 children in 33 classrooms across 13 locations.