The community is invited to this FREE event entitled “Childcare Challenges in the Chippewa Valley: How It Affects Our Community.”  Panelists Janet Black (REACH, Inc. & Hand in Hand,) Amanda Dohms (CVTC,) Renee Ernsting (Western Dairyland), and Chris Hambuch-Boyle (Retired Educator) will discuss the problems and opportunities our community faces in childcare. Organized by the Women’s Giving Circle (WGC), the Educational Event focuses on a different topic of significance to the Eau Claire area each year.

Problems with finding affordable, quality childcare affect more than individual families; they also affect employers whose workers have to stay home with children, customers whose service is impaired by understaffing as a result, and the overall economic wellbeing of the community. The panelists will address a variety of topics, including when childcare access first became an issue, how it’s worsened over the years, the importance of quality care and the role it plays in early childhood development, and an overview of resources and partnerships available in the Chippewa Valley.

The WGC is a Fund of the Eau Claire Community Foundation. Its members use the power of collective giving by pooling their donations to fund grants to nonprofit organizations that work to enhance the well-being of local women and children. The impact of each member’s $250 or more contribution is considerable: Together, the WGC members have distributed $451,021 in grants since their Fund was established in 2007.

New WGC members are always welcome, and the Educational Event offers an excellent opportunity to experience what the WGC has to offer. Membership is open to anyone—male or female—interested in joining the WGC.

For more information about the Educational Event or the Women’s Giving Circle (including how to join it), please email [email protected] or call the Eau Claire Community Foundation at (715) 552-3801.