Child Care Fair celebrates Gloucester County’s youngest learners

The fair will provide information about childcare programs, development, education and more.

The Gloucester County Commission for Women is collaborating with The Arc Gloucester and the Southern Regional Child Care Resource Center to celebrate the Week of the Young Child by co-sponsoring the Gloucester County Child Care Fair at the Deptford Mall Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The theme this year is “celebrating our youngest learners in Gloucester County.”

“Child care and early education programs have emerged as important issues for woman and their families in our county,” Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger said. “As parents, educators and leaders we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to build strong supportive communities that will provide our children with the tools they need to reach their dreams.”

At the fair, social service agencies, childcare programs and summer camps will be available to provide information about their programs and services that support families as well as children’s healthy development and early education.

“The child care fair is an opportunity for us as a community to focus on the needs of young children and their families and to provide them with outlets that promote early learning,” said Freeholder Jim Jefferson, liaison to the Commission for Women.

The Grow NJ Kids Quality Rating and Improvement System will be featured and local groups will provide entertainment. The Arc Gloucester will feature a non-alcoholic drink contest with bartenders from Ruby Tuesday and Red Robin to focus attention on their Making Healthy Choices Program that educates expectant mothers about the danger of alcohol and drugs.

The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the world’s largest early childhood education association, with nearly 80,000 members and a network of over 300 local, state and regional affiliates. NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child in 1971, recognizing the early childhood years — birth through age eight — provide the foundation for children’s success in school and later life. The Week of the Young Child is a time to plan how we, as citizens of a community, of a state and of a nation will better meet the needs of all young children and their families.

The Commission for Women consists of professional women who are appointed by the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders to conduct fact-finding activities and advise the board and the public about issues affecting women in the county.

For more information about the event, contact Beverly Wellons, Gloucester County Commission for Women chair, at (856) 845–2432.