This I have never understood:
How can anyone, anywhere not want to support a program that gives those who are most defenseless, who are without a voice, without a constituency, without a lobby, a chance?
Head Start works. By all the metrics it has an immediate effect on the kids. On IQ scores, academic achievement, crime, and poor health. In addition, research shows that every dollar invested in these children returns $11! That these advantages often fade over time is more an indictment of our own failings rather than the programs.
But one of the measurable achievements of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, 50 years ago, is fast becoming a victim of sequestration and Washington’s war on the poor.
Fortunately, here in Dutchess County, where Astor Services for Children & Families has been running Head Start/Early Head Start programs for three decades, we’ve sidestepped the worst.
- Our five locations throughout the county have served over 5,500 children in the past five years alone.
- Currently, 556 kids are enrolled in the program, with 154 in Early Head Start—an even more effective way to change young lives.
Astor’s commitment to Head Start is unwavering.
Which is why we’re launching a major fundraising program to guarantee that, whatever the climate in Washington, Head Start/Early Head Start here in the Hudson River Valley will continue to thrive.
Astor’s Adopt-A-Classroom/Student Program
Your donation to the Adopt-A-Classroom/Student Program is really a gift through Astor into the community and schools where we serve. Astor is working in the arena of enhancing children’s potential, which means that the children will reap the benefits of your generosity directly. With teachers, materials and lunches. They will be going right into the program.
And here is how a little money can go a long, long way:
For just $200 a year you can “adopt” a student in any of our Head Start programs. And for $4,000 you can sponsor an entire classroom.
This is an extraordinary opportunity to give in a way that keeps on giving—365 days a year.
It’s not just giving back, it’s giving a future, a childhood to a three or four, or five year old. This is what Astor was founded to do.
That I think we can all understand.
“In a global, knowledge based-economy, the genius of our children is our nation’s’ greatest asset. Universal pre-k is a must: Based just on cost-benefit analysis, the evidence is overwhelming. We know that every dollar spent on high-quality early education returns roughly $7 – through reduced spending on social services, as well as higher earning and productivity for participants as adults.”
Cory Booker, United States Senator, New Jersey
Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2014.
Learn more about Astor’s Adopt-A-Classroom/Student Program
Click here to Donate to the Program today