Thank you to everyone who has participated generously in ourStepping Stones Scholarship Program. This very special programwas founded by honorary board member Barbara Gebb in thewake of the 1992 Civil Unrest in Los Angeles and Long Beach.

This year, you have made childcare possible for the Slaughter family.

More information to come on how you can continue to participatein this important program which helps to remove the financialin this important program which helps to remove the financialbarriers that families experience in obtaining quality early careand education for their children.

“When I returned back to work full time after my second child, I was no longer eligible for my prior program at LBDN.I was faced with what seemed like an impossible decision,as I couldn’t afford the daycare rate, but my children and Ilove our LBDN family. Luckily, we were blessed with thisopportunity provided by the Stepping Stones Program.I am now able to afford childcare and my kids are ableI am now able to afford childcare and my kids are ableto continue to thrive in an environment they know and love.I cannot thank the Stepping Stones Program and the staffat LBDN for everything they’ve provided me and my babies.” - Shana... Mommy to Tatum & Tytan Slaughter

ED Message

OCTOBER 2020

STEPPINGSTONESSCHOLARSHIPPROGRAM

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Today, scholarships are moreimportant than everdue to the currenteconomic situationchallenging families tobalance California’shigh cost of livinghigh cost of livingand investing inquality education.

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LB Gives a Success

Childcare is Essential

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Wow, what a journey this past six months has been! We hopeyou are staying healthy and well and have had a chance to followour stories on Facebook (follow us @LBDNsince1912) or join us forone of our virtual events. Just in case we missed you,here’s a little recap…

Long Beach Day Nursery celebrated the end of our last school year (andcontinue operating) in hybrid status, with virtual events, distance andcontinue operating) in hybrid status, with virtual events, distance andin-person learning. We held our Tea for Tots “From Home”, hosted ourAnnual Meeting and Sunset Connection over Zoom, had drive throughgraduations, launched a distance learning program, provided ourfamilies in need with at-home learning kits and laptops, and afterclosing in March reopened our schools in late spring at reducedcapacity with strict social distancing measures for in-personprogramming. All the while diligently ensuring not only high-qualityprogramming. All the while diligently ensuring not only high-qualitycare and education but stellar health and safety protocols forour young learners and team.

In addition to executing our mission of high-quality early education,LBDN has continued work towards our Strategic Plan goals. We: finalized our rebrand and new logo (launching in early 2021);completed an IT assessment and are creating a correspondingtechnology strategic plan; continued our Early Intervention Programtechnology strategic plan; continued our Early Intervention Programwith a focus on parenting support, case management, and basic needsresources; have begun a feasibility study to support expansionefforts with weekly planning meetings; increased funding through grantsand government contracts; and launched the 2nd year of our teacherdegree scholarships. And as our society renewed a call to action in support of our Black and Brown Communities, the LBDN Board andTTeam together, have embarked on a partnership with The CaliforniaConference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ) to: learn, discuss, explore,and activate how we can (as individuals and as an organization)best support racial and social justice in our schools and community.

We couldn’t be more proud of our resilient LBDN team who maintains apositive, warm, inviting culture for our young students and families.Amidst a global pandemic, we have remained committed to qualityearly care and education AND increased resources, outreach, andearly care and education AND increased resources, outreach, andsupports to our families. Through all of this, one thing shines through…hope. We find hope in our resilient team and board, in our supporterswho have encouraged us along the way, in our community who continuesto work collaboratively to support each other, and in our children. In ourchildren we continue to see a love for learning, for building relationships,and a bright future for our world.

Hope shinesHope shines and so do all of you! Thank you for being a partof our LBDN family!

Whitney

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MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

A few things have changed:

• Half the number of children in each classroom

• Health checks before entering the building

• Parents cannot come inside the building the building

• Staff and children over 2 wear face masks

• Frequent cleaning and disinfecting

• Distance learning available for students who choose not to attend in-person not to attend in-person

What has not changed:

• Smiling, laughing and playing!• Focusing on early literacy, art, science, math and much more

• Two meals and a snack provided daily

•• Commitment to safety and health of our staff and children

• A dedicated team committed to quality early education!

HOW DO YOUPROVIDE CHILDCAREDURING COVID-19?

OCTOBER 2020

LONG BEACH GIVES A SUCCCES!

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Shiela AbalayanAlejandra Albarran MosesTom & Joan AldersonElizabeth AlfaroDarlene AllenErin AllenJennifer AllenJennifer AllenStan AllenPriya Bahl-SenNona BalingitPatrick BalingitGina BallardDina BergBarbara BlackwellBarbara BlackwellMargaret BlevinsBrett BradburyAmy BrentJill Buczkowski UnzeClaire CarrellHolly CarrellRyan CarrellRyan CarrellDjinamarie CasilesMarissa CervantesDaphne Ching-JacksonChristy ConroyLeo Corcoran IIILori CraigDenise DahlhausenDenise DahlhausenScott DonnellyMelissa Duldulao

Patricia EllingtonLisa FinnGina GillumMario GonzalesJessica GonzalezRobyn Gordon-PetersonBrandon HarperBrandon HarperNancy HaysBrittanie HeartSteve HockettDonita HorikKatherine HuynhAnne JohnsonKari KeithKari KeithKevin KellyMarjan Khorashadi-ZadehMeghan KingJillian KoehringMonika KosinskaAnne LaguzzaWhitney LeathersWhitney LeathersKevin LeePriscilla LeeCristy LeoneNicholas LeoneThomas LordMercy MaglonzoRonnie MaglonzoRonnie MaglonzoJuliette MahoneyOlivia MaiserTom & Elaine Marks

Kimber MartinDeloris MayugaBrandon MeadGonzalo MedinaMatthew MendozaLorie & Paul MerrillBreanna MunsonBreanna MunsonSuzanne NosworthyBeverly O'NeillSuzanne PowellDarlene RobertsHilda SanchezGail SchwandnerKarissa SelvesterKarissa SelvesterTeague SenningerKaitlin SimpsonNerissa SimpsonJean SmithSarah SorianoMichael SoutarDebbie ThorpeDebbie ThorpeTracey ThorpeLinda TreffryCarissa UpanoNelinia VarenasSandra WellsMelanie WertsJeffrey WilliamsJeffrey WilliamsJacklyn YenMira Yin

LB GIVES GALLERY OF DONORS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Save the Date: LBDN Virtual Holiday Party onDecember 10, 6 – 8pm.

Technology (IT) Assessment: LBDN is undergoing an ITassessment involving a survey, individual interviews andan onsite review. We look forward to the creation of anIT strategic plan which will guide our investments andtechnology needs going forward.technology needs going forward.

New Brand and LBDN website: Thank you toeveryone who participated in our brand survey,we can’t wait to show you the final version!

Our newsletters will be offered quarterly in 2021,sign-up now to make sure you are on our email listby emailing rcarrell@lbdn.org.

Long Beach Day Nursery (LBDN) was selected for the 2nd year in a row with the privilege of becomingone of the 100+ non-profit organizations to participate in Long Beach Gives on September 24, 2020! LBGives is an online citywide fundraising campaign aimed at inspiring community support for non-profit organizations. The overall fundraising goal of all non-profit organizations participating was $1 million,and LBDN’s goal was $7,000. All proceeds raised for LBDN directly support our mission, to providehigh-quality early care and education to young children of working parents, as we continue to deliver crucial essential services to families onsite and remotely through distancing learning. Both goals werecrucial essential services to families onsite and remotely through distancing learning. Both goals werenot only met, but greatly exceeded. The overall LB Gives campaign raised a staggering $1,776,823,and LBDN raised $9,500+! We had 95 generous donors contribute to our LB Gives campaign, andexperienced 100% board participation! A big thank you to all of our LBDN supporters. We are grateful for your love and support as we continue to serve our young students and families during this time.

OCTOBER 2020

ChairRobyn Gordon-Peterson Chair-Elect,Personnel ChairDebbie Thorpe 1st Vice Chair,Governance ChairKevin Kelly 2nd Vice Chair,Resource Development ChairJillian KoehringJillian Koehring Treasurer,Finance ChairBrett Bradbury Recording SecretaryNancy HaysNancy Hays Board MembersPriya Bahl-SenGina BallardPat EllingtonLisa FinnSteve HockettSteve HockettMeghan KingKevin LeeGonzalo MedinaGail SchwandnerLinda TreffryNelinia Varenas

20-21 BOARDOF DIRECTORS

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CHILDCARE IS ESSENTIALYes, LBDN is open and has been providing childcare onsite at our two branches and via distance learning during Covid-19. This past Springand Summer we served 192 children: 22 infants, 51 Toddlersand 119 Preschoolers.

For a general update from April watch Executive Director Whitney Leather’s interview here: http://bit.ly/LBDNUpdate

Long Beach Day Nursery’s physical capacity is greatly reduced due Long Beach Day Nursery’s physical capacity is greatly reduced due to Covid-19 physical distancing requirements and yet we havemaintained our high-quality, innovative kindergarten-readiness services for young children and their families. LBDN provides a safe, stableenvironment for children to thrive and a place forlow-income families to seek and receive services, continuetheir education, training and employment. In addition to daily careand programming, we have also organized family meetings with aand programming, we have also organized family meetings with aconsulting psychologist to provide additional support forfamilies enrolled in the Early Intervention Program.

The LBDN Early Intervention Program (EIP) provides: observations,assessments and intervention strategies for children and families whowant or need a little extra support, such as children with identifiedspecial needs, social/emotional development support, developmentaldelays, behavior concerns, or challenges navigating other basic needs,health, mental health, or family systems resources. This is acomprehensive program that takes a whole child, whole family,comprehensive program that takes a whole child, whole family,approach to identify and address all kinds of challenges childrenand families face in the early years. The EIP program incorporatesinterns, teaching staff, professional development and visitswith a consulting psychologist. As well as supports to parents throughcounseling, case management, parent child play therapy and referralsto additional support. In many cases, the care LBDN provides is the onlyplace where trained adults are focused on helping students meet theirplace where trained adults are focused on helping students meet theirbasic needs, and access the education and early care that can pavethe way to a successful life in kindergarten and beyond.

DID YOU KNOW?

OCTOBER 2020