Initiatives

About Bright & Early DuPage

Bright & Early DuPage (B&ED), an initiative of DuPage Foundation, is a unique program designed to leverage area resources to ensure that all DuPage children from birth to age five receive the comprehensive support critical in preparing them for success in kindergarten and beyond.

Community by community, B&ED is engaging and uniting local organizations and individuals to build awareness for and facilitate access to early childhood education and support services for DuPage children and their families. Each year, the B&ED initiative provides grant funding to local community organizations to help establish, build and maintain early childhood collaboratives. B&ED also serves as a voice for early learning and child-friendly policies at all levels of government.

Vision
Every DuPage child will be ready to succeed in kindergarten.

Mission Statement
To build sustainable, coordinated, local early childhood systems that actively work to increase access to quality education and support for children and families with limited resources.

Collaborative Networks
The following early childhood collaborations currently receive funding through the Bright & Early DuPage initiative:

Expanding early childhood collaboration into additional communities is a Bright & Early DuPage priority. Communities interested in exploring the implementation of an early childhood collaboration should contact Barb Szczepaniak at 630-598-5280 or barb@dupagefoundation.org.

Grant Opportunity

Supporting children during their first five years of life is critical to prepare them to succeed and thrive when they arrive at kindergarten. There are many ways to support young children and their families, but the Foundation is most interested in supporting the development of new collaborations and efforts specifically focused on building system capacity and parent engagement.