Free Year of Childcare? Oh heck, yes. [Giveaway]
The following article was contributed and sponsored by one of this blog’s partners.
Brainstorm with me for a minute. What would your life (and your bank account) look like if you didn’t have to worry about childcare for an entire year? Less stress? More budget for a college savings…or a savings? We all want more, but especially when it comes to quality options for childcare for our little ones, and more freedom to have family adventures.
The reality is, for most of us, finding a childcare provider that we trust and who fits within our budget is a major challenge. Most Colorado families struggle to find quality, affordable early education for children ages 0-5. Enter the mom-founded Colorado company MyVillage, which is on a mission to change that.
The startup is encouraging local families to submit one-minute videos about their struggles to find quality childcare in our state, for the chance to win a year of free childcare—valued at more than $13,000!
“The Struggle Is Real” – MyVillage Giveaway Contest
MyVillage’s video contest, dubbed “The Struggle is Real,” kicks off Monday, Aug. 12, and the deadline for submissions is Aug. 26. The lucky winner will be announced on Thursday, Sept. 5 and can use the tuition waiver at any MyVillage program across the state. (The company has about 40 open or about to open soon.)
Don’t live in Colorado? MyVillage also encourages nominations of friends or family members and you can submit a video on their behalf. In order to win, the family nominated must live in Colorado and have at least one child in the home by Sept. 1, 2019.
MyVillage Offers a Solution
“At MyVillage, we have your back, whether you are a hard-working parent struggling to find care, or an early childhood educator in our community,” explained Beth Szymanski, MyVillage co-founder. “During this stressful back-to-school season, gifting a year of high-quality early childhood education to one Colorado family was a great way to spotlight the need to increase the number of quality providers in our state.”
When Szymanski moved to the Front Range with her infant, Evie, five years ago, she needed to go back to work, but the only quality childcare options had waitlists of one to two years. Fed up with the reality of finding quality childcare in her town, Beth teamed up with her friend and fellow entrepreneur Erica Mackey, who was going through the same struggle in Bozeman, Montana. Together they launched MyVillage to give families better options in the form of high quality accessible, affordable in-home infant and toddler care.
Childcare costs more than college tuition in a majority of states, including Colorado. Here, infant care is 60% more expensive that public university tuition. Less than 10% of Colorado’s childcare placements are considered high quality and fail to meet basic licensing standards. This forces many workers (unfortunately, mostly moms) to make the tough choice of returning to their job or staying home to provide care.
Improving Colorado Childcare
MyVillage currently offers exceptional home-based programs for young children in Aurora, Brighton, Colorado Springs, Denver Metro, Eagle County, and Glenwood Springs. More locations are opening each week, and the contest winner can use the tuition waiver anytime over the next 12 months.
So get your cameras out, mamas, and nominate yourselves and your friends. It will take a village to improve childcare options in Colorado, and MyVillage is leading the way!
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All photo credits MyVillage.com
