From the Early Childhood Community To the Addison County Community and our State Partners
An Open Letter of Gratitude
These times continue to worry and challenge us all, yet they have also opened the doors to caring in wonderful ways.
We are grateful for the children and parents of our programs, now graciously staying at home, helping to slow the spread of the virus. Thank you for your flexibility with your time and technology, for being part of our remote community, for sharing fears and ideas, and continuing to be filled with the joy of learning. We cannot wait to be hugging, singing, and exploring with you again in person.
We are grateful to our colleagues who are supporting children of pandemic responders in their programs. What a hard and compassionate balance you have found, and what solace you bring to those families. Thank you.
We are grateful to our staff members, who have adapted quickly and creatively to the demands of remote learning.
We are grateful to our wider Addison County community, who are working in myriad ways to keep us all safe, healthy, and hopeful in these dark times. We give thanks for the mutual aid groups, the health teams, the food deliveries, the support services for families, the on-line access to the arts, and the knowledge that we are in this together.
We are grateful to our state partners who recognize the critical importance of childcare for the health of children, families, and the economy. Thank you for continuing to pay child care tuition subsidies, for helping private pay families to maintain their enrollment, helping both home and center based programs to survive, and for beginning to build the strong infrastructure of care that will be needed when community members are able to go back to work. We are very proud that Vermont has been the first state nationally to put such comprehensive measures in place.
We are grateful to our state and local leaders and communication systems, all working tirelessly and diligently to give us as much accurate information and guidance as possible in a changing environment.
Vermont Proud, Vermont Strong.
We will work with you to assure all children are in safe, stable, and nurturing environments.
We will continue to be a core part of the local, Addison County response to this pandemic.