Month: October 2023

Partner Spotlight: D-Up

“I’m really excited about joining Ready Ready’s CQI cohort, “ said Jakki Davis, executive director of D-Up, a High Point-based nonprofit focused on helping youth and families. “We’ve done a great job of developing relationships and rapport with our families, but we want to do even better. CQI is going to help us better assess needs and build capacity.”

Ready Ready is excited to extend the opportunity and the funding to organizations like D-Up to join our Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) initiative. These selected organizations and their programs will play a central role, under Ready Ready’s guidance, in strengthening and enhancing the Ready Ready continuum of early childhood support services.

D-Up’s mission is to promote education, health, and life readiness to young children and their families. While its origins began in 2007 around combating childhood obesity through basketball, the organization quickly developed new programs to meet the community’s needs. Currently, the organization offers 16 programs ranging from pre-K to afterschool care, sports, dance, summer camps, college preparation, and adult classes like financial literacy.

“When we started our nonprofit, the youngest children enrolled were age five,” Davis said. “After we came out of COVID, we realized we needed to go younger. Just this fall we started a pre-K pilot. We’ve eliminated barriers like transportation and are helping this first class of young students prepare for kindergarten three days a week.”

Davis says the nonprofit’s move to a building on Washington Street in High Point served as a catalyst for reaching more families. So much so that word of mouth keeps the programs, afterschool care, and summer camp full and with a developing waitlist. D-Up is on the cusp of launching a capital campaign to enlarge its facility, increasing its ability to serve students from around 50 to 170. That’s one reason why learning to build additional capacity through Ready Ready’s CQI initiative is so attractive.

“We pride ourselves on the family connections,” Davis said. “Every parent wants their child to thrive and we want to be there to help them. We want to be their bridge to whatever it is they need to ensure that they thrive.”

Ready Ready Invests $250,000 in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)  to Strengthen Guilford County’s Early Childhood Support System

The grants empower local organizations to enhance services for families and children

(Greensboro, N.C., October 3, 2023) — Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is pleased to announce a substantial investment of $250,000 in grants to five distinguished programs across Guilford County, awarding each $50,000. These grants, part of Ready Ready’s Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) initiative, underscore the community’s unwavering commitment to nurturing and supporting families with young children. These selected organizations and their programs will play a central role, under Ready Ready’s guidance, in strengthening and enhancing the Ready Ready continuum of early childhood support services.

The five selected organizations and their programs were chosen for the vital services they provide to Guilford County families. They are:

·       D-UP, Inc. — Well Centered ME

·       FaithAction International House — Immigrant Assistance Center

·       Reading Connections — Family Literacy Program

·       YMCA of Greensboro (Bryan YMCA, Hayes-Taylor YMCA, Spears YMCA, and Ragsdale YMCA) — Summer Day Camp

·       YMCA of High Point (Carl Chavis YMCA) — Child Care Center

Ready Ready CEO Charrise Hart emphasized how this investment transcends the boundaries of individual programs, stating, “As a backbone organization, we are proud to assist Guilford County organizations via our CQI program. Together, we foster collaboration among programs, uniting them in their mission to support families. By sharing insights, best practices, and innovative solutions, these organizations become more robust, resilient, and better equipped to navigate the ever-evolving challenges families face.”

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is a team-based process that involves continuously collecting, analyzing, and using data to enhance service quality. It uses the Model for Improvement to provide a structured framework for experiential learning and improvement within organizations.

CQI cohort programs provide services that help pregnant individuals or families with very young children thrive by addressing children’s developmental, emotional, or behavioral needs, concrete family needs, and emphasizing the most referred or demanded services based on available information. Programs accepted into the Ready Ready CQI cohort demonstrate a commitment to building on family strengths and working with parents and caregivers as experts.

The grants provide unrestricted funding, allowing organizations to enhance program staffing, acquire necessary supplies, bolster family resources, develop effective marketing materials, and leverage cutting-edge technology. These programs can serve families more effectively and efficiently by fortifying these essential components.

“Ready Ready is committed to rigorously measuring the impact of this initiative,” said Kelli Crawford, Ready Ready CQI Manager. “Through comprehensive data collection, including pre-and post-assessments, monthly assignments, and final reports, we ensure that this investment yields tangible, real-world improvements for families across Guilford County.”

To date, 28 programs have completed Ready Ready’s CQI training as part of two earlier cohorts. Ready Ready’s CQI Cohort III program will commence in October 2023 and conclude in April 2024.

Media Contact: Stephanie Skordas, stephanies@getreadyguilford.org