NEWS

Building Strong Brains continues to lead, facilitate, and support convenings across the network with a focus on the three focus areas of Maternal and Child Health, Quality Child Care and Early Learning Environments, and Community Supports for Children and Families. Community partners have come together bringing expertise, lived experience, and...

Building Strong Brains continues to evolve with the needs of the collective work of the coalition and the identified opportunities to leverage and align resources, dialogue, and efforts. As a result of this necessary evolving structure, Building Strong Brains now includes a Leadership Table, Support Teams in the areas of Data and Communications,...

Building Strong Brains includes three action teams focused on the pillars of work that comprehensively span the full early childhood system. They are: Maternal and Child Health; Quality Child Care and Early Learning Environments; and Community and Family Supports. On October 10, the three action teams convened at Crossroads United Way to engage...

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is live and operational in Elkhart County. Crossroads United Way is the official affiliate in Elkhart County, joining other United Ways already active as affiliates in the state of Indiana. Children 0-5 years old can be signed up to receive a free book every month until their fifth birthday....

The Leadership Table is a part of the evolving governance structure of Building Strong Brains. Composed of context experts, content experts, community connectors, and strategists from Elkhart County, the Leadership Table will provide strategic advice that is innovative, creative, and takes into consideration the assets and challenges of our...

Early childhood partners are collaborating to offer early childhood leaders in Elkhart County professional development and networking opportunities. September’s event included the presentation, What’s in your backpack? and a book giveaway with local author, Darlene Radcliff, an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant and Trauma...

Crossroads United Way, one of the coalition Executive Sponsors for BSB, is rolling out Bright By Text, a national texting platform that offers parent resources. This will be a valuable resource for our community. The Building Strong Brains Community and Family Supports action team worked collaboratively with Crossroads United Way to research the...

This work to create a collective system to help all kindergartners in Elkhart County be ready to learn and thrive when they arrive at school started in Elkhart County 18 months ago. Tamarack Institute worked with the Design Team to develop a theory of change to inform future transformative action work. Action teams, focused in the areas of...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ELKHART COUNTY, Indiana — Building Strong Brains is receiving $400,000 from Early Learning Indiana as part of its first round of grants. Building Strong Brains is a coalition with the mission of building a system supporting Elkhart County children under age 6 and the families who raise them so that every child is prepared to...

ELKHART, Indiana — A new leader has been selected to guide Building Strong Brains, Elkhart County’s Early Childhood Coalition. Kimberly Boynton will become the first coalition director for the effort to ensure every kindergartner has the needed skills as they start elementary school. She will begin the new role on June 1 and be employed by the...