CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The United Way of the Coastal Bend is a local, non-profit organization that serves more than 60 communities in South Texas and focuses on improving lives in the areas of education, health, and financial stability.
Many families in the Coastal Bend area struggle with food security, income, unemployment, health care, and other life issues that can have a long-lasting impact on children's lives.
The United Way of the Coastal Bend formed a coalition known as the Success By 6 Early Childhood Initiative (Success By 6) to help children begin Kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed. Success By 6 is a community collaboration to improve school readiness through local community change and engagement.
The organization will be hosting the Week of the Young Child with an upcoming 'Into the Wild' event to promote early childhood literacy.
The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration that focuses on early childhood programs and services for young children and their families.
"The pandemic forced families to adapt their social activities, which negatively affected early learning opportunities and development in young children," said Sherry Peterson, Success By 6 Director at United Way of the Coastal Bend.
The Week of the Young Child kicks off with the 'Into the Wild' event on Saturday, April 9, from noon to 3 p.m. at La Retama Library (806 Comanche Street in Corpus Christi).
The event is free and open to the community and will include performances, storytelling, arts and crafts, giveaways, and more.
Organizers say that local author, Debra Young Hatch, will be on-site for a book signing for her latest release, 'Giraffes in My Closet'.
Participants can also sign up their child(ren) to participate in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge.
"As we begin to resume more 'normal' activities, we hope this event will provide an enriched, hands-on learning experience for children and help mitigate those effects," said Peterson.
