Written for Love Little Children
By Congressman Dan Lungren
Victory Against Hunger
Congressional Hunger Center
229 ½ Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 200003
To Whom It May Concern:
I recommend Love Little Children, Inc. to receive the $1,000.00 grant award being offered to organizations that can demonstrate innovative CACFP outreach campaigns or demonstrate how they have improved the quality of childcare in the community. It is my understanding that Love Little Children has done both.
Love Little Children is a sponsor of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in the Greater Sacramento, California area and has been a sponsor of the CACFP since September, 2003. Love Little Children has had rapid growth in a short period of time. More than 50% of their home daycare providers had never participated in the CACFP, and I understand that these providers and the children and parents that they serve are very happy that they joined the program.
Currently, Love Little Children serves 1,271 children in the area, and they serve 147 home daycare providers. Their clients are 50% Russian speaking and 50% English speaking. Love Little Children translates CACFP materials into Russian/Ukrainian to better serve this population. The Greater Sacramento Area has a very large Russian/Ukrainian population, and many come to this country with very little education or ability to speak English. Providing home daycare service is a primary source of income for many immigrants. Ensuring that these daycares understand the CACFP requirements and ensuring that these providers are providing quality care to children is essential. This organization is able to meet this need more than any other organization in the area, because Love Little Children’s Director and Program Specialist speak Russian/Ukrainian fluently. They are the only organization in the area that truly caters to this population thereby increasing their access to participating in the CACFP and improving the quality of childcare in the community.
In addition, Love Little Children seeks to make the paperwork as “user friendly” as possible to better serve their clients, and they seek to provide quality trainings and information to the providers, the children and the parents they serve. Love Little Children has demonstrated a commitment to adhering to the guidelines of the CACFP and communicating that proper nutrition and exercise can be a fun and beneficial lifestyle for our children.
The CACFP is a program that benefits home daycare providers, children, and parents. It is a program that teaches quality care of our children thereby improving the future of our society. Love Little Children will use the $1,000.00 to reach more of the unserved community with the message of the CACFP. Therefore, I believe that Love Little Children deserves your award.
Thank you in advance.
