The Early Childhood Community Development (ECCDC) is grateful to be the recipient of a four-year financial commitment of close to $50,000 from the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara. The sponsorship will increase the ECCDC's ability to support Niagara's early learning programs in having greater access to pedagogical materials, classroom equipment, and organizational supports through the availability of a community outreach van.

Visit Young Children Priority First to view media releases and project articles.

In Spring 2022, through the support of the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara,, "Treasure Baskets" were provided to child care programs in Niagara to provide sensory-rich play experiences for pre-verbal children and support the development of play schemas. Licensed child care centres in Niagara received unique infant and toddler materials and complimentary training thanks to a generous contribution of more than $20,000 from the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara.

Visit Young Children Priority First to view media releases and project articles.

In 2017-18, the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara donated a set of Community Playthings - Outlast Blocks to 26 Early Learning and Child Care programs in Niagara. Outlast Blocks are specially designed to encourage creative play and child-directed discovery.

Visit Young Children Priority First to view media releases and project articles.

This project linked seniors residences to child care and family support programs so that seniors could share their knowledge, skills and experiences with the younger generation.

The ECCDC and Niagara Region Children's Services joined forces to pilot the use of iPads with educational apps that enhance speech, language and emergent literacy within 30 Niagara child care programs.

Tools for observing and documenting children's play were piloted within 22 early learning and child care programs across Niagara.

In partnership with the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara,, Niagara's licensed child care programs were offered science and technology based resources and training developed in alignment with Ontario's Early Learning Framework: Early Learning for Every Child Today. Visit the Young Children Priority First website for more information on this and other collaborations of Kiwanis and the ECCDC.

The ECCDC was delighted to partner with Literacy Link Niagara on this initiative that brought literature and a toolkit of curriculum planning ideas and training to Niagara's licensed child care programs and a family literacy kit to families across Niagara, all tied to the War of 1812 Bicentennial celebrations.

Mentoring Pairs for Child Care was a province-wide program that enhanced child care quality by matching more experienced licensed child care centre supervisors with less experienced ones in their own communities. Visit the (now updated) Mentoring Pairs for Child Care website for more information.

A national initiative enabling communities to better understand the needs of their young children and families to determine best programs and services for them.