More than 75 Early Learning Professionals, volunteers and students received recognition last evening at the 23rd Annual Niagara Early Learning and Child Care Awards of Excellence celebration at the Holiday Inn & Suites St. Catharines Conference Centre. The event was coordinated by the Early Childhood Community Development Centre (ECCDC).

There were close to 375 guests in attendance at the Storybook Gala, with primary event sponsor Louise Kool & Galt, Canada’s leading suppliers of classroom resources and equipment. Seven local businesses also supported the event, including: Platinum Level Sponsors the District School Board of Niagara and Niagara Catholic District School Board, Gold Level Sponsor YMCA of Niagara; Silver Level Sponsors A Child’s World Family Child Care Services of Niagara and Minuteman Press Niagara and Entertainment Sponsors Beatties and Mountainview Homes. Many other businesses contributed items for the silent auction fundraiser. The ECCDC is also grateful to the many community partners who sponsor awards and support this valuable event.
Click here to view/download full post-event Media Release.

This year's annual Early Learning and Child Care Awards of Excellence will celebrate the accomplishments of Niagara's early years sector with a Storybook Gala. The event will take place Tuesday November 19, 2019 from 5:30 to 9:00 pm at the Holiday Inn & Suites on Ontario Street in St. Catharines.

The Awards of Excellence recognizes the achievements of early learning educators, students and volunteers for their expertise and commitment to children and families. This special ceremony will be hosted by 105.7 EZ Rock's Tami Jeanneret.

More than 375 guests will attend this year's Storybook Gala, sponsored by Louise Kool & Galt, Canada's leading suppliers of educational resources and classroom equipment. Many local businesses are also supporting this year's event, including; The District School Board of Niagara, Niagara Catholic District School Board, the YMCA of Niagara, A Child's World Family Child Care Services of Niagara, Minuteman Press Niagara, Mountainview Homes, Beatties Basics and 105.7 EZ Rock.
Click here to view/download full pre-event Media Release.

On May 31st 2019, the Early Childhood Community Development Centre (ECCDC) hosted more than 110 amilies, Roots of Empathy instructors, school teachers, and special guests in the Atrium of the District School Board of Niagara for the Annual Roots of Empathy Baby Celebration. Of those in attendance were 38 babies who served as Niagara's youngest teachers in the Roots of Empathy Program.

Susie Palumbo, Student Achievement Leader for the District School Board of Niagara, brought warm greetings on behalf of the board as the host of this year's celebration. We were also delighted to have the support of John Crocco, Director of Education at Niagara Catholic District School Board, as well as greetings brought by Lee Ann Forsyth-Sells, Superintendent of Education. Each of these individuals played a pivotal role in supporting Niagara's community of children and Roots of Empathy's mission and vision of building caring, peaceful and civil societies.
Click here to view/download the full media release.

This year has been an incredible one for the internationally recognized program, Roots of Empathy. A new video to be shared at the Niagara Baby Celebration highlights the important role that both the Instructor and 'Teacher', the baby, play in supporting the children through the program gaining skills to build and enhance empathy. The Roots of Empathy classroom is creating citizens of the world - children who are developing empathic ethics and a sense of responsibility that takes the position that we all share the same lifeboat. These are the children who will build a more caring, peaceful, and civil society, child by child.

This year's annual Roots of Empathy Baby Celebration will be honouring the world's youngest teachers: the Roots of Empathy babies. For the past 10 months, approximately 1,500 children across the Region in the Niagara Catholic District School Board, the District School Board of Niagara, Conseil Scolaire Catholique Mon Avenir, and Niagara EarlyON Centres have had the opportunity to show and be shown empathy through the lens of the Roots of Empathy program. The event will take place on Friday May 31, 2019 at District School Board of Niagara office at 191 Carlton Street, St. Catharines. The doors will open at 9:45 a.m. with the celebration ending at 11:00 a.m. There will be approximately 120 guests in attendance.
Click here to view/download the full media release.

The St. Catharines Kiwanis Club, Stamford Kiwanis Club and the Kiwanis Club of Welland have joined forces once again in support of Niagara's early learning programs. Over the course of a two years, the Kiwanis Clubs have made an outstanding donation of $45,000 enabling twenty-six (26) early learning and child care programs to receive unique Outlast Blocks, a product of Louise Kool and Galt, to support their recently redesigned naturalized playgrounds.

The donation was made through the Early Childhood Community Development Centre (ECCDC), a charity offering resources, training and coaching support to early learning programs and educators within Niagara and across the Province. The ECCDC and the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara have enjoyed a long-standing partnership which has seen many resources donated to child care programs over the past decade; including science, math and literacy materials. The Ontario Trillium Foundation has supported many of these projects over the years. Additionally, the ECCDC's primary funder, Niagara Region Children's Services has also
Click here to view/download the full media release and learn more about the project.

The St. Catharines Kiwanis Club, Stamford Kiwanis Club and the Kiwanis Club of Welland have joined forces once again in support of Niagara's early learning programs. Over the course of a two-year project, the Kiwanis Clubs have made an outstanding donation of $45,000 enabling twenty-six (26) early learning and child care programs to receive a set of unique Outlast Blocks, a product of Louise Kool and Galt's Community Playthings line, to support their recently redesigned naturalized playgrounds.
Click here to view/download the full media release and to learn more about the project.