Nonprofits seek support for kids’ post-pandemic wellbeing

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Three Jackson nonprofits are focusing on the mental health and wellbeing of local children who have navigated an emotionally and developmentally challenging year. As they collaborate to implement programming and resources to offer critical services, they need the community’s support.

The Teton Literacy Center, Children’s Learning Center, and Jackson Hole Children’s Museum are teaming up to raise needed funds through the 2021 Champions for Children campaign.

Every dollar raised will improve programming that strengthens kids social-emotional skills as well as minimizes academic losses due to the pandemic.

“For the past year, kids have not only lost classroom time, but have been taught to distance themselves from others,” says Laura Soltau, executive director of Teton Literacy Center. “While important to physical health, social directives like this have been hard on these kids’ mental health and social skills.”

The trio of nonprofits collectively serve nearly 90 percent of local preschoolers. They launched the innovative joint fundraiser in 2020 as a way to help cover an approximate $2.1 million funding gap for their programs.

Teton Literacy Center provides 31,000 hours of student instruction annually, supporting nearly 400 Teton County families for zero cost. Nearly all of these students see universal reading improvement in addition to increased confidence and communication skills in the classroom. Reading, Soltau added, helps children develop empathy and connect with human emotion better than almost anything—a fact supported by numerous studies.

At the Jackson Hole Children’s Museum—which provides kindergarten readiness and after-school programs—relationship-building is a vital component of everyday activities. Every activity, from STEAM-based experimentation to artistic exploration, forms a building block that constructs each child’s unique tower of social understanding. But in the past year, the tumult of social upheaval and shifting norms, the kids’ figurative block towers have tumbled.

“We’re actively providing human connection for these kids that they haven’t been getting elsewhere,” explains Ethan Lobdell, executive director of the Jackson Hole Children’s Museum. “In the past year, we’ve focused on rebuilding the fragile social building blocks and self-confidence that the pandemic impaired. Relationships with caring, trusted adults are as important to kids as strong connections with their peers; we work to foster a healthy and resilient community at the Children’s Museum.”

In general, early childhood education and care systems have suffered significant disruption due to the pandemic. About 13 percent of facilities and programs nationwide have been forced to shut their doors due to social distancing requirements. Millions of caregivers and educators lost jobs.

Children’s Learning Center has been grateful to not be counted among them. According to executive director Patti Boyd, the early childhood care and education nonprofit has managed to not only stay open, but also to retain their staff with no cuts to pay.

“Navigating this past year has absolutely been a collaborative effort. The flexibility and understanding of parents, kids, and companion organizations has been priceless,” Boyd reflects. Despite the challenges brought by COVID, Children’s Learning Center continued to offer quality care, early childhood education, Head Start programming, and early intervention therapies throughout the year to over 450 kids. “As the largest early childhood center in the area, hundreds of working parents depended on us more than ever this year to keep their children safe, maintain the quality of our programs, and keep our doors open.”

But the children, she added, need support more than ever. Shifting dynamics and safety requirements have not only cost children critical educational time, but also impacted their social and emotional development.

“We’re actively implementing programming to help kids bolster their mental health and emotional resilience which are critical to every child’s wellbeing and future success in school and life.”

The need is clear among children across the nation, and the youth of Jackson Hole are no exception. This trio of nonprofits is stepping up to help and make a difference for nearly 90% of local preschoolers—but they need the community’s support to do so.

Each contribution to Champions for Children will not only support the work of one of these dedicated organizations, but will energize the efforts of all three. A gift to 2021 Champions for Children will make a triple impact—a threefold investment in the most important resource we have: the future of our community.

The 2021 Champions for Children campaign ends on July 31.