On April 27 the Irvine Children’s Fund (ICF) was awarded more than a million dollars by the Irvine City Council through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Public Service, and Coronavirus Grant programs.
The Irvine City Council awarded a $60,389 CDBG Public Service grant to ICF to fund before and after school child care scholarships for low income, working families from Irvine. In addition, the Council awarded a one time, 3-year grant of $979,821 to help families negatively impacted by the pandemic.
“These grants go a tremendously long way in allowing us to help deliver quality, affordable child care to Irvine families,” said ICF Board President Greg Goodrich. He added, “Now, more than ever, parents are facing various challenges. The City’s direction of CDBG grants to the Irvine Children’s Fund demonstrates our community’s commitment to Irvine families.”
The Irvine Children’s Fund (ICF), best known for the presentation of the Irvine Junior Games, as its signature fundraising and community building event, was established in 1987. ICF, working in collaboration with the City of Irvine, the Irvine Unified School District, and the Irvine Child Care Project, have provided over $2,000,000 in scholarships for child care at every Irvine Unified School District elementary school campus in Irvine.
Sharon Wellikson, ICF Executive Director added, “Irvine is unique in that child care is available at every elementary school campus in the Irvine Unified School District’s overlay.” Wellikson continued, “The City of Irvine and IUSD should be immensely proud of their role in supporting and expanding school-age child care and we are proud to partner with them.”
“Accessibility to quality affordable child care is a challenge for working families everywhere,” said Irvine Mayor Farrah N. Khan. Mayor Khan continued, “Our City Council stands firmly behind this grant to the Irvine Children’s Fund to help parents return to the workplace during such an economically challenging time.”
For more information about the Irvine Children’s Fund, please visit cityofirvine.org/childcarescholarships.