What is your organization, and how long has it been serving Hampton Roads?

Lisa Howard, president and CEO of Smart Beginnings.

Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads’ roots go back to 2004 when business, civic and philanthropic leaders in South Hampton Roads became concerned by the alarming statistic that 1 in 5 children in our region arrived at kindergarten unprepared. In response, our nonprofit was created to improve school readiness for children in our region.

The number of unprepared kindergartners in our region is now 1 in 8, proving that in just six years, our efforts are paying off!

What is your name and title?

Lisa Howard, President and CEO.

What are your organization’s responsibilities?

Changing the way our community thinks about young kids and prioritizes their needs; advocating for greater public investment for our region’s youngest citizens.

Who does your group serve? What is the mission?

We support children ages 0-5, their families, early childhood educators, and the South Hampton Roads community at-large. Specifically we work to:

• Raise awareness about the importance of the early years
• Advocate for greater public-private investment in young children
• Encourage regional collaboration to ensure that all children have access to high quality early childhood education—and a chance at a smart beginning.

How is your organization equipped to serve this mission?

We’re able to do great things for our region’s kids because of the commitment and generosity of our donors, investors, and foundations who support our efforts. I am also fortunate to have a talented staff and board who strongly believe in the lasting impact of our work. Smart Beginnings is much more than a job, but is truly a passion.

Please share with us an anecdote that epitomizes the impact of your group on the daily life of Hampton Roads.

Two years ago, we launched the Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS), which is essentially the “Consumer Reports” of child care. It’s a voluntary, market-driven program that assesses, improves, and communicates the level of quality in our early care and education system. Centers are rated and receive a star rating on a one to five scale. In just two years, 78 centers have been rated, impacting over 8,000 children.

Our work is impacting the daily lives of parents, early educators, and children. QRIS lets:

• Parents know what quality looks like and helps them make informed decisions about their child’s early education.
• Educators benefit from the teacher scholarships so they can go back to school to attain higher degrees in early education. This impacts the children in their classroom.
• 8,000 area children have high quality early education opportunities.

Tell us about a volunteer who has made a difference.

Lisa Robertson, one of our founding board members, has given her time and talents to create our faith-based alliance. Lisa is passionate about working with faith-based organizations to support families and young children and has brought her enthusiasm, innovation, and expertise to reach out to the faith community. As a result of her leadership, Faithful Beginnings now partners with over 70 faith-based organizations in South Hampton Roads to increase awareness, empower parents, and advocate for greater public investment.

Lisa is just one of our highly engaged board of directors who use their talents and interests to strengthen our mission across many sectors—advocacy, public awareness, businesses, faith community, health, and education.

Without Smart Beginnings our community and state would…

not be aware that at a time when 90% of a child’s brain is developed (between birth and age 5), our public investment in young children is at its lowest.

A $25 donation would…

provide books and early learning materials to an early childhood center participating in our Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS).

A $100 donation would…

provide funds for teacher scholarships and improve child care quality by increasing the education level of teachers.

A $500 donation would…

help to adopt an early education center and enable its full participation in QRIS including: rating, mentoring, development of a Quality Improvement Plan, teacher scholarships, and resources to improve quality for children.

In addition to money, what can people do to help you accomplish your mission?

I’m so glad you asked!

• Sign up on our website to receive advocacy alerts.
• Call or write elected officials and tell them why the early years are critically important to you.
• Write letters to the editor in The Virginian-Pilot and other local papers about the need to make our children a priority.
• Call your child care center to see if they’re rated. If not, encourage them to become rated.

What is the meaning of life?
Give your time, gifts and talents to make an impact in your community.

For more info, click here. Or why don’t you just donate right now?