PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Corporation is to support education in the State of Louisiana and to engage in any lawful activity for which corporations may be formed under the Louisiana Nonprofit Corporation Law. The Corporation is a non-profit corporation, and it is organized and shall be operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, as amended, or corresponding provisions of any subsequent tax laws (the “Code”).

Mission:

The Childcare Coalition and Shared Alliance is a community-based organization comprised of child care advocates throughout The Gulf South Region who are dedicated to raising awareness about the absolute necessity of early learning (birth to 4 years), lobbying for sufficient resources needed to provide exceptional education and advocating for the well-being of children, teachers, providers, and the community at large through shared services.

To achieve our mission, we facilitate projects which increase the availability and improve the quality of child care professionals, conduct research, and advocate childcare policies which have positive impacts on the lives of children and families.

Vision:

The Childcare Coalition and Shared Alliance will become a leading voice for early learning. We will work with more than 1000 early learning centers throughout The Gulf South Region by offering shared services. The Childcare Coalition and Shared Alliance will continue to help ensure that families are aware of the importance of enrolling their young children in high-quality, affordable early learning centers.

Our Story:

On February 3, 2014, six African American female early childhood directors from Jefferson Parish convened to discuss the critical lack of resources allocated to early childhood education and to brainstorm ways in which to advocate for the prioritization of early childhood education in Louisiana, an oft-neglected stage of educational development. Helen Dumas, Advisory; Anita Kennedy, Advisory; Darnester Nora, Vice President/Treasurer; Monique Rouege, President; Martha Weatherford, Secretary; and Rita Wilfred, Advisory pooled together their knowledge, skills, experience, and resources to form this unique organization. From that meeting, the Childcare Coalition and Shared Alliance was born.

Our organization’s fundamental purpose is to ensure every child has access to high-quality, affordable early learning services. In June 2015, as a group, we seek measures to better serve the children and families in our local community. We conducted a means of assessment to find out that the Metropolitan New Orleans area is characterized by high employment, low educational attainment, inadequate and overcrowded housing, and high crimes. Transportation challenges, poor health status, and under-performing public schools impact families in the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. We entered into a partnership with Kingsley House awarding early head start slots in each of the early learning centers. We were afforded the opportunity to meet the comprehensive needs of families and children, as low-income children in Jefferson parish experience tremendous instability in their homes and communities, which resulted in stable learning environments that promote continuity of care.

In 2016, Childcare Coalition and Shared Alliance scored its first major victory by single-handedly petitioning the state legislature to include Jefferson Parish as one of the five parishes selected to be a part of an early education pilot whose goal is to develop early childhood education programs designed to facilitate and promote school readiness through Act 3.

In November 2017, we hosted our first conference of 300 participates, “We’re On the Move”! Again, in December 2017, we appreciated over 350 early learning teachers and staff during our annual Christmas
Party celebrated at the Royal Palm.

On August 17, 2018, we became incorporated as the Childcare Coalition and Shared Alliance by the state of Louisiana. We were also recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 c (3). Subsequently, in November 2018, we landed our first recognized conference by the Department of Education, “Laying a Foundation for Our Children’s Success.” During this conference, we held a Dad’s Symposium on the importance of Dads in the lives of their children. This conference was a huge success determined by the positive feedback request to take this panel across the nation.

Once more, we host our annual holiday, Christmas Party in December 2018 which brought directors, teachers, and staff to enjoy a night of pure family.

For that past five years, Childcare Coalition and Shared Alliance has worked tirelessly, lobbying both local and state governments. The Coalition brings a wealth of background and experience from medical to the Department of Defense alone with a collective sum of over 75 years of early childhood development experience. Thus, our aim is to ensure that the children of Louisiana have access to quality and affordable early education and that providers have the required resources to bring about successful outcomes for our children and the communities they represent.

Values

• We strive for excellence in everything we do.
• We create new, fresh, and innovative ways to serve our community.
• We live our values through collaboration.
• We treat everyone with respect.
• We are dedicated to every child’s success.
• We act with integrity in our daily actions.

These values exemplify and support our motto, “Every Child Matters” which means whatever challenges a child encounters, he/she is important.