Dear Friends of the Blue Ridge Partnership for Children,
2025 will go down as a year of recovery across our 3-county region! From the earliest days following Hurricane Helene, taking stock of the widespread destruction faced by our childcare partners, to distributing funding entrusted to us to support rebuilding and sustaining programmatic services, the Partnership is grateful to have played a role in our communities’ recovery efforts.
The lesson we’ve learned as we enter this Season of Giving is that people are overwhelmingly generous in times of great need. Through both private and public funds, the Blue Ridge Partnership for Children is on track to invest $1.3 million into local childcare centers’ recovery. Through this support, centers replaced lost furnishings, repaired HVAC systems and outdoor play areas, and recovered lost revenue. We’ll continue to offer mental health support programming for young children and the dedicated caregivers who have nurtured them through these tumultuous times.
2025 has also been a year of celebration, as we recognized the distribution of our 300,000th book through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library! You can visit our YouTube channel for newly posted videos of this celebration, including family testimonials about the impact of this early literacy initiative.
Your tax-deductible financial gift ensures ongoing weekly Play and Learn sessions and supports our Children’s Resource Libraries with fun activities for learning available to check out. Blue Ridge Healthy Families home-visiting services keep us connected with enrolled families, and we’ll continue hosting family-friendly events, such as Child Fest, early literacy at Sizzling Summer, and Block Fest. We invite you to join us in providing early learning opportunities for the youngest children in our communities!
With deep appreciation,
Jennifer Simpson, Executive Director
