ABOUT US
The Beginning of Grow Early Learning
(formerly known as East Coast Migrant Head Start Project)
Grow Early Learning was established in 1974, through a grant to the Leadership of Christian Women, to provide services to migrant farmworkers and their children. Under the leadership of Sister Geraldine O’Brien, Head Start centers were opened along the east coast and mid-west of the United States to ensure continuity of services as families migrated to work in agriculture. Today, Grow Early Learning operates at 43 educational centers and five family child care homes in 10 states and serves nearly 3,000 children annually.
Our Model
We directly provide early childhood education services in 43 Head Start centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia. In areas where Grow Early Learning lacks a local presence, we partner with delegate agencies, which are other non-profit organizations, which deliver services to the same high quality services.
Our Funding
Most of our funding is derived from an ongoing grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. We take our stewardship of these federal funds very seriously. Each year, an external auditor reviews our fiscal policies and audits our financial records, to ensure that all costs charged to our federal grant are appropriate and allowable. During a five-year cycle, our funding agency does a comprehensive review of our operations with special attention to our fiscal activity to ensure we meet the needs of the families we are funded to serve. We, of course, welcome the financial support of private donors.
