L-R: Geoffrey D. Chamberlain, Appleton Partners; Rick Jakious, Mass. Nonprofit Network; Carolyn Lyons & Titus DosRemedios, Strategies for Children; Kristy Lee, NECN.
Photo: Mass. Nonprofit Network.
Earlier today, Strategies for Children was named the winner of the 2014 Excellence in Advocacy award by the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network at a ceremony at the State House. The award was “…in recognition of a significant and lasting contribution to the nonprofit sector in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
President and CEO Carolyn Lyons accepted the award on behalf of the Strategies for Children staff and board of directors, as well as early education advocates across the state and nationally who have added to a large and growing movement for increased public investment in high-quality early education and care.
“This work takes time, and requires multi-year commitments from policymakers and philanthropy,” said Lyons. “But we know from neuroscience and child development research that the early years are where investment in children is most crucial. Two thirds of students from low-income families in the commonwealth cannot read proficiently by the end of third grade, and our literacy rates have been stagnant for more than a decade. This is why advocacy for high-quality early education opportunities is so critical.”
Strategies for Children was one of 32 finalists out of more than 200 nominees for excellence awards, which were given in the areas of advocacy, leadership, innovation, board governance, collaboration, communication, small non-profit, and young professionals. The other finalists in the Advocacy category were Homes for Families, Transportation for Massachusetts, and Neurofibromatosis Northeast.
The award ceremony was part of Nonprofit Awareness Day, an annual event to celebrate the vibrancy and impact of the Massachusetts nonprofit sector, which generates more than $234 billion in annual revenue and makes up nearly 17 percent of the state’s workforce.
Be sure to check out the event proceedings on Twitter, #NonprofitsMakeSense.
Eye on Early Education is a blog of Strategies for Children, an organization that works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs that prepare them for success in school and life. The blogger, 
eyeonearlyeducation.org 
[…] honored to have won the 2014 Excellence in Advocacy award from the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network. SFC has also been awarded funding from national […]