Gateway Children’s Charity Awards $160,000 To Increase Access To High-Quality Early Learning Programs

FamilyForward, Good Shepherd Early Learning Center, Guardian Angel Settlement
Association, Our Little Haven, and Urban Sprouts Child Development Center Named 2023
Grantees

ST. LOUIS, September 20, 2023— Today Gateway Children’s Charity (GCC) announced they have
awarded their 2023 grant funding to five organizations serving young children and their families in
underserved St. Louis communities. Receiving GCC funding for the second time, FamilyForward was
awarded support to expand its therapeutic preschool program. Good Shepherd Early Learning Center,
Guardian Angel Settlement Association, Our Little Haven, and Urban Sprouts Child Development Center
received funding to enhance their early learning environments. Founded in 2009, Gateway Children’s
Charity raises funds to make high-impact, tangible investments in early childhood programs that
support children living in underserved St. Louis communities. This year, Gateway Children’s Charity
partnered with YouthBridge Community Foundation to provide grantmaking and finance operations
support. The advisors of the Gateway Children’s Charity Fund, held at YouthBridge, approved $160,000
in grant awards this year.

“Gateway Children’s Charity is proud to support organizations working with children and families in
some of our city’s most underserved neighborhoods,” said Gateway Children’s Charity Founder and
President Mike Todorovich. “By boosting children’s access to robust early learning opportunities and
supportive environments tailored to their needs, these organizations are accelerating their students’
trajectory toward success in Kindergarten and beyond.”

FamilyForward was awarded $25,000 towards the addition of a Step-Up Classroom for students
transitioning from their therapeutic preschool to traditional kindergarten classrooms. The therapeutic
preschool, which serves students who have experienced early adversity, incorporates therapeutic, playbased classroom experiences emphasizing connection, sensory integration, and regulation. The StepUp Classroom will prepare students for the increased academic and behavioral demands of a traditional Kindergarten classroom while offering additional support to families through that transition.

Last year, FamilyForward received funding from Gateway Children’s Charity to double the size of their
Therapeutic Preschool as they moved into a new facility housed within their Developmental Trauma
Center campus on North Lindbergh, which opened in the fall of 2022.

“Gateway Children’s Charity’s support for our Step-Up Classroom will help students thrive as they
transition from our therapeutic preschool program into elementary school,” said Sharon Skidmore
Stern, Chief Program Officer at FamilyForward. “The addition of this classroom will enhance the holistic
support we offer to children who have experienced significant developmental trauma.”

Our Little Haven received $30,000 to install a new play surface in their 20-year-old playground used for
Our Little Academy, their Day Treatment program that provides therapeutic treatment for preschoolage children. This upgrade will ensure the playground remains a safe and fun location for children to
learn and play. Located in the Central West End in St. Louis, Our Little Haven provides early intervention
services for children and families impacted by abuse, neglect, and mental or behavioral health needs.

“The playground is a crucial part of Our Little Haven’s therapeutic programming,” said Sarah Thomas,
Program Manager at Our Little Academy Day Treatment at Our Little Haven. “It’s a place for children to
play with a sense of freedom, to run and jump out their tensions, and improve physical, cognitive, social
and emotional development. With the support of Gateway Children’s Charity, our playground will
continue to be a safe and fun place to learn and grow.”

Guardian Angel Settlement Association has been awarded $25,000 for the creation of a new Early
Childhood Education Literacy Lab in their Child Development Center. In partnership with The Believe
Projects, an initiative of St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature. The library will feature a
minimum of 1,000 culturally representative books, inspirational murals and art exhibits, comfortable
furniture and cozy décor to promote calm and relaxation, technology loaded with age-appropriate
literacy content, Build-A-Bear Buddies, and art supplies for creative expression.
“Children who build a strong foundation for literacy in early childhood become lifelong readers and
learners,” said Reona Wise, President and CEO at Guardian Angel Settlement Association. “Our Literacy
Lab will be a text-rich haven that sparks a love of reading in our students, the vast majority of whom
are very-low income and identify as children of color. When fewer than 20% of Black third graders in
St. Louis Public Schools pass Reading, a literacy resource like this will be a gamechanger for our students and our community.”

Gateway Children’s Charity has also committed a total of $80,000 to two other St. Louis early childhood
centers to create Believe Projects libraries. Urban Sprouts Child Development Center, a Reggio-Emilia
inspired early childhood program in University City, and Foundation for Strengthening Families’ Good
Shepherd Early Learning Center, which offers infant, toddler, and pre-K programs for families in the
West End, Wells-Goodfellow and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods, will create Believe Projects libraries
with Gateway Children’s Charity’s support.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Guardian Angel, Urban Sprouts, and Good Shepherd to The Believe Projects
with the support of Gateway Children’s Charity,” said Julius B. Anthony, Founder and President of St.
Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature. “These three sites mark an exciting expansion of our
successful elementary libraries project to reach younger readers. These will be our first libraries located
in early childhood programs. We thank Gateway Children’s Charity for making this possible.”

A robust body of research, including a 2017 study from Duke University, indicates that high-quality early
education establishes a strong foundation that supports success in school and beyond, especially for
children growing up in underserved communities. Longitudinal studies by Nobel prize winner James
Heckman demonstrate that high-quality early childhood programs have wide-ranging positive benefits
for attendees – including increased educational attainment, better health outcomes, higher income,
and reduced involvement with the criminal justice system.

Founded in 2009, Gateway Children’s Charity is a local nonprofit that raises and grants funds to early
childhood programs that support children living in underserved St. Louis communities. Past grantees
include Beyond Housing 24:1 Initiative, Center for Hearing and Speech, City Academy, City Garden
Montessori School, Cornerstone Center, FamilyForward, Flance Early Learning Center, Hilltop Child and
Family Development Center, KIPP St. Louis, North Side Community School, Ready Readers, Refuge and
Restoration, SouthSide Early Childhood Center, STAR for Early Childhood Educators, St. Nicholas
Catholic Church, St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Unleashing Potential, and Urban Sprouts Child
Development Center. Gateway Children’s Charity is led by a board of accomplished businesspeople,
professionals, and parents who are committed to ensuring all children in the St. Louis area have access
to excellent early learning programs.

About Gateway Children’s Charity
Gateway Children’s Charity raises funds to make high-impact, tangible investments in early childhood
programs that support children living in underserved St. Louis communities. Gateway Children’s
Charity makes annual grants to expand access to excellent early education and other services that
provide young children and their families with a strong foundation for future success in school and in
life. Founded in 2009, the organization has raised and granted more than $1,700,000 to expand
opportunity for St. Louis children. For more information, visit www.gatewaychildrenscharity.org and
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