ECC invites Christmas donations for early-childhood institutions

The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) is inviting Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora to consider donating to early-childhood institutions (ECIs) for Christmas.

ECC Chair Trisha Williams-Singh says persons can donate to a government institution or “the institution that has made you the person you are today”.

Williams-Singh said donations in cash or kind can assist ECIs with attaining the 12 Standards for the Operation, Management and Administration of Early Childhood Institutions.

“Something like a fire extinguisher comes at a cost; it helps with the safety of the operations,” she said.

The standards are Staffing; Development and Educational Programmes, Physical Environment; Interactions and Relationships with Children; Indoor and Outdoor Equipment; Health; Nutrition; Safety; Child Rights, Child Protection and Equality; Administration; Finance; and Parent and Stakeholder Participation.

“You can reach out to us and we can provide you with a status update of any institution. For example, if you attended New Forest Primary and Infant and you want to give back to the infant department, we can actually give you a list on the last audit that we had of this school to show what their needs are,” she advised, adding that such a report can be produced in 24 hours.

Persons interested in making donations may contact the ECC at 876-922-6938 or communications@ecc.gov.jm.

The ECC was established by the Early Childhood Commission Act (2003), in keeping with the government of Jamaica’s strategic goal to improve the quality of early-childhood care, education and development.

An agency of the Ministry of Education and Youth, the commission coordinates all activities, development plans and programmes within the early-childhood sector.