The Pittsburgh-based Heinz Endowments has announced grants totaling $4.4 million in support of organizations that provide child care, assist mothers and infants, and advocate for improvements in early-learning policies.

Grants include funding to assist families with newborns, provide aid for equitable access to early childhood services and education, and empower mothers in the region. Recipients include the Allegheny County Department of Human Services ($800,000) in support of its Hello Baby initiative, which uses data to predict risk for all babies born in the county and connects families to available services such as home visits, health and nutrition support, and child development and early education opportunities; Hosanna House ($400,000) to help bridge funding gaps caused by pandemic-induced revenue loss; and Reading Is Fundamental Pittsburgh ($400,000) in support of its Storymobile and Book Babies programs and to reduce literacy and achievement gaps in targeted neighborhoods.

Grants in support of advocacy for education and care include $600,000 to Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children to implement equity-centered advocacy and reach pregnant women and families most in need; $500,000 to the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children in support of its strategy to increase access to high-quality, affordable early care and education services provided by an appropriately and equitably compensated workforce; and $400,000 to the MomsRising Education Fund, a nonpartisan, national organization working to build the advocacy strength of parents and caregivers in Allegheny County.

"The pandemic ripped open the curtain on the precarious state of our nation's early childhood care and education system, and has made abundantly clear how essential that system is to the healthy development of America's children, and to the future of our economy," said Heinz Endowments president Grant Oliphant. "While recent state and federal funding is significant, we must do more to make up for chronic underfunding and invest in a system that truly works for every child."

For a complete list of grants, see the Heinz Endowments website.

(Photo credit: RIF Pittsburgh/Rosensteel)