$5.4 Million to Boost School Readiness & Future Workforce in Danville & Pittsylvania County

Smart Beginnings is a community partnership with leadership and support provided by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and United Way Danville-Pittsylvania County.

“We believe that this is an extremely worthwhile investment that creates the foundation for educational achievement, a strong regional workforce, and actively engaged citizens that will build a solid future for our region,” said Karl Stauber, President & CEO of the Danville Regional Foundation. “Our board was passionate about helping the Smart Beginnings community partners and early childhood stakeholders achieve the early learning goals and objectives that have been established for the Danville and Pittsylvania County region.”

A 2008 investment by the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, combined with General Assembly funds from the VECF, had provided seed money to help build an infrastructure of quality early learning programs and services in South Central and Southwest Virginia. The success of those initial investments leveraged the DRF’s decision to significantly raise the bar on the region’s early childhood development efforts with a multi-million dollar financial commitment.