SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Women’s Foundation (SDWF) invited ECS to their Neighborhood Connection event to learn about ECS’ Head Start program and connect with women of the San Diego community.

During the event, Head Start’s Child Development Specialist, Lina Benitez, shared the work Head Start does with SDWF members. “Having the opportunity to be able to share what our program does in our community, it’s big,” Benitez said. “We want to get support out there for all the families that need it.”

The event also gave her a unique chance to connect with other women who value community philanthropy. “Being a part of this event at the San Diego Women’s Foundation has been very inspiring, meeting these wonderful women,” Benitez said.

One connection of the evening was extra special for Head Start. SDWF member and Bayside Community Center’s Executive Director Kim Heinle shared that she graduated from a Head Start program in New York. The program remains meaningful to her today. “It literally just gave us the foundation to start a new life,” Heinle said.

Head Start supported Heinle and her family through its wraparound services, from conducting parent check-ins to teaching basic skills such as brushing teeth. “It’s not just the childcare, it’s not just the education, but it was the check-ins with my mom, the home visits. My mom still talks about Miss Peggy, who came to our home… just to check how things were going,” Heinle said. “That’s the type of care that Head Start is.”

ECS was honored to participate in SDWF’s Neighborhood Connection event and looks forward to pursuing change in the San Diego region alongside SDWF.

To learn more about ECS Head Start, visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/head-start-and-early-head-start.