The grant is CDC’s largest ever from the PNC Charitable Trusts, which administers the Samuel and Edith Justus Charitable Trust and several other trusts from which CDC has received funding.
The PNC Charitable Trusts, which is part of The PNC Financial Services Group, has given more than $635,000 worth of grant funding to CDC since 2010.
CDC’s most recent grant from the Samuel and Edith Justus Charitable Trust includes $71,000 for the organization’s school psychology program, which features several staff members and services to help children who experience social, emotional, behavioral, learning and other difficulties. CDC’s school psychology staff includes a doctoral-level certified school psychologist and a licensed professional counselor.
Also included in the most recent grant is $22,000 for CDC’s Guardian Angel scholarships, which provided need-based tuition aid to 32 families during 2015. Guardian Angel funds help families to pay some or all of their child care costs, usually on a short-term basis, when they are unable to do so on their own, according to CDC chief executive officer Rina Irwin.
The remaining portion of the grant will help to fund CDC’s Stay With Us staff recruitment and retention initiative. The program has helped CDC to keep its staff turnover at a level that is substantially lower than industry standards, which helps the organization to provide high-quality child care and early childhood education, Irwin said.
PNC Charitable Trusts have been “unbelievably generous” to CDC, according to Irwin, who says the most recent grant will provide “a great deal of the funding that we need to offer these three programs. Our children, their families and our employees will benefit greatly from this grant, and we are especially grateful for it.”
