Lactation coffee shops and shiplap renovations

At A Glance is a bi-weekly news recap highlighting WKKF grantees, investments, communities and partnerships.

Come for the coffee or tea…stay for some lactation consultation and conversation. Building on an idea from the UK, New York City mothers are reinventing cafés to combat the stigma of breastfeeding and educate employers and the community about laws protecting a woman’s right to breastfeed in public. These are part of broader, city-wide efforts coordinated by the Brooklyn Breastfeeding Empowerment Zone and other organizations to increase breastfeeding rates and ensure more new moms get the supports they need to see breastfeeding as a true option.

Running a small, high-quality child care service requires both child development and business skills. But, what if the time spent running the business was freed up to focus more on the children receiving care? Good news! Some smaller, child care providers are starting to take advantage of what larger, for-profit and nonprofit provider groups have for a while – shared services. These have been used for years in other sectors (think Uber and Lyft), but it’s relatively new in the early childhood world. The question is: How can we build efficiency and streamline services in order to give more people access? Taking this on is the critical nuts and bolts work needed to increase the quality and availability of early child care. Sharing is caring and we’re here for it!

A new resource can help keep kids in school, out of detention and off the pathway to prison. A toolkit created by the Dignity in Schools Campaign and Professor Mark Warren at the University of Massachusetts-Boston arms students, parents and advocates with resources to fight the school-to-prison pipeline. From developing campaign strategies for policy change to creating a less punitive culture in school buildings, the toolkit is available to download for free at the Dignity in Schools website.

Shelly’s new employer gave her $10,000 to help with home renovations. Yes, you read that right—home renovations! Shelly is a special education teacher in the Battle Creek Public School system. Of the $1.5 million dollar WKKF grant given to the city of Battle Creek, $750K was earmarked for a housing incentive program for BCPS teachers and administrators. This is designed to attract teachers to live in neighborhoods within their district with cash for a down payment or to upgrade their current homes with improvements. Chip and Jojo might not be showing up with shiplap, but we think this is the next best thing! Carry on, Battle Creek!