Yesterday, we had the honor of meeting with Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. at the Hunt Library on NC State’s Centennial Campus as he recorded a video greeting that we will share with everyone at our 20th anniversary celebration: Kids Rock!
L-R: Matt Gross (North Carolina Partnership for Children), Laura Benson (Durham’s Partnership for Children), Governor Hunt
The Smart Start Initiative, launched by Governor Hunt 20 years ago, was created as a public-private partnership to address a critical state-wide problem: children were coming to school unprepared to learn. Providing comprehensive programs and access to early care and education in the first 5 years of life was the solution then, and it’s the solution now. Today, when public-private partnerships are the lynchpin to sustainability, it is so important for our new, emerging leaders to continue to lead the cause and invest in our children, our county, our state and our economy.
Among many kind words, Governor Hunt said that we are a model, both in the state and nationally. We take that as both a wonderful compliment and a challenge. We know that we must continue to be innovative as we develop programming that responds to the needs in our community, and we also know that we need your help. We want all children in Durham to be prepared for success in school and in life, and we need all of you to be informed, involved and invested in order to make that happen.
Please join us at our 20th anniversary celebration, Kids Rock!, on April 23rd. Help us celebrate 20 years of preparing Durham’s children to succeed, and share in the vision, passion and commitment to help lead this organization through the next 20 years.
