As the pandemic continues, the importance of creating safe and nurturing spaces for the children of working parents in Austin becomes more apparent. Many providers have limited resources, but seek to continue offering care. To support them, Workforce Solutions Capital Area held curbside pickup events for providers to receive cleaning and PPE supplies at no cost on November 20-21 at First Workers Day Labor Center in Austin. The supplies included 200,000 face masks donated by Bank of America.
Over the two days, 181 providers picked up pallets of supplies, including hand soap and sanitizer, gloves and paper towels, bath tissue and bleach. These providers care for 7,074 children across Travis County.
Heather Pate with Workforce Solutions Capital Area gives face masks donated from Bank of America to Stacy Jo Signaigo with Manor ISD.
Stacy Jo Signaigo is the Early Childhood Director for Manor ISD. She works at Manor ISD Child Development Center, which cares for 65 children.
“I was very excited to hear about today’s event. It’s very hard to find supplies for child care, so these supplies really help because everybody is out of them for the quantities we need,” Stacy Jo said.
“We are currently open, serving children and cleaning all the time. We are a nationally accredited school, so a lot of the things that were put in place by the city, we were already doing more than the minimum, we were already doing a lot of those things,” said Stacy Jo. “Thank you so much, Workforce Solutions and Bank of America, we really appreciate it.”
Another provider who received supplies was Patsy Harnage, owner and director of Bright Beginnings Child Development Center in North Austin. Her center cares for 60 children.
“I was just so grateful for this event. With supplies being scare and money being tight due to low enrollment, this was a godsend,” Patsy said.
Workforce Solutions Capital Area coordinated the pickup of five truckloads of supplies.
“We are in need more of cleaning supplies, bleach, masks, gloves. We go through gloves and paper towels like water. We go through these the most because of the constant cleaning and washing hands. This is for the children and the staff, we have a whole lot going on,” Patsy said.
“I want to thank Workforce Solutions Capital Area and Bank of America for lightening the burden we are experiencing from limited supplies. We are forever grateful for your support and generosity,” Patsy added.
Mary DiPasquale with Workforce Solutions Capital Area, Patsy Harnage of Bright Beginnings Child Development Center, and Heather Pate with Workforce Solutions Capital Area hold boxes of face masks donated from Bank of America.
Our curbside pickup event, by the numbers:
- 5 truckloads of supplies
- 5,400 items
- 24,176 pounds
Workforce Solutions Capital Area is committed to supporting providers in Austin who care for the children of our region’s workforce. By providing care in a safe and nurturing environment, Austin’s child care providers are helping to develop a future workforce that is skilled and productive. Learn more about how we support child care providers on our website.
