Child Care Aware® of America Furthers Partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation to Boost Family Engagement

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) and the Bezos Family Foundation announce their continued partnership and renewed focus on supporting early care and education professionals as brain builders through Vroom.

Vroom is a global initiative that empowers parents and caregivers, including early care and education professionals, to boost children’s early learning and development through science-based tips and activities.  Vroom encourages families and caregivers to use routine interactions, like bath time and grocery shopping, to engage with children, strengthening their brain architecture and helping ensure children have a strong foundation for lifelong learning.  Vroom reaches families by working with trusted nonprofits, brand and media companies, and technology—including a mobile app, Vroom by Text, and an Alexa Skill.  All materials are free of cost, simple enough to fit into parents’ daily routines, and available right at their fingertips.
This expanded partnership will provide opportunities for deeper integration of advancements in brain science within Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies and with child care providers, and increase the reach of Vroom to families.  CCAoA will manage two successive application processes and select two cohorts of ten CCR&R Vroom ambassadors who will strategically embed Vroom into their local family and community outreach services.

Vroom offers more than 1,000 activities designed to help young brains grow strong based on groundbreaking brain science.  Sample Vroom tips and the scientific basis associated with them include:

• Tip: When you open the fridge or freezer, get your child thinking about all the cold things they know. “What else is cold? Ice cubes? Ice cream? Snow?”  Ask them what they like to wear when it’s cold out.  Shiver together and warm each other up from the fridge!  | Brainy Background: Back and forth conversations during even the most ordinary chores helps their language skills and their brain.
• Tip: Find a certain color and tell your child to clap when they see it. Take turns picking the color and clapping.  As the rules of the game are learned, make it more complicated by clapping once for white and twice for red.  |  Brainy Background: This game calls on your child to pay attention, to remember the rules of the game, and to think flexibly when you change the rules, which are all important learning skills.

“Our partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation has engaged and encouraged early childhood educators and parents to take advantage of the seemingly ordinary moments they have with children, all with the backing of brain science,” said Dr. Lynette Fraga, executive director of Child Care Aware® of America. “This important work builds on the capacity of more than 400 child care resource and referral agencies across the United States to spark meaningful family and community engagement strategies related to the science of brain development and share them with their early care and education community partners.  CCAoA is thrilled to apply the important advancements in brain science through this continued partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation.”

More than 11 million children under the age of five are in some form of child care in the United States.  For 30 years, CCAoA has been the leading voice for quality, affordable child care in the United States.  Child Care Aware® of America continues to pursue a vision of the future in which every family in the United States has access to a high quality and affordable child care system.

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About Child Care Aware® of America

Child Care Aware® of America is our nation’s leading voice for child care.  We work with state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) and other community partners to ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable child care.  To achieve our mission, we lead projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, offer comprehensive training to child care professionals, undertake research to advance knowledge, provide consumer education to families nationwide, administer child care fee assistance services to military families, and advocate for child care policies that improve the lives of children and families.  To learn more, visit usa.childcareaware.org.  Follow us on Twitter @USAChildcare and on Facebook at facebook.com/usachildcare.

About the Bezos Family Foundation

The Bezos Family Foundation is a private, independent foundation established by Jackie and Mike Bezos, who, along with their family, serve as directors.  The Bezos Family Foundation believes young people are born with potential and deserve the experiences needed to learn and thrive.  Its programs and funding are guided by the science of learning and aim to transform how we support all young people—especially those furthest from opportunity—to have impact in a rapidly changing world.  Its vision is that all young people are prepared to achieve their full potential and meaningfully contribute to society.