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A minute of your time could change a child’s life.

Smart Start of Davie County is in the running with eight other local nonprofit organizations to win a $10,000 award in Triad Kids Dental’s Caring4Community Awards.

Smart Start is a non-profit that serves to ensure that young children enter kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school and beyond. Since opening its doors in November of 1997, Smart Start has reached over 1,000 children a year.

“Our mission is to connect the community through programs that ensure quality early education, health, and family support for all children prenatal to kindergarten in Davie County,” said Gena Taylor, director “An additional $10,000 would allow us the opportunity to expand programming, take some things that we are already doing to the next level, and would not only impact Smart Start of Davie County as an organization but would truly impact the next generation as we prepare them for kindergarten and beyond.

“Their future is bright, and all of us have an opportunity to have a chance to make it even brighter by simply voting.”

For the past 25 years, the organization has worked to:

• identify the needs of young children and families and provide them with inspiring services and activities;

• facilitate resources for families to prepare children for kindergarten;

• collaborate with the community to identify the resources needed in Davie;

• to increase access to high-quality childcare and provide quality instruction and support to area childcare facilities; and

• expand early literacy opportunities.

Programs funded by Smart Start of Davie include:

• Child Care Subsidy – A child care scholarship program for families;

• Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – An early literacy program for children;

• Parents as Teachers – An in-home parent/child education program;

• Nurturing Parenting Program – A 10-week parenting class;

• Strengthening the Foundations of Quality – A technical assistance program for child care providers;

• Early Childhood Resource Center – A free educational kit and resource lending library for parents and child care providers;

• Reach Out and Read – An early literacy program championed by local pediatricians; and

• WAGE$ – An educational incentive program for child care providers.

“It takes maybe 30 seconds to vote, and you can vote as much as you’d like, even multiple times a day. Thirty seconds or even five minutes of your time could change the trajectory of a child’s life,” she said.

Votes can be cast online through NOv. 16 at triadkidsdental.com/caring4community-voting. Enter your name and email and select Smart Start of Davie County Family Promise of Davie County in the drop-down menu. The winner will be announced on Nov. 18.