United Way of Greater Charlottesville is thrilled to announce that we have awarded $100,000 to early childhood care and education providers throughout the Greater Charlottesville area through the FY26 School Readiness Impact Grants program.
UWGC announced the creation of the School Readiness Impact Grants program in partnership with Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation in 2025. The original goal of the partnership was to help bridge the persistent childcare gap that exists throughout the region. This year, the overall mission remains the same, as there is still a current shortfall of 3,300 childcare slots needed by local families.
Last year’s grants program helped generate an estimated 102+ new childcare slots at seven providers throughout the City of Charlottesville and Counties of Greene, Fluvanna, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange. This year, the impact of the grants program has continued to grow, with an estimated 105+ new slots created across 14 providers—including a focus on centers located in rural areas throughout the region. Providers receiving funding are located in Bumpass, Charlottesville, Louisa, Ruckersville, and Schuyler and include private centers, nonprofits, and licensed Family Day Homes.
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“We really wanted to invest in areas that are often overlooked throughout our region, which is one of the reasons we chose to award providers in outlying areas. We are proud to share that 40 of the 105+ slots the grants will create will be in a current childcare desert in Schuyler, VA by helping fund the construction of an all-new early childhood care and education center,” shared Meredith Locascio, Vice President of School Readiness Impact at UWGC. She added: “This is so impactful for the community because not only does this bring much-needed childcare to the area, but also jobs for community members, resources for families, and more.”
FY26 School Readiness Impact Grants recipients
The 14 providers receiving FY26 School Readiness Impact Grants funding are:
- A Mother’s Touch Childcare (Charlottesville)
- Abundant Love (Bumpass)
- Charlottesville Community Resilience Center (Charlottesville)
- Four Seasons Learning Center (Charlottesville)
- Greene County Child Care (Ruckersville)
- Jupiter Learning Academy (Louisa)
- Montessori School of Charlottesville (Charlottesville)
- Pastoral LLC (Schuyler)
- Piedmont YMCA (Charlottesville)
- Rita’s Bright Beginnings (Charlottesville)
- Smart Start (Ruckersville)
- University Child Care LLC (Ruckersville)
- Westminster Childcare Center (Charlottesville)
- WonderLand Preschool (Charlottesville)
Locascio also acknowledged that the childcare gap continues to persist in the City, too: “We tried to be very thoughtful about how to split up the grants and landed on just more than 55% being awarded to Charlottesville-based providers and a bit more than 45% going to providers in surrounding counties.” Some of the funding awarded to providers in Charlottesville will help create 50-75 additional childcare slots through an expanded after-school care program, allowing families who were previously unable to accept placements due to limited care hours to do so. At another center, 10-12 slots will be created by funding additional staff.
Providers requesting funding awards were asked to clearly demonstrate the needs that exist in their respective communities, the feasibility of executing proposed projects, and the potential impact of their proposals. This year’s awarded providers will use funds to invest in:
- Coaching and professional development for staff and teachers,
- Technology for family communication,
- Classroom improvements and facility expansions (including outdoor learning environments),
- Instructional materials and curriculum development (including special needs materials),
- Trauma-informed caregiver programming,
- After-school program development, and more.
Addressing the regional childcare workforce gap
This year’s School Readiness Grant application received more than $1,000,000 in requests from 27 local childcare centers, underlining the vital need for additional funding to reduce the regional slot shortfall and address needs in the teacher workforce. The 3,300 subsidized slot shortfall in the Greater Charlottesville area translates to an estimated shortage of 700 teachers—a gap that cannot be closed without significant investment in the caregiving workforce.
In 2025, UWGC launched the Early Learning Career Launch to directly address workforce challenges across High School Recruitment & Career Pathway Education, Assistant Teachers/Entry-level Training, Lead Teachers/Advanced Credentialing, Professional Development & Core Competency Training for Center Directors. In February 2026, Early Learning Career Launch completed its second cohort of Assistant Teacher trainings in partnership with UVA Pipelines and Pathways with a 100% employment offer rate and 23 total graduates. This cohort-based program recruits, trains, and supports aspiring early childhood educators through paid foundational training, credentialing, and ongoing mentorship and wraparound supports to strengthen the regional childcare workforce. UWGC is preparing to host a third Assistant Teacher cohort in June and launch its first Early Childhood Certificate cohort in Fall 2026 in partnership with Piedmont Virginia Community College.
UWGC President & CEO Ravi Cooper stated: “No family should be forced to turn down employment–helping their family become financially stable and resilient–because there is no space available for their child that is accessible to them. The School Readiness Impact Grants and ELCL are helping ensure that fewer families in our region are faced with this impossible decision. We are so grateful to our partners, especially the Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation, who understand that childcare is infrastructure and necessitates substantial investment.”
Holly Hatcher, President & CEO of the Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation noted, “Investing in quality childcare is essential on many different levels. From supporting working families to helping children access quality early learning environments they need to thrive, to uplifting teachers with living wages and professional development–a strong early childhood ecosystem is the foundation that establishes the future success of our region. We are committed to supporting innovative solutions that support our community’s early learners, families, and teachers.”
Virginia Business Roundtable for Early Education and Ready Region Blue Ridge, both of which advocate for employee childcare benefits, childcare accessibility and affordability, program quality improvement, and more.
