30 Seconds of Action = Major Impact

Bright BeginningsAdvocacy, Community

Take Action Today! Assembly Member Anna Caballero’s bill, AB 300, could help more Monterey County families with young children access affordable, quality child care. Not only would it authorize Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties to develop and implement …

February 24, 2017 | CAT Convening

Bright BeginningsCommunity, Events

On Friday, February 24, 2017, 28 participants from both the Monterey County Children’s Council and representatives from the local Collaborative Action Teams (CATs) attended the 3rd Collaborative Action Team Convening at Harden Ranch Foundation. Below are a series of identified successes, …

Final Evaluation Report

Bright BeginningsAdvocacy

Towards the end of 2016, Spark Policy Institute sent out a survey to assess Bright Beginning’s progress on core elements of Bright Beginnings Theory of Action. This illustrates the collective impact path the initiative is taking in order to see …

CAT Spotlight – Peninsula

Bright BeginningsCommunity

Both Wendy Root Askew and Cresta McIntosh have a deep-rooted passion for early childhood education and development, and they each serve their community as members of the Bright Beginnings’ Peninsula Collaborative Action Team (CAT). Wendy works as an aide to …

March is Read Aloud Month

Bright BeginningsAdvocacy, Community, Events

March is Read Aloud Month.  In Monterey County 52% of parents with children entering kindergarten tell their children stories or engage them with books four or more days per week.  Read Aloud 15 Minutes has a host of resources for …

CAT events – Google Calendar

Bright BeginningsEvents

What are some great events you want early childhood champions to know about?  Interested in learning about upcoming Bright Beginnings CAT and Network meetings?  Events around the county to get involved with?  Want to post what you are doing so …

United Way Funding for CATs

Bright BeginningsAdvocacy

When funders coordinate funding priorities around your Initiative, it is a substantial accomplishment of Collective Impact.  It displays how the culture and systems are moving towards alignment of a common vision. Recently,United Way Monterey County (UWMC) has stepped up to …

Collaborating vs. Aligning

Bright BeginningsCommunity

Collaboration is a term often used in creating social change.  How often have you been in a meeting where people say they are “collaborating” but it looks more like information sharing? There is a point and a purpose to information …

CAT Spotlight – Gonzales

Bright BeginningsCommunity

Rene Mendez, Elizabeth Modena, and Michelle Slade are all integral members of the Bright Beginnings Gonzales Collaborative Action Team (CAT). Mendez works for the City of Gonzales as the City Manager, while Modena is the Superintendent for Gonzales Unified School …