In 2009, during the Great Recession, Stephanie Hannon left a career in banking to embark on a mission much closer to her heart: educating and caring for children.
Tucked behind her Etters home, she has created a natural wonderland for children enrolled in her home-based program, Inspiring Imaginations Home Childcare. A stone-lined stream gurgles beside a rustic clubhouse built of live edge planks. Children peek out of the round wood-trimmed window.
Around a corner, a child sits on a digger and excavates in a giant sandbox. Other children pedal past on trikes and bikes.
Inside Stephanie’s home, the hands-on learning is no less vibrant. With brightly colored artwork adorning the walls and educational toys and craft supplies at every turn, Inspiring Imaginations has become a place where curiosity and creativity thrive, thanks in part to grants from Every Child Has Opportunities (ECHO), an initiative led by Community Connections for Children and York County Economic Alliance.
Growing outdoors and beyond
When Stephanie discovered ECHO’s Innovation Grant, she realized it could help her expand opportunities for hands-on nature-based learning, especially outdoors.
“It has really advanced my program as far as getting the kids used to nature,” she says of the funding she received. “We can take everything outside and bring nature to us, which has been wonderful. The kids absolutely love it.”
Stephanie also received an ECHO Professional Development Mini Grant that allowed her to attend the National Association for Family Child Care conference in Texas. While her program has earned a STAR 4 rating, her experience in Texas sparked a new professional goal. She is working to become nationally accredited through NAFCC.
Partnership and support
Miranda Whalen, ECHO Grants Coordinator with the lead organization Community Connections for Children, which provides high-quality early learning and educational solutions, notes that Stephanie’s enthusiasm demonstrates exactly why ECHO’s work matters.
“What stands out to me about working with Stephanie and providers like her who work in the home environment is their level of dedication and enthusiasm for the work that they do,” Miranda says. “We are so lucky to partner with so many intelligent, wonderful, and dedicated early childhood professionals.”
Through ECHO’s Innovation and Professional Development Mini Grant programs, providers can enhance their facilities, grow their skills, and connect nationally. Those professional connections often have lasting effects.
“It helps to elevate them as professionals in this space,” Miranda says. “It also introduces them to best practices that maybe are not something that they learned when they first started in the field.”
ECHO Innovation Grants allow small programs to make big changes by investing in offerings such as Stephanie’s outdoor classroom. ECHO grants also help to increase early childhood education access and quality in York County.
“High quality really is about the energy and intention that these providers bring to their care,” Miranda says. “Providers like Stephanie are the backbone of our early childhood world and the local economy. The workforce could not work without people like Stephanie. Our schools could not have students who are ready to learn in kindergarten classrooms without providers like Stephanie.”
Advocating for the future
For Stephanie, the work extends beyond her indoor and outdoor classrooms. After watching “Make a Circle,” a film about advocacy for family early childhood education providers, she was moved to support early learning professionals and program owners on a broader scale.
“That really hit hard for me,” she says. “It showed that it’s possible for us to advocate for ourselves and let people know that family childcare is important.”
Stephanie hopes to see greater understanding, respect, and support for family based programs in Pennsylvania. Even with the challenges, she wouldn’t trade her work for anything.
“My passion has always been children,” she says. “I absolutely love what I do.”
ECHO and Community Connections for Children champion providers such as Stephanie through funding, training, and advocacy that strengthen the early learning workforce and ensure that every child has opportunities to grow, explore, and succeed.
Every Child Has Opportunities is an early childhood education initiative in York County, Pennsylvania, led by Community Connections for Children and York County Economic Alliance. Funding partners include WellSpan Health, the J. William Warehime Foundation, the Powder Mill Foundation, United Way of York County, the Kinsley Foundation, and the York County Community Foundation.
For more information on ECHO’s grant programs, visit www.echoyork.org/grants-and-programs.