Friends of Winthrop Parents Network is a group of parents and caregivers that aim to support the WPN teachers and coordinators. Our goal is to raise awareness of the program and supplement the grant funding via various fundraising efforts.

The program has expanded their offerings to include a Spanish playgroup on Fridays and as of this fall, had to relocate to a new space which has incurred higher rent. This fantastic growth has put some strain on the budget and grant funding.

In order to keep the program running, WPN has been forced to cut down from two teachers each session to one teacher each session. Friends of WPN is hoping to raise enough funding to cover rent for the year to maintain each session being run by two teachers. We plan to hold additional fundraising and awareness efforts throughout the course of the year.

Winthrop Parents Network is funded through the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant (CFCE), a grant from the Department of Early Education and Care. The primary purpose of this program is to promote early literacy, parenting education, developmental screenings, resources and referrals for families with children birth to age 8. This goal is achieved through collaboration with the public schools, private preschools, Early Intervention and other agencies that provide services to families.