By Krystal Moralee

The Women’s Initiative at the Community Foundation recently granted $28,000 to the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) to help fund early childhood playgroups.

“Playgroups are free and open to all families with children birth to age five and have become a trusted entry point for family support across the county. We currently host groups in Algonac, Avoca, and Marysville and serve more than 1,000 families each year,” said Jen Gunderson, Great Start Collaborative Coordinator for RESA.

 “Our playgroups offer much more than just a place to play. They provide young children with early learning experiences that build social-emotional skills, strengthen language development, and encourage school readiness. Just as importantly, they connect parents and caregivers with one another, promote positive parenting practices, and link families to valuable community resources. They are universal, welcoming spaces where families feel supported and stay connected.”

Through play, children practice problem-solving, negotiation, emotional regulation, creativity, and resilience. They test ideas, experiment with risk, and build confidence in their own abilities. Neuroscience continues to affirm what parents and educators have long observed: when children are free to imagine, move, build, and collaborate, their brains light up in ways that support language development, executive functioning, and social skills.

“Our grants focus on removing barriers to a child’s education,” said Therese Damman, Women’s Initiative Committee Chair. “And these playgroups are structured to do just that by meeting RESA and Great Start goals of making sure children are healthy, thriving, and developmentally on track from birth through third grade, and ensuring they are developmentally ready to succeed in school at the time of school entry.”

Community playgroups create spaces for play where children can explore together while caregivers connect, share resources, and build informal support networks, and many parents will tell you that those connections can turn into lifelong friendships as the kids grow. That’s especially important now, at a time when many parents feel alone on their journey. The RESA playgroups have been facilitating these connections for more than two decades, and will continue this year thanks to grant funding like that from the Women’s Initiative.

The groups also give parents the opportunity to complete developmental screenings, such as the Ages & Stages questionnaires, in a supportive and familiar setting. These tools help identify potential developmental delays early, allowing RESA to connect families with trusted community partners for further evaluation or services when needed.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Women’s Initiative at the Community Foundation for stepping in to fund the playgroups for the next year while we work to secure more permanent funding,” said Gunderson. “They immediately recognized the value these groups bring to families and have been wonderful partners to work with. We’re thankful this support allows us to continue walking alongside families during such important early years.”

RESA provides support, resources, and educational services to local school districts, educators, and families. It focuses on enhancing student achievement through specialized services, including special education, career-technical education (St. Clair TEC), early childhood programs, and technology support. Find out more about the playgroups at www.sccresa.org/page/great-start-home-visiting-playgroups.

The Women’s Initiative prioritizes funding for programs, projects and initiatives that support educational growth and eliminate barriers impacting a child’s educational growth, and the RESA playgroups were a perfect match for that mission. Find out more about the Women’s Initiative.

Interested in learning more about the Women’s Initiative or how to support work like this? Contact Jackie at jackie@stclairfoundation.org or (810) 984-4761.