Plans for upgrades include purchasing new books, puzzles, counting games and games that include letters and other literacy concepts.

ECKA chief executive Jo Geurts said the charity partnership with the Ballarat Foundation's fundraising event would help provide the most up to date resources for Ballarat's youngsters.

"The research and evidence is really clear that children who commence kindergarten with a bachelor trained kindergarten teacher at the age of three have the best possible start to their formal schooling," she said.

"The brain is developing at a rapid rate and it is a time in their life where the more rich learning experiences we give to children, the better the outcomes are for them."

Early childhood development and school readiness is the focus of the 2019 Run For A Cause event, with seven partner charities focusing on this area.

Participants can nominate their charity of choice to support when they register for the event.

ECKA, along with the Ballarat Toy Library, Uniting Ballarat, Ballarat Community Health, Ballarat Reads, Playgroup Victoria and Eureka Mums are charity partners.

Australian Early Development Census data released earlier this year showed one in five children in Ballarat start school disadvantaged in at least one area of development.

READ MORE: Australian Early Development Census tells story of a cycle of disadvantage

Ms Geurts said ensuring all children attend three-year-old kindergarten would drastically improve this result.

"We are very supportive of the new government reform where three-year-old kindergarten will be funded by the state government in Ballarat from 2022," she said.

"We have a large cohort of vulnerable three-year-olds who are eligible for two years of kindergarten in Ballarat now. We see an incredible range of learning and development in those children.

"It not only sets them up with the foundations in numeracy literacy and learning but sets them up in terms of social and emotional regulation, how to get along with their peers, and routines. I know our school teachers give us feedback this is really valuable for those children starting school."

Ms Geurts said AECD data already showed an improved in the development of children in Mount Pleasant where the Access to Early Learning program getting vulnerable children to two years of kinder is in place, and also in Beaufort where a kinder was opened in 2011.

READ MORE: Access to Early Learning program improves outcomes for vulnerable children

Registrations are open now for Run For A Cause.

Visit run4ac.org/ for more information and details on the other charity partners.

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