Fundraising from Ballarat charity event Run For A Cause will help provide additional equipment and resources to meet the demand for early childhood services at Cardigan Village.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Uniting Ballarat opened a kindergarten service at Cardigan Village in 2019 and has seen a 'substantial' increase in enrollments for 2020.
It is important all communities have access to early childhood services.
- Paula Clarke, Uniting Ballarat
Uniting's Early Learning Area Manager South West Victoria Paula Clarke said the service was established to cater for growth in the area and young families on rural properties.
"If we can reduce the stresses on families and create easily accessible education and care services for the community, we know there is better outcomes for children," she said.
"We have aimed to support that community with their own early learning service and create an opportunity for easily accessible kindergarten programs for three-year-olds and four-year-olds."
RELATED COVERAGE: Improved access to services priority for Cardigan Village
Ms Clarke said there had been positive feedback from the community since the kindergarten opened earlier this year, also shown in the growing enrollment numbers.
"It is important all communities have access to early childhood services," she said.
Participants of Run For A Cause can choose to support one of seven charities when they register for the event, with a focus on early childhood development.
Watch the video about Run For A Cause below.
In addition to Uniting Ballarat, other Run For A Cause charity partners are Eureka Mums, Ballarat Community Health, Ballarat Toy Library, Playgroup Victoria, Ballarat Reads and Eureka Community Kindergarten Association.
Nearly one in five children in the Ballarat area start school developmentally vulnerable according to Australian Early Development Census Data released earlier this year.
Funding raised for Uniting Ballarat through the event will also assist the organisation to purchase outdoor play equipment for Buninyong Pre-School in addition to increased resources and equipment for Cardigan Village Kindergarten.
RELATED COVERAGE: Cardigan Village's growing pains
Ms Clarke said there was a high demand for services at Buninyong with enrollments at the pre-school at capacity for 2020.
Uniting also runs early childhood centres at Alfredton Pre-School, Bacchus Marsh Montessori Centre, Buninyong Pre-School and Enid Rogers Jubilee Kindergarten, providing a mix of three-year-old and four-year-old funded and unfunded sessions.
The organisation can provide a range of services to families who may need additional support.
Hundreds of people in Ballarat will take to the course at Victoria Park and Lake Wendouree for Run For A Cause on Sunday, with a half marathon, 10km, 5km, and 1km event on offer.
Visit run4ac.org/ for more information or to register for the event.
RELATED COVERAGE:
- Ballarat Reads Run For A Cause 2019 charity partner
- Ballarat Community Health Run For A Cause 2019 charity partner
- Ballarat Toy Library Run For A Cause 2019 charity partner
- Eureka Mums Run For A Cause 2019 charity partner
- Sebastopol playgroup a Run For A Cause charity partner
- A little more focus for your training to Run for a Cause in Ballarat
- Run for a Cause 2019: Pets get ready for the event
- School spirit steps up ahead of Run for a Cause
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.