Early childhood education is an undeniably valuable aspect of a child’s life. The first three years are crucial to their development and influence what kind of adult they will become.
The Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, which has selected “enriching early childhood development” as the theme this year, works to reduce structural inequality and empower families. We do so in order to contribute to the health and vitality of the neighborhoods we serve. Each year, our Celebration of Social Justice honors people and organizations who are committed to similar work.
We selected our theme because we believe that all our neighbors should have equal access to early learning opportunities for their children. There are people who go above and beyond to help foster a world where every child has access to education during one of the most pivotal times in their lives.
The Work of Dr. Ron Ferguson and The Boston Basics
Dr. Ron Ferguson has spent his career combatting the barriers that restrict children from disadvantaged communities from getting everything they need. As a professor, he’s using education to empower local families to dismantle the systems that keep those barriers up. He’s also creating models for how to engage with and support families who have limited resources. He believes that every child, from any background, can benefit from foundational learning experiences.
Dr. Ferguson created The Boston Basics organization to help our communities with early childhood caregiving. The work done at The Boston Basics has empowered parents and communities to help reshape child development in profound ways.
At Eastern Bank, we’ve come to understand that there are young children who are at risk of not reaching their full potential because of limited access to nutritional meals, a lack of early stimulation or nurturing, and early exposure to stress. Social justice and advocacy programs like The Boston Basics help to find solutions to challenges in early childhood education and care. That’s why, on October 28, 2019, we honored Dr. Ferguson and The Boston Basics at our annual Celebration of Social Justice.
Join Us For Good
Dr. Ferguson and The Boston Basics still need help. Your community involvement can have a tremendous impact on what happens in the homes and preschool classrooms of some of the city’s most underprivileged young children. Our employees have seen firsthand the difference that volunteers can make when it comes to enriching the early learning experience. They’ve donated over 50,000 hours of volunteer time in 2019 alone. Much of that is to organizations that focus on children and their developmental health.
Additionally, through our Charitable Foundation, Eastern Bank provides funding to over 1,600 local organizations that support families in the communities we serve. This year alone, our commitment in annual donations will exceed $10 million because we recognize that no one organization can change our communities without help.
We all need to support and invest in the programs that address the early educational needs of children. When we champion the outstanding work of community leaders like Dr. Ron Ferguson, we hear from some of our youngest voices in the community, voices that may go unheard in other circumstances.
Recognizing the work of programs like The Boston Basics is an opportunity for us all to connect and establish deeper relationships, which will further strengthen our communities.