New Inclusive Playground Funded by the Healthy Children's Fund Opens in Ferndale
 On September 23, we celebrated the opening of a new Inclusive Playground at Mountain View Learning Center in Ferndale, part of the Ferndale School District. This playground is designed to be a play space where all children, of all abilities, can learn, grow, and play together. Healthy Children’s Fund is proud to be one of the key funders supporting this project. Learn more about the new playground, and the ribbon-cutting event.
Finalizing Our Next 2-Year Plan
The Healthy Children’s Fund team, with input from key community partners, has drafted the 2025-2026 Healthy Children’s Fund Implementation Plan. The Healthy Children’s Fund is required to present an updated budget and implementation plan every two years. The new draft plan builds on the work of the last two years of investment in early learning & care, as well as supporting vulnerable children in our community. The draft plan was open to general community feedback from October 1 - 17 online. Public comments were reviewed and compiled into key themes and recommendations, which were then presented to the Child and Family Well-Being Task Force and the Healthy Children’s Fund Implementation Team. Those groups will recommend changes to refine the final draft before it is presented to the County Executive and the County Council at their November 5 meeting.
Stories of Impact: New Videos Highlight HCF-Funded Programs
We are excited to share two new videos that tell the story of how the Healthy Children’s Fund is supporting kids and families in our community. Check them out!
Healthy Children’s Fund provides free diapers for Whatcom County’s food banks
Almost two million diapers are distributed annually to Whatcom County families thanks to a Healthy Children’s Fund contract, along with wipes and formula.
Licensed Drop-in Child Care Database & Map at Childcarespaces.com
Need licensed drop-in child care? Now there's an official tool to find it! Childcarespaces.com is a free resource from the Healthy Children's Fund that features a searchable database and interactive map of licensed local drop-in child care providers. You can quickly find providers near you, and trust that all listed spaces are licensed.
Connecting local families to licensed child care is a benefit for us all! Start searching now: https://www.childcarespaces.com/
Two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) closed recently, and applications are currently being reviewed. Awards will be approved by the County Council and announced in the coming months.
The Child Care Capital RFP closed on September 23 and received 11 applications. These funds are intended to expand the number of childcare slots in Whatcom County through small capital construction projects. The total funding for this RFP is $1.5 million, and multiple organizations are expected to receive awards of $50,000 or more per award.
The Whatcom Kids First Subsidy Program RFP closed on October 21 and received six applications. These funds are intended to develop and implement a localized child care provider rate augmentation and family subsidy program, called Whatcom Kids First. The total funding for this RFP is $4.65 million.
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