Our Story
Along The Way started by providing free in-home child care in 2016, serving only low-income single mother families as an anti-poverty initiative. We had a theory that if we provided free child care to single mothers during nights & weekends when they could most readily find employment or take classes to continue their own education, we’d provide the necessary support for the most under-resourced population to break the cycle of poverty for their families. We were right!
As a result of our child care service, 93% of the mothers we’ve served have maintained stable employment and 50% have simultaneously worked full-time while enrolled in a certification/degree program. We’ve seen waitresses become business owners and CNA’s become registered nurses. We’ve formed trusting relationships with hard-working moms and their children, supporting their growth for as long as they needed us. Don’t just take our word for it; hear for yourself, directly from the mothers we’ve served here.
For the past 6 years, we’ve maintained small cohorts of families and relied solely on private donations and occasional local foundation grants to fund our mission to provide community, acceptance, and hope to women through our best-in-class child care & community connections services. And we are on a mission to expand this life-changing service to as many families as we can; to do so, we’ve revamped our funding model and in the process, we’re revolutionizing care and community. HOW?
By creating a sustainable child care system that fills critical care gaps and serves people of all income levels, with the same high-quality, in-home care. And we pay for it by inviting all the beneficiaries to the funding table. Click to learn more about our funding model.
Our Mission
PROVIDE COMMUNITY, ACCEPTANCE & HOPE TO WOMEN.
Our Vision
Safe, reliable, and affordable childcare for all.
A world where all families can get the safe, reliable, and affordable child care support they need to thrive.
How We Fulfill Our Mission
Break the cycle of poverty.
Along the Way provides a pathway to financial security for single parents in a few critical ways:
by providing safe & reliable child care on an income-based sliding scale starting at FREE during nights and weekends so that single parents can work and/or advance their own education/training without the financial burden of high-quality child care
by utilizing a holistic care approach that meets parents where they are on the continuum of surviving to thriving
by doing our part to provide good jobs to hard-working parents
by inviting the community to participate in building this Pathway to Economic Independence for our neighbors
Employers are invited to participate through the Pathway Project
ARPA grant funding matches employer contributions
Businesses are invited to participate through our Community Connections Services — a unique giveback opportunity that leverages your skill set to help meet the needs of families
Faith Communities, friend groups, work teams and individuals are invited to participate through sponsoring a single mother family here so that we can offer an income-based sliding scale of copayment