Full-year, life-changing childcare grants
We’ve given away hundreds of childcare and caregiving grants to women working in healthcare roles. But these grants cover just one month of childcare for one child. When describing what the Zorya Foundation does, I often say it’s a little like Naloxone—our grants are incredibly meaningful in the moment, but our one-time grants are not a long-term solution to the lack of affordable childcare in this country, particularly for healthcare workers.
So we are absolutely delighted that, for the first time, we’ll be providing full-year childcare grants, starting with three, $12,000 scholarships for moms working in healthcare roles. These first grants are provided by my personal donation combined with generous support from friend and business partner Kary Nulisch and his team at Castlemark Consulting.
These full-year grants do not replace our one-time $1,000 cash grants, they are in addition to our regular programs.
Why are we doing this? It will always be our goal at Zorya to do more. And it has been my personal mission to make a difference for women in the workforce. I believe I’ve been successful in the professional world in large part because I had access to consistent and high-quality childcare when my boys were young. I also have a traveling “Oldma” who still jumps on a plane at a moment’s notice to cover for my husband’s and my dueling travel schedules. Not everyone has this support structure, and I would not be where I am without having it myself. Having reliable childcare helps women stay and advance in the workforce. And in the healthcare industry, where we have a serious workforce shortage—and 80% of healthcare workers are women—we’ll not only help these women and their families, but patients across the country.
One-time childcare grants are meaningful to our healthcare workers, but full-year support will be life-changing.
Help us do more—with generous support from our vice president and board secretary, Lisa Bari, who has given us an incredible head start with a $2,000 donation toward our goal, we are hoping to raise $10,000 from our community for a fourth, full-year grant. Help us make a difference. All support in any amount helps.
The application period for our full-year grants will open soon. Grantees will be chosen based on need.