The LaundryCares Foundation and Too Small to Fail, the early childhood initiative of the Clinton Foundation, will kick off the 3rd annual LaundryCares Literacy Summit on September 15. This year’s virtual summit will take part in three sessions that will explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early learning, and actions that business owners and community leaders can take to support parents and children in under-resourced communities.
The summit will engage more than 650 leaders on the importance of increasing access to early literacy programs in laundromats and other everyday spaces to support children’s early brain and language development and promote educational equity.
In addition to remarks by President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, featured speakers will include Wes Moore, CEO, Robin Hood Foundation; Brian Wallace, CEO, Coin Laundry Association; Patti Miller, CEO, Too Small to Fail; Andrea Davis Pinkney, New York Times best-selling author; Cindy McCain, advisor, McCain Institute for International Leadership; Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, senior vice president, Sesame Workshop; Dr. Susan Neuman, early literacy development specialist and researcher, New York University; Ralph Smith, managing director, Campaign for Grade Level Reading; Honorable Judge Ramona A. Gonzalez, the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges; Mo Willems, New York Times best-selling children’s author; and more.
All programming will be made available free of charge for participants in the three sessions on September 15, 17 and 22, 2020 as follows:
Session One: Let’s Talk about Laundromats
Tuesday, September 15 – 1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. (EDT)
The first session will highlight the important role of informal spaces like laundromats, particularly in a COVID-19 world, and how these spaces are being used by community leaders to support early learning and create greater access to language and learning opportunities for children.
Speakers:
- President Bill Clinton
- Wes Moore, CEO, Robin Hood Foundation
- Brian Wallace, CEO, Coin Laundry Association
- Patti Miller, CEO, Too Small to Fail
- Andrea Davis Pinkney, New York Times best-selling author
Session Two: Let’s Take Action
Thursday, September 17 – 1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. (EDT)
The second session will focus on the importance of helping parents support their children’s learning through routine moments, such as laundry time, and will highlight new research findings that demonstrate the effectiveness of creating literacy-rich spaces in everyday spaces. This session will support participants in developing an action plan on how they can take steps toward increasing families’ access to early learning resources.
Speakers:
- Cindy McCain, advisor, McCain Institute for International Leadership
- Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, senior vice president, Sesame Workshop
- Dr. Susan Neuman, early literacy development specialist and researcher, New York University
Session Three: Looking Ahead
Tuesday, September 22 – 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (EDT)
The closing session will feature several announcements of new commitments and actions that participants will take to create more equitable learning environments for all children. Chelsea Clinton will serve as the keynote speaker and present the first-ever LaundryCares Achievement Awards to recognize outstanding service and exemplary best practice for laundromat owners, early literacy providers, and partnerships.
Speakers:
- Chelsea Clinton, vice chair, Clinton Foundation
- Ralph Smith, managing director, Campaign for Grade Level Reading
- Honorable Judge Ramona A. Gonzalez, the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- Mo Willems, New York Times best-selling children’s author
After the inaugural LaundryCares Literacy Summit in 2018, the LaundryCares Foundation and Too Small to Fail launched “Family Read, Play & Learn” spaces to create literacy-rich early learning environments inside laundromats and evaluated the impact of these spaces on children’s early literacy development and parent-child interactions.
“Family Read, Play & Learn Spaces” are playful, literacy-rich areas designed to help prompt language-rich activities such as talking, reading, singing, writing, and playing among young children and their parents/caregivers. These spaces include a sofa, a bookshelf filled with high-quality children’s books, puppets, crayons, in-store signage for parents, an alphabet rug, blocks, magnetic letters and family tip sheets.
The 2020 summit has been made possible in part through generous funding by David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Allstate.
Registration is free, but space is limited. Please visit www.laundrycares.org/summit2020 for more information, and follow along on social media using #laundryliteracy2020.
