RCMA announces that it has received a grant from The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation in Fort Lauderdale to benefit children and families in Homestead, Florida City and Palm Beach County.
RCMA is Florida’s largest non-profit provider of early childhood education and engages the entire family in health care, parenting and other services.
“We are deeply grateful for Frederick A. DeLuca’s generosity,” Isabel Garcia, RCMA’s executive director said, “as it’s investing a great deal in communities where resources are scarce. We appreciate so much how the foundation took time to carefully get to know RCMA and our families, and respond to our biggest needs in those areas.”
With The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation funding, RCMA will offer extended hours of care to help working families at its Farmworker Child Development Center in Delray Beach. Also, funding helped hire a family support worker to serve approximately 20 families in Belle Glade.
In Miami-Dade, an additional health worker was hired in Homestead to connect 150 children and their families to various types of health resources. RCMA’s new health workers provide bilingual health and immunization education and screenings for vision, dental and hearing.
Finally, the grant will purchase new playground equipment for RCMA’s Florida City child development centers that serve 290 children.
“It is important that we assess preschool children for health-related issues affecting their ability to learn and develop,” says Garcia,. “The families we serve, who are primarily migrant families, often don’t have health insurance and fall below the health safety net. This funding from The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation has allowed us to reach more families and help them address pressing medical concerns.”
Regarding the playgrounds, Garcia said, “Play is an important part of a child’s life to stimulate growth and development. We are grateful to The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation for helping us ensure that our play areas and classrooms are inviting, stimulating, and well-maintained environments.”
As for the wraparound services, having the resources extend the children’s day to 10.5 hours is critical as it allow parents to work a full day and provides the children the additional educational opportunities they need for school readiness.
About RCMA
Established in 1965, RCMA is the largest non-profit provider of quality early childhood education and family-support services in the state of Florida. Headquartered in Immokalee, RCMA serves people in rural areas living in poverty, primarily migrant and agriculture working families. RCMA operates 65 child development centers and two charter schools, and partners with 19 family child care homes and several afterschool care programs in 21 Florida counties. The organization employs 1,600 people, provides child care and education to more than 5,500 children each year, and has more than 50,000 alumni. Learn more at rcma.org.
About The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation
The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, Inc., is a private family foundation supporting charitable programs that empower individuals to lead healthy and productive lives through education, awareness, and research initiatives.
The Foundation was created in 1997 by the late Fred DeLuca, co-founder of the global SUBWAY® restaurant chain. Mr. DeLuca was passionate about providing individuals an opportunity to improve their lives through hard work and dedication, and, in turn, to benefit their family and community.
Today, the Foundation continues to address critical needs in the community under the leadership of Board President Elisabeth DeLuca, a former nursing professional, and her son, Jonathan. By supporting organizations that provide educational, career development, and job placement opportunities, the Foundation is able to help individuals achieve independence and self-sufficiency.
