Perry County organizations working to increase child care access

PERRY COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) - Called2Teach and Unify Perry County were founded to provide educational resources to parents and families.

Founders Jasmine Baldwin-Smith and Bree Hartfield said they created their respective organizations after noticing a gap in child care services in the county.

The two women said they now are hoping to get the county certified an “Excel-By-5″ area.

Baldwin-Smith said such certification will open doors for residents.

“Through grants and foundations and different things like that,” said Baldwin-Smith. “Once we become a certified ‘Excel-By-5′ community, that opens up the opportunities for additional resources within our community.”

Hartfield said getting the certification will require a lot of effort.

“We need all hands on deck to be a greater Perry County,” said Hartfield. “It all starts with us.”

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