Head Start helps people all year

October is Head Start Awareness Month. In celebration, I’d like to shine a spotlight on the Acelero Learning Early/head Start Clark County, which was nationally recognized when I was awarded the National Head Start Association’s BOLD Game Changer Prize — recognition which I share with my colleagues who tirelessly support 1,447 children who come to our program every day and can count on our stable, nutritious meals.

Food insecurity is at an alltime high across the nation. When the pandemic started, I began gathering supplies to deliver to children’s homes.

I became acquainted with the managers at a nearby Sam’s Club to work around the limited purchase rules and stored cases of supplies in my garage to distribute to families until our centers reopened. I built a partnership with Three Square Food Bank to set up drive-thru food distributions at three of Acelero’s centers each week. These distributions continue to provide food to the community today. Since starting the drive-thru model, we have fed 17,700 households and 75,000 people.

Acelero continues to host drive-thru food distributions. Now, with the help of community partners, we also provide vaccine clinics and testing. By doing this, we hope to ease some of the stress on families and enable them to focus on other issues demanding their attention. We also hope to inspire other Head Start programs across the country. Because this is the type of support our Head Start families need, it’s what we will provide — now and all year round.

Kristina Bedikian, Las Vegas