WHEREAS, for more than 100 years, ReadyKids has provided early learning opportunities, counseling, and family support to young people in Charlottesville and the surrounding region; and

WHEREAS, established in 1921, ReadyKids is one of the oldest nonprofit organizations in Charlottesville; it was originally known as the Children's Home and cared for young people who had been orphaned by the 1918 flu pandemic; and

WHEREAS, by the 1940s, the Children's Home had expanded its mission to provide care for adolescents and support for young people whose families were in crisis; and

WHEREAS, to better reflect its evolving mission, the organization changed its name to Child and Family Services of Charlottesville and Albemarle in the 1950s, to the Office for Children and Youth in the 1970s, and to Children, Youth and Family Services in the 1990s; and

WHEREAS, ReadyKids adopted its current name in 2014; the organization provides a wide range of programs for young people with adverse childhood experiences, children from low-income families, children in unsafe living conditions, or any other child in need; and

WHEREAS, among the many programs offered by ReadyKids, Inside Out Counseling provides trauma counseling, primarily in person, to children between the ages of two and 18, and the Teen Counseling Program provides short-term intensive counseling services to teens and their families; and

WHEREAS, the ReadyKids program ReadySteps provides in-person and virtual early learning playgroups in English and Spanish to various communities in Charlottesville and Albemarle County; and

WHEREAS, Healthy Families, a ReadyKids comprehensive family support program, provides children from infancy to five years of age and their parents with in-person visits and phone, text, and video calls, with programming offered in English, Spanish, Dari, and Pashto; and

WHEREAS, ReadyKids' Growing Minds provides quality improvement activities for child care providers, including coaching, training, technical assistance, and consultation, while STAR Kids provides lessons that teach social-emotional development and problem-solving skills; and

WHEREAS, through the REAL Dads program, ReadyKids provides coaching to fathers who want to build strong, secure relationships with their families; and

WHEREAS, Jacki Bryant has led ReadyKids as its executive director since 2005 and has demonstrated a thoughtful approach to enhancing the diversity of the staff, effective teamwork, and shared leadership; and

WHEREAS, during her tenure, Jacki Bryant has cultivated an optimal environment for the organization's growth and promoted the core value of ReadyKids that every child has the right to grow up in a world that honors their whole self and offers every opportunity to secure their health and well-being; and

WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2022, ReadyKids provided services to 6,840 children, their families, and early childhood educators in Charlottesville and Albemarle, Nelson, Louisa, Fluvanna, and Green Counties; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That ReadyKids hereby be commended on the occasion of its 100th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Jacki Bryant, executive director of ReadyKids, as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the organization's achievements in service to young people in Charlottesville and throughout the region.