FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Tordo 610-992-1140 pr@childcareabc.org

TERRI LYNNE LOKOFF CHILD CARE FOUNDATION
NATIONAL CHILD CARE TEACHER AWARDS CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Open to all early child care teachers in the United States
Winning teachers receive money to fund in-class projects to enhance early learning.

King of Prussia, PA, July 31, 2007 -- The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (TLLCCF) announces the call for applications for its 2008 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™.   Awards sponsor McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNeil PPC, Inc., the maker of Children’s TYLENOL®, has proudly sponsored the program for seven consecutive years.

Applicants design an educational, age appropriate project for their classroom. Fifty child care teachers are selected from applications received based on their projects and for their commitment and dedication to the children they teach.  Each of the 50 winners receives a $1,000 grant: $500 for their program and $500 as a personal stipend.  From the 50 selected winners, one is chosen to receive the Foundation’s Helene Marks Award as the National Child Care Teacher of the Year.  Winners will be honored on April 9, 2008 in King of Prussia, PA.

Stated TLLCCF Executive Director Allan Miller, “The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation is best known for its Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™.  As our Founder once stated, ‘The Awards program is the jewel in the Foundation’s crown’.  I couldn’t agree more.  Since its inception in 1994, the Foundation has presented more than $400,000 in awards to child care teachers across the country.  We have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know hundreds of dedicated professional child care teachers and providers.”

  Many people believe that formal education begins when a child begins kindergarten. However, those who have been privileged to experience high-quality early care and child care know that learning begins at birth.  In a high-quality child care setting, teachers and providers know the developmental stages of the children in their care and develop appropriate lesson plans.  Research now shows that a person’s vocabulary is determined by the words filtered through the brain by age three. Foundations for math and logic are set by age four.   These findings really prove that high-quality early care and education matter.  Child care is not babysitting, it is a profession were interaction with infants, toddlers and preschoolers is the priority, and developing age-appropriate, developmental lessons is a necessity.

Continued Miller, “This year, we received so many outstanding applications to our Awards program that we honored 54 winners at our Awards ceremony.  The Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™ is one of the programs that helps us fulfill our mission and the one we are most proud of.”

 For an application or more information about TLLCCF, visit www.childcareabc.org, or fax a request to

610-992-1070.  Completed applications must be postmarked no later than December 7, 2007, and mailed to the                

Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation – TR, 320 S. Henderson Road, 2nd Floor, King of Prussia, PA 19406.

Observing its 20th year of making America better by improving early care and education, the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation has dedicated its resources to improving the quality of child care for all children; supporting and elevating the status of child care teachers and providers; raising awareness of the need for affordable, quality child care; and, partnering with business and government in making child care a priority.  TLLCCF is a nonprofit, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization established in 1987 in memory of Terri Lynne Lokoff, a devoted child care worker.

For additional information about the Foundation or the Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards™, please visit www.childcareabc.org or call 610-992-1140.

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