ABOUT US

Success By 6® has been implemented by United Ways in over 355 communities across the country. The United Way of the Quad Cities Area's Success By 6 initiative has been working to create innovate strategies to help children to succeed in school and life, building relationships between the private and public sectors, and creating a shared vision of child well being.

United Way of the Quad Cities Area Success By 6 came into being in July of 1999. A Governing Body of prominent Quad Cities citizens who view the well being of young children as a major priority led Success By 6. In its role as convener and leader, Success By 6 has partnered with over 300 community entities and has launched several projects.

Previous projects, including the Neighborhood Outreach Project and Birth to Three Screening Project, and current initiatives such as the coordination of Give Kids A Smile Day, and Born Learning, an early childhood public awareness campaign, are each based on the ABCs of the Success By 6 mission:
     Creating A wareness about the importance of early childhood      development;
     providing B etter access to services that support success;
     and C ollaborating with community partners to create systems and
     community changes necessary to enable all Quad Cities children to be
     successful in school and beyond.

Success By 6 serves as the foundation of United Way's Successful Children and Youth Focus Team, which is addressing community impact issues pertaining to both early childhood (infants, toddlers, and preschoolers) and school-age children and youth. United Way's Successful Children and Youth Focus Team currently oversee Success By 6 initiatives.

Success By 6 Accomplishments :

• Conducted a 2.5 year research project in underserved neighborhoods to uncover gaps in services & barriers to success for children in poverty
• Partnered with Kiwanis Clubs to conduct book drives for low-income children, with 4,000 books collected and distributed
• Developed collaborative to conduct monthly screenings for children from birth to three in Rock Island County, 800+ children screened for vision, hearing, speech, development. 391 referrals made (September 2002 – February 2005)
• Formed Oral Health Task Force to coordinate Give Kids A Smile Day 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. 1690+ children have been served since 2003.
• Implemented Public Awareness Campaign in partnership with KWQC-TV6 in 2002, an annual viewer household survey conducted for KWQC TV6 reveals 52.7% total adults & 82.9% of women with children five and under recognize Success By 6
• Repeatedly recognized by United Way of America as community impact leader

Future Goals for Success By 6 :

• Launch Born Learning Campaign public service announcements and distribute information to parents and caregivers using name recognition to provide important tips on “teachable moments”
• Partner with other early childhood organizations to develop and implement a long-range plan to build developmental assets in children
• Support Iowa and Illinois legislation for a Child Care Quality Rating System (currently 36 states have a QRS in place)
• Coordinate Give Kids A Smile Day 2007