In partnership with Pennsylvania Key and The Hershey Co., The Giant Co. is giving child care centers in Pennsylvania grants.
The Giant Co. has created a $200,000 grant program designed to provide funding to child care providers in Pennsylvania who are facing operational and financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is being offered in partnership with Pennsylvania Key and The Hershey Co.
Through Nov. 13, child care providers licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL)can apply for grants up to $10,000.
“When our team members expressed the challenges they were facing with their own child care situations, we knew that others in our community likely were too, and we wanted to do something about it,” said Nicholas Bertram, president, The Giant Co. “The GIANT Company is committed to connecting families for a better future, and that’s especially true in times of need."
The grant program aims to support child care centers that have remained open during the pandemic. Grant funding will help child care centers overcome new challenges created by the pandemic and invest in new measures to help support families struggling to balance work, school and child care. Grant assistance is open to child care centers in communities served by GIANT or MARTIN’S stores that serve children from birth through 13 years of age.
Preference will be given to applicants in underserved areas, those that serve meals, those impacted by school scheduling changes, those that are offering innovative services (such as technology and tutoring for students who need more in-person learning), and those that may be forced to close without financial support. Applicants must have remained open for at least part of the last seven months since stay-at-home orders were implemented.
Based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, The Giant Co. is an omnichannel retailer serving millions of customers across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It has more than 33,000 associates supporting nearly 190 stores, 132 pharmacies, 105 fuel stations, and 125-plus online pickup hubs and grocery delivery service across hundreds of ZIP codes. The Giant Co. is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.