ABOUT US
“Education is the foundation for all we do in life, it shapes who we are and what we aspire to be. Creativity fuels innovation, and it’s what all states should strive to instill in the next generations.”
~ Governor Jim Hunt, Founder of Smart Start
OUR MISSION
Smart Start of Mecklenburg County mobilizes resources, forges partnerships, and supports families to improve early childhood health, education and development and ensure children are prepared for kindergarten. Our four areas of focus are early care and education quality and accessibility, family support, health, and early literacy for children birth to five.
OUR VISION
All children in Charlotte / Mecklenburg County enter kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed.
SMART START OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY
The Mecklenburg Partnership for Children, better known as Smart Start of Mecklenburg County, is a private, nonprofit partnership that funds local programs for children ages birth to five and their families.
PROGRAMS
Unlike partnerships in other counties, Smart Start of Mecklenburg has very few in house programs. Instead, Smart Start funds local programs managed by other agencies in the community, in the areas of health, family support, and early care and education.
REQUESTS FOR FUNDING
In Mecklenburg County, requests for funding to meet local needs are evaluated and voted upon by the Board of Directors.
OUR ORIGINS
Smart Start is a nationally recognized early childhood education initiative to expand and improve services for children ages birth to five and their families.
Smart Start was established in 1993, under the leadership of then Governor Jim Hunt, as a state-wide, public/private partnership to help all North Carolina children enter school healthy and ready to succeed.
Local Smart Start partnerships, comprised of community members, fund programs within their own communities based on each county’s particular needs and resources. Local partnerships operate in all 100 North Carolina counties through funding from the North Carolina legislature, corporations, foundations, and individual donors.
The Mecklenburg County Partnership for Children, better known as Smart Start of Mecklenburg County, is the local partnership organization serving children and families throughout Mecklenburg County.
Statewide oversight of all Smart Start programs is provided through The North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC).
Turn Five Ready to Thrive
Smart Start of Mecklenburg County
(704) 377-6588
601 E. 5th Street, Suite 500
Charlotte, NC 28202