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Statewide Celebration Inspires Curiosity and Learning for Youngest Texans

Annual Baby Day celebration promoting early childhood development on February 15^th

January 15, 2020 – After a successful inaugural year, Baby Day is expanding its free early childhood development programming to nine cities across Texas. 

A full day of activities will be held Saturday, February 15th, at official Baby Day venues across the state, with more than 50 early childhood partners specializing in music, yoga, art, dance and more. The annual event seeks to raise awareness for the importance of high-quality early learning accessible to more families and communities. 

From the earliest moments of life, the brain is developing at a remarkably rapid pace. In fact, research shows that 60% of a baby’s energy is spent growing their brains and by age 3, the brain will reach 85% of adult volume. Making learning a priority in these early years is critical to creating a strong foundation for future health, social skills, and success later in life. 

“We established Baby Day to celebrate the amazing curiosity and brain development that occurs from birth to age 3,” said Sadie Funk, chief executive officer at First3Years. “Every quality interaction and positive experience during this age span strengthens neural connections and grows the brain for the better. At Baby Day events, families and caregivers can learn effective child development techniques that can then be introduced later at home.” 

While parent and caregiver interactions are key to building a strong foundation for a child, it’s also the responsibility of an entire community to come together and champion for our youngest learners. As such, Baby Day is growing public support among elected officials, business leaders and non-profit organizations to ensure access to early learning programs for all children. 

“Baby Day is a unique opportunity for our city to come together and focus on the importance of early learning for our youngest residents,” said Betsy Price, Mayor of Fort Worth. “Encouraging our community to take special care of our children means empowering the next generation of Fort Worth that will be our future workforce and leaders.” 

Among the list of public supporters, the PNC Foundation is this year’s presenting sponsor. 

Mayor Betsy Price will kick-off the celebration in Fort Worth at the Botanical Research Institute. Community partners across the state include The Warren Center, Community Health Choice, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Lakeshore Learning, and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. 

“Baby Day aligns perfectly with our $500 million, bilingual initiative PNC Grow Up Great^®, which helps prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life,” said Brendan McGuire, PNC regional president for Dallas-Fort Worth. “Since it began in 2004, the initiative has served over 5.5 million children across the nation and we’re proud to locally support the efforts and outcomes of Baby Day with these resources.”

See the list of participating cities, official venues, and full schedule: https://babyday.us/special-events. 

About PNC Foundation
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.

About Baby Day and First3Years
Baby Day is the only statewide celebration of the first three years of life, a day established to celebrate the excitement and opportunity of our youngest Texans. Behind the Baby Day vision stands First3Years, the statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, advocate, and collaborate to advance the healthy development of infants, toddlers, and their families. Each year, First3Years partners with like-minded organizations across the state to host a day of bonding and delight between caregivers and children. Baby Day activities range from infant yoga to music classes to dancing, curated art, storytime and more. Baby Day 2020 will take place on February 15th in nine cities across the state of Texas and with an estimated turnout of over 2,500 adults and children.

For media: Download logos and artwork for Baby Day 2020 at https://babyday.us/toolkit/.