Alliance for Children

09/04/2026

Have you heard - it's Smart Start Month!

North Carolina has officially proclaimed September as Smart Start Month for the third consecutive year, recognizing the Smart Start Network's critical role in supporting children, families, and communities across the state.

At Alliance for Children, we’re proud to be one of 75 local Smart Start Partnerships serving all 100 counties. Together with the North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC), we’re advancing early care and education, family support, and child and family health, and working to build stronger, more connected systems that meet real needs in every community.

This work doesn’t happen alone. Thank you to the early childhood professionals, families, partners, and local leaders who make this work possible. With continued investment and collaboration, we can make sure support for young children and families is consistent, reliable, and delivered where it’s needed most.

As we celebrate Smart Start Month, we're also celebrating more than 30 years of impact across North Carolina and the collective effort that continues to strengthen our communities. When young children receive a strong start, families are better supported, children are better prepared

Thank you for being part of this important work for Alliance for Children.

Check out Governor Stein's Smart Start Month 2026 Proclamation

09/03/2026

Parents and caregivers-check out this free opportunity!

Triple P’s positive parenting program allows each person doing the program to decide what is important to them. So it’s not telling you how to raise children, but giving you the confidence and skills to build good relationships, set boundaries and rules calmly and in ways that kids understand, and follow up with consequences that are not harmful.

From the NC Positive Parenting Project - check out the NC Triple B State Wide Seminar Schedule here and register: https://ow.ly/ZfGn50ZHHKr

08/25/2026

Alliance for Children Mourns the Loss of Dolly Parton
Alliance for Children (AFC), the administrator of Smart Start in Union County, has been honored to administer the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) as one of our longstanding early literacy initiatives.

Through the generous support of Smart Start and The Dollywood Foundation, Alliance for Children currently serves 4,602 children across Union County through the Imagination Library. From birth until their fifth birthday, enrolled children receive a FREE, high-quality book in the mail each month, available in English or Spanish—helping families build home libraries, create meaningful reading routines, and foster a love of books long before children enter kindergarten.

Today, Alliance for Children joins Union County and communities around the world in mourning the passing of Ms. Dolly Parton.
Ms. Parton understood something that those of us in early childhood education know deeply: putting a book into the hands of a young child can open a world of possibilities. Through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, her commitment to children, families, literacy, and education has reached millions of homes and created a legacy that will continue for generations.

On behalf of Alliance for Children and the 4,602 Union County children currently receiving the gift of books through DPIL, we simply say:

Thank you, Ms. Parton. Thank you for dreaming big for our youngest children. Thank you for believing in the power of books. And thank you for creating a legacy that will live on every time a child opens a book with their family.

With gratitude,
Trinisha Dean
Executive Director
Alliance for Children

08/25/2026

🍎📚 WELCOME BACK, NC PRE-K TEACHERS! 📚🍎
Our North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K) teachers returned last week to kick off the 2026–2027 school year with two days of professional development, learning, collaboration, and preparation for another amazing year of serving Union County’s youngest learners!

A special THANK YOU to Union County Library and Central United Methodist Church – Weekday Children’s Ministries for generously opening your doors and providing space for our NC Pre-K staff and teachers. Your partnership helped make these professional development days possible, and we are incredibly grateful! 💙

As Union County Public Schools (UCPS) officially kicks off the new school year, our NC Pre-K teachers are preparing too! Over the coming days, teachers will be conducting home visits and hosting parent orientations to build strong relationships with children and families before the first day of school.

🎒 Our NC Pre-K students will begin staggered entry August 31–September 2, with all students beginning their first full day on September 3!

We are excited for a new year filled with learning, growing, exploring, and preparing our youngest learners for kindergarten and beyond! 🌟

08/18/2026

📚 FINAL REMINDER: Raising a Reader Applications Are Due TONIGHT!

Child care centers—don’t miss this opportunity! 💜

Applications for Raising a Reader are due by 11:59 PM tonight, Monday, August 17th.

Eligible child care centers are encouraged to apply and join us in helping inspire a lifelong love of reading for Union County’s youngest learners! 📖✨

See the flyer for eligibility and application details, and be sure to submit before tonight’s deadline here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoQTCXiFaLmLa-Fb-cXDmATwQzik6LPo8S7UOHLX-zmnVgvg/viewform?usp=header

08/07/2026

Explore the Baby Brain Map!

Neural Nugget: Between 0–3 years old, a child’s brain forms over 1 million neural connections per second. This time in life is the most pivotal, and also the most vulnerable for brain development. Early experiences shape cognitive development in early childhood.

We’ve made the science of baby brain development accessible for all. The Baby Brain Map is your interactive guide to early brain science. Start exploring now and help lay the foundation for healthy growth: https://bit.ly/4w3j4jg

08/05/2026

📢 Internet Outage Update

Our internet is currently down at the Alliance for Children office. Our internet provider is scheduled to be onsite by 9:00 AM tomorrow, Thursday, August 6, to resolve the issue.

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding while we work to get everything back up and running. 💙

Thank you for your patience!

08/05/2026

The internet at Alliance for Children's office is down. Our internet provider will be onsite Wednesday, August 6th at 9:00am to restore our service. We apologize for this major inconvenience.

Thank you for your patience.

08/04/2026

Come check out the Alliance for Children’s booth at Marshville’s National Night Out And Back To School Bash. We’re giving away FREE notebooks, markers, crayons and colored pencils while supplies last.

Want FREE Pre-K, come complete and NC Pre-Kindergarten application for your 4-year child for the 2026-27 school year!

08/03/2026

Calling All Early Childhood Partners!

We're excited to announce that applications are now open for Alliance for Children's newest early literacy initiative—Raising a Reader!

Raising a Reader is an evidence-based family engagement and early literacy program that helps children develop a lifelong love of reading by building shared reading routines at home. Through the program's signature Red Book Bags, children take home high-quality, culturally responsive books each week to enjoy with their families, helping strengthen language development, literacy skills, parent-child relationships, and kindergarten readiness.
Alliance for Children is seeking child care centers that are passionate about promoting literacy and partnering with families to support children's success.

Application Timeline
📅 Applications Open: Monday, August 3, 2026
⏰ Application Deadline: Monday, August 17, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
Apply Today
🔗 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoQTCXiFaLmLa-Fb-cXDmATwQzik6LPo8S7UOHLX-zmnVgvg/viewform?usp=header

We encourage all eligible child care centers to apply and join us in inspiring a lifelong love of reading for Union County's youngest learners.

If you have questions, please contact Alliance for Children at [email protected]

We look forward to welcoming our inaugural Raising a Reader sites!