MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. David Griffs two young sons attended the Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC) from 2004 to 2008, his oldest starting at the age of 4 months. Recently Griff was given a chance to give back in a big way, when he was elected president of the MKCCCs board of directors this month.
Griff, an insurance lawyer who lives in Bedford with his wife Jennifer and sons Harry, 7, and Sam, 6, said he believes that supporting early childhood education sets kids on the right track for their educational lives. Everybody benefits when parents are working and when kids are getting high quality childcare, he said.
Griff noted that many of the centers kids come from Mount Kisco, but also from nearby Chappaqua, Bedford, Pleasantville and even Armonk.
Its really convenient and one of the great things about Mount Kisco is that its a little bit of a mini commercial hub in northern Westchester, Griff said. So you have parents that will come from other spots, and the center is a fantastic resource for a working parent to have.
Griff, who is also a member of Bet Torah Synagogues board of directors, was a member of the board for a year before they elected him as their president.
The board consists of volunteers from the community and is responsible for decisions on admission and tuition, budget and finance, fundraising, publicity and scholarship assistance for families.
Program Director Dawn Meyerski said that Griff will bring a lot of energy to the board and will be sure to look at ways in which the center, a nonprofit, can capitalize on its strengths in the community.
Griff said that the center, which is funded by tuition, governmental fees and grants, the United Way and community contributions, is always looking to cultivate new relationships with community business leaders, philanthropic and educational organizations. This is especially true, he said, since the last two years have seen a pullback in public funding for early education and childcare throughout the county.
At the moment, the center is working with Bet Torahs nursery school program on their CSA program. They also recently forged a relationship with IBM, which funded the centers new greenhouse. The MKCCC ended up donating some of their seeds and supplies to West Patent Elementary School in Bedford Hills, to help students there start a learning garden.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mt. Kisco and receive free news updates.