Camp Fire Columbia believes that access to high quality child care is a human right. Currently however, access to child care programming is largely dependent on a family’s ability to pay. To help create accessible programming for all families, Camp Fire has implemented a Collective Care approach to help support families maintain their child care placement.

Collective Care is everyone contributing as much as they are able, so everyone can benefit. We invest agency funds, partner with foundations to provide funding, and ask that families who have and can give more to donate to Collective Care. If your family is able to donate to the Collective Care fund, your donation will directly support another Before & After School family and will be recorded as a tax-deductible gift. If you have less, we want you to tell us what you can afford.

Our model is based on trust and a belief that when we have the chance, we will all show up for each other. We will never require you to prove your income, but funds are limited so please reflect on your ability to contribute towards high quality care for your child and answer as honestly as you can. We strive to offer financial aid to families who otherwise may not be able to afford our programs.

Completing the Collective Care form is part of the registration process for all Before & After School families. Answer the questions to the best of your ability. Complete Collective Care forms help reduce our review time and ensure families get the support they need as quickly as possible. If you submit an incomplete form we will follow upwith you to ensure that you are able to access the resources needed but this will delay your child’s enrollment process.

We know that high quality child care is expensive and we don’t want a family’s ability to pay to limit their child’s opportunities. Our collective care funds are intended to make up the difference.