Are you looking for ways to cut costs at your human service sector organization? If so, you may want to consider using a group purchasing organization (GPO). GPOs are companies that negotiate contracts with vendors on behalf of their members. This can lead to significant cost savings, as members can take advantage of the economies of scale. In addition, GPOs often have menu services and other tools that can help members save money and run their operations more efficiently. What is a Group Purchasing Organization? A group purchasing organization (GPO) is an entity that uses the collective buying power of its members to negotiate discounts with vendors. GPOs typically focus...

Smell it? Smell the burning pine as it crackles to the sound of a hissing log engulfed by flame. Smell the freshly cooked smores as you listen to your peers whisper untold stories only found in depths of their imagination. Camping is time spent forming memories and building lasting friendships. It’s important to create a memorable experience that makes people want to return year after year, and careful planning is the key to accomplishing this goal. Continue reading for tips on how you can prepare your camp for a successful season! Hiring Who you hire to help run your camp is extremely important. The hiring process can be lengthy, but...

Improve Early Childhood Education: Get the Parents Involved There has been a lot in the news lately about high-quality preschool education. Last year the Head Start budget cuts that came by way of sequestration nearly crippled the early childhood education program, causing many facilities to shut down, while low-income children and their families across the country suffered. President Obama has called on Congress again and again to help local state governments pay for high-quality preschool education – not just any early learning program, but quality learning that is offered at Head Start programs. This is not a new request. The call for high-quality education for children under the age of...

Wholesale Janitorial Supplies to Lower Costs for Head Start Since the federal government made announcements that it would be putting more money into Head Start Programs nationwide, many citizens and parents believed that the crisis was over. Unfortunately, the fallout from the Sequestration that left Head Start and other federally funded programs without financial resources, is still causing layoffs, placement reductions and closures across the country. One only has to do a quick search in the news to find stories about possible layoffs, programs being shut down, spaces for children in-need being reduced and other damaging issues surrounding Head Start. Administrators are looking for new ways to manage Head Start...

FoodSource Plus Provides Nutrition and Savings to Head Start One of the core components of running a program under the National Head Start Association is to provide participants with quality nutrition services. The Head Start Nutrition program provides guidelines based on all of the rules and regulations required by the USDA child and adult care food program. In addition to providing the children who participate in Head Start programs with nutritious meals, the goal is to create a social and educational experience at mealtimes to integrate discussion of food, health and daily activities as a means of improving communication and conversational skills. Responsibility and teamwork are also educational benefits from...

Study Proves the Long Term Benefits of Head Start Programs In response to questions about the value and effectiveness of early learning programs like Early Head Start and Head Start, a long term study was conducted that began back in the 1970s to show how children benefited and had greater success due to their participation. Greater success in school, test scores and even decreased involvement in crime for low-income children and families. The findings from the long term study confirm that Head Start administrators are on the right track and are having a positive influence on the lives of the children that participate in these programs. The Follow-up Study Results...

Head Start Programs Make Big Difference to Children In-Need While studies have shown that Head Start programs are beneficial to low-income children and their families across the board, there is a particular group that benefit from it more than others. Children who come from families where there is very little academic stimulation, with parents who do not read to children or provide very little encouragement with letter and number recognition or word pronunciation, really need programs like Head Start so they can get a good start when it comes time to go to school. Head Start programs have been proven time and again through actual participant studies to help under-privileged...