Yolo Crisis Nursery Executive Director Heather Sleuter. Courtesy photo

FOLSOM, CA (MPG) - Exemplifying the credit union’s commitment in 2023 to provide philanthropic support to nonprofits supporting healthy communities, SAFE is providing funding to help the most vulnerable of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano county residents.

The credit union recently awarded the Yolo Crisis Nursery with a $10,000 SAFE community grant to assist the center’s efforts to give children experiencing, or at risk of being abused and neglected, a safe, healthy and caring environment.

The grant provides funding for the nursery’s Safe Stays Crisis Respite Care program. The crisis nursery – one of only four throughout California – is the only crisis nursery licensed to provide overnight crisis childcare in Yolo County.

“Our vision at the nursery is that every child grows up in a safe, stable, and loving home,” said Yolo Crisis Nursery Executive Director Heather Sleuter. “We are thrilled to partner with SAFE Credit Union on this grant. It will enable the nursery to care for more vulnerable children and their families in our community.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, an estimated one in four children in the country experience abuse or neglect in their lifetime. In addition, the most recent available data from KidsData, an organization that promotes the health of children in California, shows 43 reports of abuse or neglect per 1,000 children were made in Yolo County in 2020.

The Safe Stays program provides between 2,000 and 2,500 stays for children annually, including 100 parents and children in crisis benefitting from the program that offers a caring and homelike environment for visitors.

“We are so humbled and proud to be able to provide funding for such an extraordinarily impactful program in our area,” said SAFE Credit Union Vice President of Community Relations and Financial Education Rebecca Delmundo.

The Yolo Crisis Nursery, founded in 2001, offers free, 24-hour nurturing childcare for infants and children up to the age of five and provides wrap-around services for parents and caretakers. To find out more visit: https://yolocrisisnursery.org/.