Big Ideas for Lincoln’s Littles
Access to high-quality, affordable child care provides a big boost to Nebraska’s prosperity. It enables working parents to pursue careers, empowers businesses to attract and retain top talent and promotes community growth. And it helps families give the next generation of Nebraskans the start they need for lifelong success. Since 2019, Lincoln Littles has been working to transform the early childhood landscape in Lincoln so more children and working parents have access to the high-quality child care they need. Those efforts include working with local businesses to better understand and address the child care needs of their own employees
Here’s how one local business took big steps to help Lincoln’s littles.
Solution: Employee survey to gauge employee child care needs
For over 50 years, the Arbor Day Foundation has inspired people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. The organization has helped plant over 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests around the world. The Arbor Day Foundation’s commitment to growth extends to the people who help make its global mission possible at its headquarters in Lincoln and Nebraska City.
In 2023, the Arbor Day Foundation partnered with Lincoln Littles, the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center and First Five Nebraska to conduct an employee survey on child care–a critical first step to help the organization understand the financial and emotional toll child care challenges has on working parents.
The Arbor Day Foundation will use the survey to develop new, innovative and cost-effective ways to support its workforce. Investing in child care keeps business growing through lower turnover, increased employee engagement and improved productivity.
“Our people make the difference and we want to do everything we can to ensure working parents feel empowered to put family first,” said Dan Lambe, Chief Executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.