Another Round of Urgently Needed Emergency Supplies Being Distributed by First 5 Santa Barbara County to Early Care and Education Programs Serving Children 0-5

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — In April 2020, First 5 Santa Barbara County partnered with Children’s Resource and Referral of Santa Barbara County to begin distributing hundreds of essential supplies to early care and education providers throughout Santa Barbara County. The final shipment of emergency supplies through First 5 is scheduled for distribution on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at Children’s Resource and Referral locations in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara. 

Participants will receive disinfectants, adult and child masks, hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes, thermometers, and gloves. Children’s Resource and Referral will be putting together 350 emergency supply kits using these products and distributing them following all public health guidelines. These supplies are in high demand as preschools and childcare programs continue to remain open and provide much needed child care services for families who are returning to work.

“People have lost their lives, loved ones, and jobs,” said Jacqui Banta, Chief Operating Officer for Children’s Resource and Referral. “Schools have been closed, many businesses and so on. The one constant in our community that has certainly served as a quiet backbone to the essential workforce and inevitably to our health care systems and economy, is child care.”