Leaders step forward for child care

Since 2003, the Office of Child Care and Family Resources (OCCFR) has been awarding grants to permanent classified staff to help with the high cost of child care. Funds are raised privately and are awarded based on financial need.

To assist the effort, campus leaders are stepping forward to lend their support to campus families.

Mary Czynszak-Lyne received a Classified Employee Recognition Award last spring for her work with the College of Letters and Science Honors Program and her leadership with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2412, Wisconsin State Employee Union (WSEU). Czynszak-Lyne contributed the entire monetary gift of $1,700 for classified staff child care assistance to be designated for union member child care scholarships.

Czynszak-Lyne and Local 2412 have now formalized the gift with the OCCFR and hope to raise $20,000 to endow the fund.

To assist the effort, she challenged her local to add its monetary support to the fund. The result thus far is a $1,700 matching gift by AFSCME Local 2412, according to president Gary Mitchell.

OCCFR is accepting applications from permanent classified employees who want to apply for the grant. The application deadline is Saturday, Nov. 1. To learn more, call 890-0436.