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MANSFIELD — What started as an idea — that none of us are meant to go it alone — has inspired one of the biggest reporting projects our newsroom has ever taken on.
In this episode of Better Together, we’re joined by Amy Hiner and Amy Goyal, two leaders from the Women’s Fund at the Richland County Foundation. Together, we’re digging into why child care isn’t just a family issue: it’s a workforce issue, a business issue, and a challenge that affects every one of us.
The fact is, there are ripple effects of limited child care, from interrupted careers to long-term community impact. We touch on the economic data and policy barriers that will shape our upcoming solutions journalism series, It Takes a Village: Why Child Care Is Everyone’s Business.
Excited for It Takes a Village? Help us bring it to life!
Special, in-depth reporting projects like what we are doing with It Takes a Village: Why Child Care is Everyone’s Business is a major undertaking. And with that comes additional expenses beyond our everyday reporting.
Join our community of supporters through a one-time or recurring, tax-deductible donation. Are you a business owner? Corporate sponsorships are still available. Contact leah@richlandsource.com for more info.
Hiner and Goyal share how the Women’s Fund has evolved over the past eight years from general grant making to a focused investment in early childhood care.
Through partnerships with Youth and Family Council and now the YWCA, they’ve directed tens of thousands of dollars into local providers’ training, supplies, and capacity-building. But even as progress has been made, significant gaps remain — especially around access, affordability, and equitable compensation for providers.
We also discuss what it means to build a true village, not just for families with young children, but for a community that wants to thrive. The conversation touches on lived experiences, gender expectations, policy frustrations, and the power of small acts of support.
In this week’s Hearth Moment, we think about practical ways anyone — parent or not — can be part of the solution.
Listen to the full episode inside the Source Daily podcast feed, wherever you get your podcasts.
The Village Voices
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