Many of our readers and community members remember the powerful story of Laceiy and Sharan, and how their lives were changed by a construction job training program, Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT), that is supported by The Women’s Foundation’s Stepping Stones Initiative.

The Recovery Act will invest $1.1 billion in Early Head Start programs, which will include up to 10 percent for training and technical assistance and up to3 percent for monitoring.  While nearly $354 million will be allocated to improve staff compensation and training under the Child Care and Development Block Grants, a clear message from the Obama Administration is that quality early care and education programs are a priority.

Here at The Women’s Foundation, we consider all of our Grantee Partners heroes.

But it’s still exciting to see one formally recognized for it!  Like when we learned that one of our new 2009 Leadership Awardees, Family Preservation and Strengthening Services (Family PASS), and its founder, Suezette Steinhardt, has just been named as a CNN Hero!

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.  And every Friday, look for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty.

Times are tough. We’ve all seen the headlines and heard the news reports, and most of us even have personal anecdotes that illustrate just how tough times have gotten.