May 9, 2008 East Yakima Set to Help Youngest Residents Thrive Ready by Five Kicks Off with $5 Million for Expanded Early Learning Services and Planning Capital from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Thrive by Five Washington

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Thrive by Five Washington and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today $5 million for the first round of funding for Ready by Five, a community partnership that will substantially increase access to high-quality early learning opportunities for children from birth to age 5 in the partnership's project area of East Yakima.

Ready by Five (formerly known as the East Yakima Early Learning Initiative) will provide parents and caregivers with education and support to help develop children's potential and creativity, helping to ensure that all children in this community are ready to succeed in school and thrive in life.

To read the full press release, visit the Ready by Five Washington Web site.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.