Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation Releases 2025 Childcare Workforce Initiative Report

First-of-its-kind local pilot provided tuition assistance to childcare workers and emergency stabilization to every licensed center in Watauga County

BOONE, N.C. – In recognition of North Carolina's Week of the Young Child, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation (BACCF) released a report documenting its 2025 Childcare for Childcare Workers initiative, a two-phase effort that directed more than $75,000 to childcare workers and providers across Watauga County. The report details how a locally funded campaign to support the childcare workforce grew into an emergency response that helped stabilize every licensed childcare center and afterschool program in the county during the longest federal government shutdown in American history.

"Supporting the workforce behind our workforce has been a staple priority of the Foundation since its inception," said David Jackson, President/CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. "What started as a standalone campaign to help childcare workers evolved into something bigger and necessary to help our childcare partners continue with their critical work.

This report tells the full story of what a community can accomplish when it decides not to wait. We hope it inspires other chambers and communities across North Carolina to take similar action."

^{Ethan Dodson, Director of Development, at Celebrating the Workforce Behind the Workforce event at COBO Sushi and Bistro, August 2025.}

The report outlines a replicable four-step model for other chambers of commerce and community foundations across North Carolina and calls for continued local action, employer engagement, and state-level advocacy. The BACCF staff and board are already planning a Fall 2026 initiative.

"This initiative was real, it was fast, and it worked," said Ethan Dodson, Director of Development for the BACCF.

"We provided relief to childcare workers and their families, helped stabilize providers through a period of historic disruption, and showed state leaders in Raleigh that North Carolina communities are ready to partner in solving the childcare crisis."

Full 2025 Childcare Workforce Initiative Report

To support the Early Childhood Development and Education Fund or to learn more about replicating this model, contact Ethan Dodson at ethan@boonechamber.com.

About the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation: The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports initiatives strengthening the economic vitality and quality of life in Watauga County. Through strategic philanthropy and community partnerships, the Foundation addresses critical needs in workforce development, education, and economic infrastructure.