Council’s Early Ed Campaign Honored

The ground-breaking Talk Read Sign program that the Bay Area Council developed to promote early childhood education has been recognized with a prestigious “Effie” or Effectiveness in Advertising Award under the category of “good works.” Talk Read Sing was born at the Council’s Early Childhood Education Committee as part of an effort by then-Chairman George Halvorson to close the word and language gap experienced primarily by children in low income families.  The Council, supported by several members including Kaiser Permanente, Clear Channel Outdoor, and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, retained top advertising agency Goodby Silverstein to design the materials and entered into a partnership with Too Small to Fail and the Clinton Foundation which has grown the campaign from an Oakland effort to now Fresno, Tulsa Oklahoma, with several other cities in the pipeline. Halvorson was subsequently appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to chair California’s First 5 Commission, where the Talk Read Sing campaign has served as a key messaging tool. To engage in the Council’s early childhood education work, please contact Senior Vice President Matt Regan.