United Way partners with Bright by Text to support families in South-Central Indiana

​Parents and caregivers in south-central Indiana now have free and easy access to child development information, local resources, expert tips, and games at their fingertips. United Way of Monroe County is teaming up with Bright by Text, a national parent texting program, to send free messages to caregivers of children from prenatal to age 8.

Available in English and Spanish, messages are customized to a child's age and include info about activities, brain development, games, and local resources, plus research-based content to support early development, literacy, language, health, and safety.

Parents, grandparents, caregivers, and aunts and uncles are encouraged to sign-up for this free text messaging service.
To sign up, parents and caregivers with children under 8 can text the word SCIKIDS to 274448. They will receive 2 to 4 text messages per week, and each message includes a link to a landing page with more detail, short modeling videos, and links to related resources. While there is absolutely no cost to enroll, data and message rates may apply depending on the phone provider service plan.

Amy Leyenbeck, United Way of Monroe County Community Impact Director, shared, “We all benefit when parents and caregivers feel supported and connected to local services. The outcomes experienced by families who use Bright by Text are impressive and we’re excited to partner with them and the Smithville Charitable Foundation to bring this valuable service to our communities. For example, 92% of caregivers report feeling more confident as a result of receiving Bright by Text messages, and their children are, on average, 3 months ahead of a comparison group in language development! We hope many families will sign up and start reaping the benefits of Bright by Text and begin building a brighter future for our entire region.”

Bright by Text partners with experts like PBS, Vroom, Sesame Street, CDC, and others to develop content. Additionally, messages include information and resources specific to south-central Indiana communities, like digital library resources, food pantries, and preschool open enrollment periods.

Community organizations in Brown, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, and Owen counties can submit the latest information about services and resources being offered.

Bright by Text helps parents and caregivers make the most out of time with their children by illustrating fun and easy activities, providing positive parenting tips and resources, and video content to guide a child’s development.

The program is proven to build nurturing caregiver-child relationships, and positively impact a child’s healthy development and school readiness.
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Generous grant funding for this program is provided by the Smithville