Live Oak Bank Announces $600,000 Grant in Support of Child Care Providers in New Hanover County

/EIN News/ -- WILMINGTON, N.C., May 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Live Oak Bank has announced a $600,000 grant to help licensed early child care providers connect with qualified substitute teachers to ensure both continuity of care and strong student-teacher ratios in the classroom. 

“At Live Oak Bank, we believe in the power of strengthening our local community, and that starts with access to quality early education,” said BJ Losch, president of Live Oak Bank. “We are proud to partner with Wonderschool to offer New Hanover County preschool providers access to a platform that directly supports the stability of local childcare, a cornerstone for working families.”  

This grant, paid out over two years, gives public and private early child care providers in New Hanover County free access to Wonderschool’s innovative technology that allows them to review and match with pre-qualified substitute teachers, an otherwise time-consuming process that includes recruitment, critical background screening and training.  

“Sometimes life gets in the way for early educators, and that can have a big impact on working parents, families and children. We’re building technology to try and make their lives just a little bit easier,” said Chris Bennett, founder and CEO of Wonderschool. “We’re teaming up with Live Oak to build a qualified and caring pool of substitutes who are ready to ensure not just continuous, but quality preschool experiences day in and day out.” 

Live Oak's philanthropic efforts prioritize workforce development, specifically helping people secure jobs with family-supporting wages, benefits and career advancement opportunities. “To achieve this vision,” said Kate Groat, Live Oak's director of corporate philanthropy, “working parents must have access to reliable, high-quality childcare from educators they can trust.” 

About Live Oak Bank 
Live Oak Bank, a subsidiary of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: LOB), is a digitally focused, FDIC-insured bank serving customers across the country. Live Oak brings efficiency and excellence to the banking process, without branches, by using a focused approach to technology and innovation. To learn more, visit www.liveoak.bank.  

About Wonderschool 
Wonderschool's comprehensive technology and business support platform is designed to address every aspect of the child care and early learning ecosystem. Wonderschool's vision is to ensure that quality early care and education are conveniently accessible to every child within a 5-minute radius of their home. As leaders in collaborating with governments and employers, Wonderschool spearheads initiatives to scale and enhance child care access for every community across the country. Named one of Time's Most Influential Companies in 2022, Wonderschool is venture-backed by Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, First Round, Omidyar, Unusual Ventures, and Gary Community Investments, among others. Learn more at www.wonderschool.com. 

Contacts: 

Claire Parker
Live Oak Bank, Corporate Communications
910.597.1592 
claire.parker@liveoak.bank 

Madison Carlos
Live Oak Bank, Corporate Communications
910.386.6616 
madison.carlos@liveoak.bank