Project Rainbow

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

Under the leadership of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, this new Cook County initiative seeks to address learning loss magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic by curating and creating free early childhood and family-oriented educational programming. This also includes the development of Cook County’s first-ever mobile app. Project Rainbow programming airs across many platforms including the County’s cable TV station (Channel 22/900 on Comcast), YouTube and also exists on a free mobile app developed by staff and students at The University of Chicago and vendor Clarity Partners. The County has partnered with community leaders, tech innovators, cultural institutions, museums, nonprofits, and others to create or repurpose programming for Project Rainbow. Additionally, future Cook County initiatives and programming involving children, families or the arts will now be recognized under the Project Rainbow umbrella. Our target audience is children at home during the day with a caretaker, children of parents who are working from home and in need of high-quality programming on an iPad or children coming home from school and seeking an educational alternative to afternoon TV time. Project Rainbow is intended to be a resource for residents that offers quality programming for families in a way that suits their needs.