I attend several meetings each month where groups of interested folks who care about the health, welfare and education of young children work together to bring about the best possible results. One of the best things that has happened recently to help young children in Cayuga County is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This wonderful program kicked off at Family Fun Day at Cayuga Community College on Feb. 3. If you were not able to attend, you can still enroll your child in this wonderful program by calling 255-2746.
As Professor Pat Gridley explained in her recent article, the Imagination Library program is simple. A local group organizes the program in a particular county. Each month, enrolled children will receive a book in the mail addressed individually to them. There is no cost to enroll and there are no strings attached.
Individual children can be signed up for the program since the books sent will be age appropriate, so all the children in a family can be enrolled. The first book that children will receive is Watty Piper's “The Little Engine that Could.” The final book that participants will receive in August before starting kindergarten is “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come.” Imagine - a child who is signed up for the program at birth will enter kindergarten with a personal library of 60 high quality books.
Families can enjoy reading the books together. I cannot think of many programs that could have an equivalent benefit for young children and thank Nancy Tehan and Success by Six, the local group who made the program a reality in Cayuga County. The group has worked to find community partners, raise the necessary funds, and develop awareness about this program. If you would like to make a financial contribution in support of the Imagination Library, contact Nancy at 255-2746.
At Neighborhood House, we got very excited about the Imagination Library, and brainstormed about ways that we could build enthusiasm for the Imagination Library and for Family Fun Day. In celebration of the theme of the first book (“The Little Engine That Could”), we decided to help all our children make T-shirts. Pam at The Printery gave us the best possible deal which helped to make this plan a reality. On the front of the shirts is a train engine and the back reads, “I Think I Can at Neighborhood House Imagination Library 2008 Books are Powerful.”
Volunteers dyed the sleeves and bottom edges of the shirts so that they would be colorful and appealing, and each child had the chance to decorate his or her train with fabric markers. We hoped that many of our children will wear their blue and yellow shirts to Family Fun Day and spread this important message about the power of good books. We were not disappointed.
The theme of the first book in the Imagination Library is perseverance. This theme resonates here at Neighborhood House. Regular readers of this column already know that we are working to become an accredited center by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Despite the obstacle presented by our tight budget and large mortgage, we think we can build our program quality and earn accreditation. We think we can build the income side of our budget to make the investments that will make this possible. We think we can do a good job managing every resource we have, since doing so is what will make it possible for us to build our income.
One example of an improvement made possible by a grant is the bathroom renovation project that is currently underway at Neighborhood House. Thanks to a grant from the Allyn Foundation, we were able to hire a contractor to replace the toilets and flooring in all of the bathrooms used by children, and also paint the bathrooms. Heavy use and some deferred maintenance over the years had
made this project a real necessity. Despite the upheaval caused by the renovation, we are thrilled with the results and grateful to the foundation for making this dream a reality. I will never take a new bathroom for granted again.
We are celebrating another small triumph this month. For the first time ever, Neighborhood House employees now have a retirement plan matched by their employer. Full-time employees who invest in their retirement fund will have up to 3 percent matched by Neighborhood House starting with the first February paycheck. Our board of directors worked hard to make this investment possible in this year's budget and are gratified with the response from our deserving staff members. Everyone eligible (all 22) signed up. We hope this plan will help us retain the good staff that we have worked hard to build. Staff turnover harms our program quality and will hurt our drive to accreditation.
Another positive development at Neighborhood House recently is that 20 members of our community attended the Doubledays Hot Stove Dinner on Feb. 2. For the first time this year, we were selected to receive some of the proceeds from the dinner. Over the years, our older children have had the opportunity to be “Baseball Buddies” with the Doubledays and we were very grateful to be chosen as one of the benefiting charities from this year's event. Mark your calendar for opening day on June 17.
Susan Jones is executive director for the Neighborhood House in Auburn.
Individual children can be signed up for the program since the books sent will be age appropriate, so all the children in a family can be enrolled. The first book that children will receive is Watty Piper's “The Little Engine that Could.” The final book that participants will receive in August before starting kindergarten is “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come.” Imagine - a child who is signed up for the program at birth will enter kindergarten with a personal library of 60 high quality books.
Families can enjoy reading the books together. I cannot think of many programs that could have an equivalent benefit for young children and thank Nancy Tehan and Success by Six, the local group who made the program a reality in Cayuga County. The group has worked to find community partners, raise the necessary funds, and develop awareness about this program. If you would like to make a financial contribution in support of the Imagination Library, contact Nancy at 255-2746.
At Neighborhood House, we got very excited about the Imagination Library, and brainstormed about ways that we could build enthusiasm for the Imagination Library and for Family Fun Day. In celebration of the theme of the first book (“The Little Engine That Could”), we decided to help all our children make T-shirts. Pam at The Printery gave us the best possible deal which helped to make this plan a reality. On the front of the shirts is a train engine and the back reads, “I Think I Can at Neighborhood House Imagination Library 2008 Books are Powerful.”
Volunteers dyed the sleeves and bottom edges of the shirts so that they would be colorful and appealing, and each child had the chance to decorate his or her train with fabric markers. We hoped that many of our children will wear their blue and yellow shirts to Family Fun Day and spread this important message about the power of good books. We were not disappointed.
The theme of the first book in the Imagination Library is perseverance. This theme resonates here at Neighborhood House. Regular readers of this column already know that we are working to become an accredited center by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Despite the obstacle presented by our tight budget and large mortgage, we think we can build our program quality and earn accreditation. We think we can build the income side of our budget to make the investments that will make this possible. We think we can do a good job managing every resource we have, since doing so is what will make it possible for us to build our income.
One example of an improvement made possible by a grant is the bathroom renovation project that is currently underway at Neighborhood House. Thanks to a grant from the Allyn Foundation, we were able to hire a contractor to replace the toilets and flooring in all of the bathrooms used by children, and also paint the bathrooms. Heavy use and some deferred maintenance over the years had
made this project a real necessity. Despite the upheaval caused by the renovation, we are thrilled with the results and grateful to the foundation for making this dream a reality. I will never take a new bathroom for granted again.
We are celebrating another small triumph this month. For the first time ever, Neighborhood House employees now have a retirement plan matched by their employer. Full-time employees who invest in their retirement fund will have up to 3 percent matched by Neighborhood House starting with the first February paycheck. Our board of directors worked hard to make this investment possible in this year's budget and are gratified with the response from our deserving staff members. Everyone eligible (all 22) signed up. We hope this plan will help us retain the good staff that we have worked hard to build. Staff turnover harms our program quality and will hurt our drive to accreditation.
Another positive development at Neighborhood House recently is that 20 members of our community attended the Doubledays Hot Stove Dinner on Feb. 2. For the first time this year, we were selected to receive some of the proceeds from the dinner. Over the years, our older children have had the opportunity to be “Baseball Buddies” with the Doubledays and we were very grateful to be chosen as one of the benefiting charities from this year's event. Mark your calendar for opening day on June 17.
Susan Jones is executive director for the Neighborhood House in Auburn.
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