Family Connect Update:
What We're Up To Lately
We've had three Parent Cafés in our five-part Parent Café series, and they have been so much fun! Parents who have attended have gotten to dig in and discuss Pandemic Parenting, Work/Life/Family/Self Balance, and our children's "Problem" Behaviors at the three Cafés we've already had, and the topic for our upcoming Café is Parent Shaming/ Parent Guilt. If you'd like to participate in the next Parent Café on May 23rd, you can sign up using this link! More details are below in the section on upcoming events!
We'll be hosting our 3rd Annual Community Baby Shower this month! The Community Baby Shower is an awesome opportunity for expectant moms or moms who just had a baby within the last couple months to learn more about how to be the best parents they can and to get some much-needed free baby stuff! Most of the moms we have registered to participate are first-time parents, teenage moms, or moms on very tight budgets, so we're thrilled to be able to help make the transition to parenthood easier. There's an educational component, where moms who are participating watch videos on various topics related to the care and keeping of babies. Then there's a zoom meeting where moms meet folks from organizations around the community and learn about resources they might be interested in, such as Head Start programs, home visiting, or Family Connect. And finally, each mom gets a fancy diaper bag stuffed with diapers, wipes, onesies, and other great stuff, and she also gets to choose either a car seat or a Pack N' Play for her baby! (The diaper bags from last year's Community Baby Shower are pictured above, and let me tell you, I really wanted one even though my youngest kid is 6! They were just so cool!)
If you know any expectant or new moms, let them know about this opportunity! We already have the number of moms registered that we can support with the diaper bags, car seats, and Pack N' Plays, but we can always help out more moms with the educational content and the community resources. If anyone is interested in watching the educational videos or attending the zoom meeting (May 19th at 3:00 PM), have her send me an email at mmonroe@giresd.net, and I'll get her hooked up!
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, April 19th, 10 AM-12 PM: Great Start Collaborative Board Meeting. After the Family Connect meeting, the full Great Start Collaborative Board gets together to learn more about what's happening in programs that affect families with young kids and work on projects. It's super important for the board to get insights from real families and parents so we can make sure we're focusing our efforts where they're the most valuable. That's where the Family Connect folks come in! And because it's so important to have family representation at the board meetings, we're offering a $30 stipend for any parent or caregiver who attends the board meeting. That meeting is also at Winding Brook Conference Center, right after the Family Connect meeting. PS: We're also serving lunch!
Monday, May 23, 11 AM- 1 PM: Great Start Parent Café! The topic for the upcoming Parent Café is Parent Shaming/ Parent Guilt. Parent Cafés are safe spaces for parents and caregivers to relax, reflect, and talk about the joys and challenges of raising a family. They're judgement-free zones where we share experiences and resources while learning from one another. We'll also be providing lunch, a reimbursement for any childcare you might have to line up in order to attend, and there will be chances to win gift cards to Walmart and Meijer. And it's all FREE! So if you're interested in participating, just fill out this registration form! We'd love to have you there!
