Event Engages Faith Leaders
Around Early Childhood Issues
Fr. Robert Kaynor of St. Stephens Episcopal Church chats with Rev. Jimmie Hawkins of Covenant Presbyterian Church
On May 6th more than 70 members of the faith community convened for a breakfast event entitled, Faith In Our Future: Congregations and Birth to 5. The event was the first public push to engage faith leaders around the importance of early childhood and supporting young children and their families within the faith community.
Co-hosted by the Partnership and End Poverty Durham, the event gave faith leaders tangible first steps to support young children and their families and/or enhance current activities in their congregations.
To learn more about the Faith Initiative, download the faith flier and contact Winnie Morgan, contract early childhood faith coordinator, winniewmorgan@juno.com.
•• Faith In Our Future: Congregations and Children Birth to Age 5.
Leadership Durham 2010 Graduate:Congratulations to Angelica Oberleithner
Angelica (center) is pictured with Casey Steinbacher, President and CEO of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and Bill Shore, GlaxoSmithKline's Director of US Community Partnerships
The Partnership congratulates Angelica Oberleithner for completing Leadership Durham 2010, a six-month course created by The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce that raises awareness about key issues impacting Durham. Angelica was one of nearly 30 local professionals who participated in 13 daylong sessions.
"This has been a good experience," Angelica said. "I wish more non-profit staff would take advantage of this program. You make connections for life and learn about Durham's history, government systems and operations." Since 1972, more than 900 residents have completed Leadership Durham. You may contact Angelica to learn more about the program (Angelica@dpfc.net) or visit www.durhamchamber.org for more information.
Governor Expected to Sign Budget Wednesday: Durham Champions for Young Children Helped to Advocate for NC's Future
Early childhood advocates made up of early childhood professionals, service providers, families and business people wear Duke blue t-shirts that read "Hold the Line - No Cuts to NC's Young Children."
The North Carolina Partnership for Children and key early childhood lobbyists across the state, Wednesday, declared the 2010 NC Legislative Budget a victory for young children and their families.
The NC budget was finalized with minimal cuts to young children and their families thanks to the collective work of early childhood advocates across Durham and the state who told legislators to 'hold the line' for our future.
Here’s the budget as it relates to early childhood education:
These budget results happened with the help of early childhood advocates across the state. On May 18, Durham County's Tuesday for Tots— a longstanding Smart Start advocacy event that brings local partnerships to the NC Legislature to connect with legislators —mobilized Durham Champions for Young Children.
The Durham group met with four local legislators to urge them to support early childhood as the NC Legislature was examining multiple cuts to the Health and Human Services budget in an effort to balance the state budget during this short session.
You can review the latest early childhood advocacy updates at the Champions 4 Young Children Action e-Alert archive.
Federal Child Care Bureau Representative Visits to See a Local Partnership in Action
Shannon Rudisill, Associate Director of the Child Care Bureau in Washington, DC, visited Durham's Partnership for Children on April 28 to see how the Partnership mobilized Durham's early childhood system.
Ms. Rudisill learned how the Partnership focuses on systems-building, quality enhancement, and professional development of local child care programs. She also visited First Presbyterian Day School to see first hand how Smart Start integrated services help to improve local programs.
Partnership Visits High Quality
Child Care, Family Support Programs in Charlotte
A group of Partnership constituents traveled to Charlotte on June 3 for a daylong exchange to learn about high-quality early education and family support programming in Mecklenburg County.
Marsha Basloe, executive director; Durham County Commissioner Ellen Reckhow, a board member; Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, executive director of El Centro Hispano; Tana Hoffman of El Centro Hispano; Leoni Gill of Durham Public Schools; Vivian Eto of Child Care Services Association; and Partnership staff Kate Irish and Jeanette Maatouk traveled to a part-day bilingual preschool, 5-star More at Four site and the Smart Start of Mecklenburg to learn more about the county's offerings.
"We learned a great deal about how high-quality bilingual programs can serve Spanish speaking young children and their families," says Kate Irish, program and evaluation director at the Partnership. "There was a great deal of emphasis on collaborative, comprehensive services, using the preschool program as the first stop for referrals for other health, counseling and family support services."
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