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Family Times - A quarterly newsletter with information and news for friends of Family Central, Inc.

Second Quarter 2011

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Children need to play. Play is not sitting in front of the television with a Game Boy-- all this does is inhibit a child’s imagination.

Play, whether indoors or out, needs to be creative. Children need to make believe they are pirates and cowgirls, astronauts and chefs.

“Free play” sounds vague, but not so! It just gives the child an opening to choose what and how they will utilize available opportunities.

When children pretend, creative juices flow. A paper towel roll becomes a telescope, a carpet

becomes a spaceship, and cardboard box becomes a cave.

The time children spend playing make-believe enhances their cognitive skills. According to Howard Chudacoff from Brown University, creative play helps children self-regulate, control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, makes them more flexible, and they learn to exert self-control and discipline.

Children who are able to manage their feelings learn to have empathy for others, how to pay attention and are better learners.

When children are able to play imaginatively and creatively we find they are more verbal, less aggressive, have better defined gross and fine motor skills, better problem solving skills, and so much more.

This summer encourage children to fly to the moon, bake a cake, climb an imaginary mountain, plant a garden, or sail a pirate ship!

Let their imagination reach it’s full potential!

Barbara-Ann Weinstein, Ed.D.President & CEO

Family Central Board & Officers

President/CEO Barbara-Ann Weinstein, Ed.D. Chief Financial Officer & Executive VP Ainsworth Geddes, CPA Chief Corporate Officer Carol Fauci, MA Chief Development Officer Ann de las Pozas

Chief Program OfficerWendy Salomon

FCI board member Mirella Baker Bemmel challenged her students at Broward College with creating a walk-a-thon fundraising event to benefit FCI on Sunday, April 10 at the college campus in Davie.

A beautiful day, and strong turnout helped to bring in nearly $4000 in proceeds from this inaugural event!

Golf Success!Many thanks to our friends and partners at the Rotary Club of Coral Springs-Parkland for another successful golf tournament fundraiser! March 28th started off with torrential storms, but ended with sunny skies for the RCCSP annual Golf Classic!

Over 100 golfers braved a wet start to the day (and finish as more storms rolled through...) to help raise a record $31,000, with over $17,000 of that allocated to Family Central!

Thanks to all who participated, we hope to see you again in 2012!

Thanks to the Coral Springs Forum for designating FCI as a beneficiary of their

40th Birthday Picnic & Egg Hunt!

Over 3,000 people enjoyed family fun, food, games, vendors and entertainment at

the Coral Springs Sportsplex on April 23rd.

Board Chair Todd Schemm

Vice Chair Grant Smith, Esq.TreasurerRichard SchagrinSecretary Michelle Stoddard, Esq.

Board Members Allan Joseph, Esq. Andrew Baranowski Mirella Baker Bemmel Steve Holt, Esq., Past Chair Julie Klahr, Esq.Ryan McCoy Justo Rey

June is Graduation Time

for FCI’s Hippy Programs

Family Central’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) celebrated the graduation of seventeen parents in Broward and 45 families in Miami-Dade. Over 300 people, including children, parents, family members, Family Central staff, HIPPY staff and HIPPY advisory board members came together to recognize the families’ achievement.

HIPPY is a parent involvement and school readiness program that helps parents prepare their three, four, and five year old children for success in school and beyond. HIPPY helps parents empower themselves as their children's first teacher by giving them the tools, skills and confidence they need to work with their children in the home.

The program was designed to bring families, organizations and communities together and remove any barriers to participation that may include limited financial resources or lack of education.

The HIPPY programs are generously funded by The Children’s Trust in Miami-Dade and in Broward by the Children’s Services Council of Broward and the State of Florida through The HIPPY Florida Training and Technical Assistance Center, housed at the University of South Florida.

Family Central HIPPY Programs serve over two hundred and fifty families annually in Miami-Dade and Broward County. For more information about Family Central’s Miami-Dade HIPPY program, please contact Lidia L. Clarke at lclarke@familycentral.org or at 305-749-8616.

In Broward, Monica Pujol-Nassif at mpujol-nassif@familycentral.org or 954-724-4058.

 

The South Miami Borders Bookstore hosted Family Central parenting classes to customers on two Saturdays this Spring. Customers were

treated to free information on researched-based parenting techniques based on the widely accepted as best practice, ‘Conscious Discipline’

Model. In addition, the audience learned how to find additional information regarding parenting.

Family Central and Borders have partnered on other successful literacy initiatives, such as book drives. We are very grateful for their support

and commitment to promoting early literacy, and look forward to working with them again in the near future.

Family Central Offers Parenting Classes at Borders Bookstore

FCI Instructors at Border’s South Miami

4

The Coral Springs branch of PNC Bank, led by branch manager Mark Fitzgerald, recently partnered with FCI in a community service project for 45 young children served by FCI.

12 PNC Bank volunteers, along with FCI staff, teamed up to implement a fun morning of Springtime crafts, story telling, planting seeds, and music at FCI’s Broward location.

Afterwards, the children enjoyed snacks and each received a fluffy plush toy rabbit, donated by Borders Bookstores.

As part of its “Growing up Great” initiative, PNC Bank helps the local community through service projects like this. Last year PNC teams painted the JCC building in Coral Springs, and now regularly host ‘bank days’ at local schools to teach children the concept of money and saving.

PNC Bank & FCI Partner for Kids

The Children’s Movement of FloridaAs you may have read or heard, The Children’s Movement of Florida’s mission is “insisting that children be the No. 1 priority in Florida.”   The Children’s Movement – commonly referred to as the “Milk Party” – is focusing on five issues in 2011:

·Health insurance for all children

·Screening and treatment for children who may have special needs

·High-quality parent skill-building programs

·High-quality mentoring programs

·Improving Florida’s voluntary pre-K program

Learn more about The Children’s Movement through its website, www.childrensmovementflorida.org

While we all work together on long-term, sustainable change in Florida, the success of The Movement will be tied to the grassroots support of individuals and groups across the state. 

Reaching 160,000 supporters each week, The Children’s Movement is only as strong as its base.  With this in mind, the goal The Children’s Movement has set:  To reach 1 million Floridians in 2012.   

840 SW 81ST AVENUENORTH LAUDERDALE, FL 33068

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How Can You Help?

Make a donation Sponsor a fundraising eventName Family Central in your will or estate planVolunteerDonate online at www.familycentral.org

If you or your organization would like to help Family Central or the clients it serves, please contact Mary Monahan in the Development Department, at 954-724-3859, or mmonahan@familycentral.org.