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Tag: daycare

  • Sharing Her Natural Gift: CACFP Showcase

    Sharing Her Natural Gift: CACFP Showcase

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    Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) Provider Jennifer Sims of Parkersburg, WV featured by National CACFP Sponsors Association.

    Press Release
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    updated: Feb 17, 2017


    Austin, TX, February 17, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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    ​​Jennifer Sims has the natural gift and ability to take care of children. Starting with her own 8 siblings, Jennifer cared for the younger ones just like they were her own and served as the neighborhood babysitter inviting kids to join their group. As she worked towards her certification, Jennifer served as an assistant at a home child care provider and the true testimony to her abilities came as that child care home closed. The families asked Jennifer to stay with their kids and even set up a facility for her.

    Jennifer now has her own in-home child care where she serves two separate shifts,  during the day and after-school care with children ranging from birth to 13 years. Parent relationships are critical. Each day a log is sent home. This details the child’s meals for the day and what they ate, tasted, or wouldn’t try. Jennifer even asks what she can do differently knowing the kids might eat a certain food at home, but not with her. In addition to the daily log, an organized, color-coded menu system is displayed for anyone who visits. She happily shares her system with fellow providers at trainings through her sponsor.

    “I have a diverse population. I want every child to feel welcome, as if this is their home away from home and know they will be well taken care of.”

    Jennifer Sims, Home Child Care Provider

    Jennifer’s focus above all else is the kids as she strives to find what makes each child their own person. If the kids need a different order to the room, she moves things around. If one learns better with numbers, shapes and letters on top of their favorite cars, she doesn’t hesitate to place them there.

    Along the way, she has cared for kids with autism, sensory disorders, hearing disabilities, and down syndrome.  She understands that kids don’t always see things the way we see them and works nonstop to find what will work to make everyone successful at her home.

    CACFP is an indicator of quality child care. When children are cared for by providers who are part of the CACFP progam they are receiving the best nutrition available. Learn more about other CACFP providers featured in our Member Showcase at our website, www.cacfp.org.

    Since 1986, the National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) is the leading national organization for sponsors who administer the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). We provide education and support to thousands of members in the CACFP community and in particular to sponsors of all sizes from across the country. We strive to improve communication between families, care givers, sponsors, and their supervising government agencies.

    Source: National CACFP Sponsors Association

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  • GoFundMe: “Margaret Hudson Teen Moms Fund”

    GoFundMe: “Margaret Hudson Teen Moms Fund”

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    Press Release
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    updated: Jan 23, 2017


    Tulsa, Oklahoma, January 23, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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    The Margaret Hudson Program (MHP) provides wraparound supportive services to help pregnant and parenting teen girls graduate from high school and raise healthy families. Our local nonprofit (501c3) organization (EIN: 730793181) helps pregnant teen girls achieve healthy pregnancies, deliver healthy babies and learn the skills needed to be a capable parent. At our two schools in Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, we serve approximately 140 teen girls each year. We have served more than 10,000 multicultural teen moms since our founding in 1968.

    Last August, MHP received the unexpected news that we would no longer receive annual Tulsa Area United Way funding. In calendar year 2016, we received $385,000 of United Way funding to help support our health, counseling, childcare and health case management services. The United Way said the reason for eliminating our funding support was based on an expectation that its partner organizations should not overly rely on United Way funding. In addition to MHP, the United Way eliminated also annual funding of the Oklahoma Visiting Nurses Association. Over the past few years, MHP has reduced the share of our annual budget funded by the United Way down to 18 percent of total fiscal budget.

    An invitation to learn about Margaret Hudson Program and its urgent campaign to secure annual operations funding to meet the needs of pregnant and parenting teen girls will be held Monday, January 23 at 9:30 am at the Margaret Hudson Program at Franklin School, 1136 South Allegheny Ave., Tulsa.

    Betina Tillman, MHP Executive Director

    In addition to coping with the loss of the United Way funding, MHP is also grappling with the impact of state budget cuts made last year, which resulted in the loss of $385,990 of annual Oklahoma Early Childhood Program (OECP) funding from the Department of Education.

    In response to the combined loss of the United Way and OECP funding, the MHP Board of Directors implemented a set of immediate cost-saving measures. The loss of the OECP funding required us to cut the capacity of our childcare program – we are now only able to serve 14 infants and toddlers per day at our Broken Arrow campus. We have restructured our student counseling program and now use two community mental health contractors, eliminating three former counselor positions. We have also made significant cutbacks to our administrative staffing levels.

    To close the fiscal year in the “black,” MHP needs to secure a total of $411,919 in donations, fundraising and philanthropic support. The current annual budget totals $1.8 million, down from $2.4 million last year. Through our partnerships with Tulsa and Broken Arrow Public Schools, MHP receives annual educational staff support valued at $641,195 on an in-kind, no cost basis.

    MHP operates with a diverse set of funding sources that include government grants and contracts, individual, business and faith contributors, and philanthropic support. If the Margaret Hudson Program is unable to raise sufficient funds to operate without a deficit, it will be forced to make further cuts in program services and reductions in staffing.

    A major fundraising effort is currently underway to increase the amount of annual charitable donations received by the Margaret Hudson Program. Multiple fundraising strategies are being pursued, including public awareness and fundraising events, an annual pledge campaign and a “Margaret Hudson Teen Moms Fund” GoFundMe account. Our GoFundMe goal of $200,000 will make up the difference for the funds cut from our budget by the United Way in our current fiscal year. We urge individuals, businesses, civic and faith organizations, and philanthropists to contribute to the Margaret Hudson Program to help ensure Tulsa area pregnant and parenting teen girls get the care and education they need and deserve. Our donors make a life-changing difference for generations to come.

    Source: Margaret Hudson Program

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