WIN!
The Women's Initiative Newsletter
March
2006
Welcome to WIN!
As a subscriber to WIN, we appreciate your continued
support to the Women's Initiative, United Way
for Southeastern Michigan, and our community. Please
feel free to forward this information to individuals
or groups you think would be interested in working with
us.
In this issue, you'll learn about The Guidance
Center, one of our Early Childhood Literacy Program
partners, gain more insight into the concept of early
learning, have an opportunity to participate in an upcoming
volunteer activity, and an opportunity to become more
closely involved with the initiative. You can also access
the United Way website through WIN to learn more about
the organization and how you can be a part of long-term
solutions to key issues in our community.
PAT
curriculum serves downriver residents
Through a one-year, $20,000 grant from the Women's
Initiative Early Childhood Literacy Program, The Guidance
Center in Southgate, is able to expand its Parents as
Teachers (PAT) curriculum to more families. The free
program, which targets ages 0-5, has met with rave reviews
from parents like Anna Ramos of Trenton, and her son,
Jesse.
Two-year-old Jesse Perez, Jr. had delayed speech problems
and lacked fine and gross motor skills. Because both
Spanish and English were being taught in the home, it
was confusing for Jesse to identify words. Unlike most
children his age, Jesse hated getting his hands dirty
with painting and other craft projects. Ramos knew she
needed help in order to get her son ready for Head Start.
In August of 2005, she enrolled Jesse in the PAT curriculum,
which is offered through The Guidance Center's
Family Resource Center (FRC,) located within seven,
downriver Head Start sites. The focus of the FRCs is
to give parents resources in raising their children
and to provide a support network. By being within these
sites, the center can reach parents enrolled in Head
Start as well as parents whose children may not be age
or income eligible for Head Start. Parents learn to
observe and interact with their child during their crucial
developmental years.
PAT utilizes certified home visitors or parent support
workers, parent/child interaction group activities,
and family literacy events to help children, 0 to 5
years of age, develop literacy and fine motor skills.
Shari Stewart is the parent support worker for the Early
Childhood Literacy Program and currently serves 22 families
each month. She spends an hour with each family, providing
family support and age appropriate child development
activities. Stewart initially began visiting Anna and
Jesse on a monthly basis.
"I provided Jesse and Anna with activities such
as lacing cards, blocks, push-pull toys and a tie-dye
project to develop his fine and gross motors skills,"
says Stewart. "In working with Anna, and providing
her with handouts and books to use in between my visits,
I could see improvement in his speech after a few weeks."
Normally, home visits are once a month, but when Stewart
saw how Jesse was responding, she increased her visits
to bi-weekly and finally weekly. By December, Jesse
could identify all the letters in the alphabet and count
to ten and say three- to four-word sentences in English.
He also loves painting and for his mother to read to
him. Jesse turned three in January and also began a
Head Start program.
According to Roxanne Brickerhoff, director of the Family
Support Services at The Guidance Center, Jesse's
improvements and Anna's involvement are typical
results when parents enroll in the program. However,
their success has been both positive and negative. "Because
the PAT curriculum is so effective, we receive many
referrals, mostly by word of mouth from inside and outside
the program," she explains. "But, due to
cuts in federal funding, we can't hire and train
enough parent educators to meet the need."
Because of the additional funding from the Women's
Initiative, The Guidance Center is able to reach more
parents and their children, significantly impacting
families in our area.
The Women's Initiative would like to expand the
Early Childhood Literacy Program beyond the one-year
pilot that allows four area agencies to each expand
their literacy-based programs to 25 additional families
within their service area. At the end of the funding
period, which ends June 30, 2006, literacy and numerical
skill building activities would have been provided to
a total of 100 low-income families with young children
(ages 0-4).
Ramos highly recommends the PAT program because she
knows her son would not be in Head Start without the
skills he learned. Explains the pleased mom, "I
loved working with Shari. I can better understand my
son when he communicates and he loves school. As a result
of his progress, I now volunteer in classes at the center
because I plan to be a sub-assistant for Head Start."
For more information on The Guidance Center, visit
www.guidance-center.org.
Literacy partners by location
City of Detroit
Neighborhood Service Organization
(Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters
or HIPPY)
Oakland County
Catholic Social Services of Oakland County
(Parent-Child Home Interactive Literacy Program)
Macomb County
Michigan State University Extension
(ABC, 123 At Home With Me project)
Wayne County
The Guidance Center
(Parents as Teachers or PAT curriculum)
Evaluation partner
Wayne State University
Women's
Initiative Wants You
A unique group of talented and accomplished women has
led the Women's Initiative, which was formed in
2003 as part of United Way's Leadership Giving
program. From its inception, the leadership hit the
ground running, working with staff in researching social
issues, seeking grant dollars, coordinating recruiting
events, fostering public awareness, and promoting the
initiative and its literacy program within their business
and civic circles.
As talented as they are, the Steering Committee cannot
do it all. Much has been accomplished, but there is
still so much more that needs to be done. We need to
utilize your expertise in one of our five working committees
to help move the Initiative forward.
Committee membership is open to any general member
of the Women's Initiative who is dedicated to
advancing the goals of the Initiative and who can commit
to the meeting schedule. (It is important to note that
all five committees report to the Steering Committee
and that not all members of the working committees are
on the Steering Committee.)
Community Impact
To most effectively allocate, utilize and monitor
all funds available to the Women's Initiative
to further its stated purpose.
Women's Mobilization
To increase the impact of the Women's Initiative
by increasing the number of women involved in leadership,
fundraising and advocacy for women, children and families.
To establish meaningful benchmarks for successful
involvement in community activities at both the frontline
and leadership levels.
Volunteer Engagement
To mobilize the caring power of women, families and
individuals by engaging in meaningful volunteer experiences
to improve literacy rates in our region. To
track the impact of the volunteer recruitment process
and work for long-term engagement of individuals with
their volunteer experience.
Communications and Events
To increase awareness of the Women's Initiative,
its goals and accomplishments, among its members and
prospective members.
Financial Oversight
To monitor the dollars designated to the Women's
Initiative and analyze the return on investment of
the activities of the Women's Initiative.
To learn more about one of these committees, please
contact Beth Noble, Women's Initiative/ Major
Gifts manager, at 313.226.9405 or at beth.noble@uwsem.org.
To become a member, you must be a Leadership Giver,
someone who gives $1,000 annually to the Torch Drive
campaign. If you are not currently a Women's Initiative
member, please click on Join
Us to become one.
Volunteer
for WI's March event
In celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday and to
promote early learning, the Women's Initiative
will partner with Volunteer Impact for a literacy volunteer
project for pre-school children. On March 2 and 3, volunteers
will go to area nonprofit agencies and Head Start programs
to read aloud a Dr. Seuss book, make a simple craft
and give each child their very own Dr. Seuss book to
keep.
In order to make this event a success, volunteers are
needed to read, make crafts and to help secure in-kind
items for a minimum of 300 children:
- New Dr. Seuss books to give to the children
- Party snacks
- Craft supplies (call the number below for a list)
To participate in this exciting activity or for more
information, please contact United Way at 313.226.9239
or Beth Noble at beth.noble@uwsem.org.
Misconceptions
about Early Learning (Part I)
What is Early Learning? Research on the development
of young children, including their brain development,
creates a great deal of interest in early learning,
with many positive, but also some negative repercussions.
On the positive side, studies show that more and more
Americans understand that "real" learning
doesn't "wait" until children enter
school. The early years are critically important learning
years.
On the negative side, interest in early learning sometimes
strays far away from the science, leading to some misconceptions.
Misconception: Children begin learning from
the moment of birth on.
Science says: Children are
born learning and this learning begins even before
birth. Studies in neuroscience by Charles
Nelson from the University of Minnesota, for example,
reveal that at birth, a child's brain patterns
are different when hearing a "known" voice
(the voice of his or her mother heard in utero) from
the voice of a stranger. Learning is one of the most
important human survival skills and all children are
born learning.
Misconception: Children are empty vessels
or blank slates to be filled with knowledge.
Science says: Children are
active learners and the more involved they are in
their own learning, the better they learn.
Children's powerful drive to learn is based
on their need to make sense of the world and understand
their own experiences. Some researchers have compared
children's learning to that of scientists -
children try to figure out what is happening to them
and what effect they have on others by testing their
ideas and theories, discarding those that don't
fit their experience, and building on those that do.
Misconception: Social, emotional, and intellectual
learning are separate and intellectual or cognitive
learning is most important.
Science says: Although adults talk about
social, emotional, and intellectual (SEI) learning
as being different, studies show they are completely
interconnected. Children learn through their
important relationships (social learning); they learn
when they feel good and are engaged and motivated
in what they are learning (emotional learning); and
they learn when they are making sense of their world
(intellectual learning). One type of learning (such
as learning numbers, letters or the like) is not more
important than another, since for children to learn,
SEI learning all go together.
Misconception: The adult's role is
to "teach" children, making every moment
a teaching moment.
Science says: The adult's role is to
encourage and increase children's engagement
in learning. The public has been told to
read, sing, and talk to their children, making every
moment a teaching moment. While reading, talking and
singing are truly important, how these activities
happen is what's most important. Adults who
bombard children with teaching every moment, or who
feel that they must entertain children non-stop are
likely to over-stimulate and turn children away from
learning, just as much as if they criticize or ignore
children's engagement in learning.
Excerpts taken from an article prepared for Born
Learning by Mind in the Making, a program of the Families
and Work Institute and New Screen Concepts. Part II
of this article will focus on the principles of early
learning and the best ways to promote early learning.
To learn more, visit www.bornlearning.org.
Leadership
Profile
Judith Hicks, who serves as a member of the Women 's
Initiative Steering Committee, retired from Comerica
Incorporated as a 1st Vice President in 1997. During
her 12 years with the company she served as manager
of financial reporting, manager of treasury, manager
of investor relations, and manager of corporate planning.
Prior to joining Comerica she was an audit manager
with Touche Ross & Co. Since retiring, Hicks has
served as a volunteer with the Detroit Institute of
Arts, the Wayne County Master Gardener Association,
the Michigan Humane Society, and the Michigan Anti-Cruelty
Society.
Hicks received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology
from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado
and a master of business administration degree from
the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She
is also a certified public accountant.
On the Women's Initiative:
"The Women's Initiative is important because
it focuses on the huge, largely untapped potential
for women in the metropolitan Detroit area to serve
as influential philanthropists. Women have traditionally
worked in the role of volunteer in countless organizations.
The Women's Initiative gives us the opportunity
to expand that role into also making decisions about
the issues we feel are most important in our area
and the best ways to address those issues."
On early learning:
"Low rates of literacy are at the root of so
many other societal problems such as dropout rates,
unemployment, and high crime rates. Recent research
has indicated that the development of the mental skills
necessary to learn to read takes place during the
first few years of a child's life. By focusing
on early learning, the Women's Initiative hopes
to significantly improve the lives of people affected
both directly and indirectly."
Upcoming
events
Volunteer Opportunity!
Women's Initiative and Volunteer Impact hold a
literacy project for pre-school children, celebrating
Dr. Seuss' birthday
Thursday, March 2 & Friday, March 3, 2006, at various
nonprofit agencies
Call 313.226.9239 or email Beth Noble at beth.noble@uwsem.org
for details.
United Way for Southeastern Michigan's annual
volunteer recognition event,
Celebrate Volunteers…Recognizing
HomeTown Heroes
Monday, April 24, 2006
11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.
Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center
Call 313.226.9430 or visit www.uwsem.org
to attend one of the largest volunteer recognition events
in the nation!
Join
Us! Get Involved.
The United Way Women's Initiative is a great
opportunity to combine your time, talent and financial
gifts with the contribution of others to create sustained
change in the lives of families and children. Be a part
of a group that will maximize your impact in our community.
As a member of the Women's Initiative, you can
have confidence that your investment will be efficiently
utilized to impact families and children in our community.
Each year, United Way targets over $12 million annually
to programs that strengthen this sector of our society.
Your leadership gift of $1,000 entitles you to become
a member of the Women's Initiative. As a Leadership
Giver, you may designate all or a portion of your current
or increased investment to the Women's Initiative.
There are three levels within the Leadership Giving
Program at United Way:
- Signature Club, $1,000 or more
- Vanguard, $5,000 or more
- Tocqueville Society, $10,000 or more
Click here or contact
Beth Noble, manager, Women's Initiative/Major
Gifts, at 313.226.9405 for more information on how you
can join.
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