NEWS
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It takes the community to ensure all of our young children have the best start in life. Many thanks go out to the many organizations, groups and volunteers who participated in the Campbell River Children’s Health Fairs this year on...
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We typically acknowledge that life creates challenges for people with mobility impairments or visible developmental disabilities, but what about people who live with an invisible brain difference such as FASD? Fetal Alcohol...
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Looking for child care can often be a daunting task; there are so many different sources of information that may not always be the most reliable. While internet search engines, social media sites and even classified internet ads may seem...
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Research has shown that the first six years of life lays the foundation for a person’s life. A unique provincial partnership that bases its work on this principle is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. Success by 6 helps to ensure that...
EVENTS
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July 9thOnce again Coastal Community Credit Union is sponsoring a movie night under the stars. It's a free family event with proceeds from the concession going to the programs Success By 6 supports. Bring your lawn chairs/blankets and enjoy a...
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July 1st
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May 27thThis seminar will focus on tools and strategies for parents who are helping their children cope and carry on after parent separation. We will discuss how children are affected by separation and how best to help them through this transition...
News
Thank you Sponsors and Supporters
It takes the community to ensure all of our young children have the best start in life. Many thanks go out to the many organizations, groups and volunteers who participated in the Campbell River Children’s Health Fairs this year on Friday March 15.
Thank you to: Active Campbell River, BC Transit, Campbell River and District Association for Community Living’s Support Child Development Program, Campbell River Childcare Society, Campbell River Community Literacy Association, Campbell River Family Place, Campbell River Family Services Society, Campbell River Fire Department, Campbell River Literacy Now, Child Find, City of Campbell River, Coastal Eyecare Centres, Campbell River Emergency Social Services, Judy Hagen and her little dogs, KDC, Laichwiltach Family Life Society, Little Ladybug Yoga, PacificCARE, Rivercity Therapeutic, School District 72, Strathcona Regional District (Recycling Queen), Strathcona Gardens, Success By 6, Sunrise Resources for Early Childhood Development, Vancouver Island Health Authority, Vancouver Island Regional Library and War Amps.
A huge THANK YOU to School District 72 for the promotion and hosting of the Fair and to the City of Campbell River and BC Transit for providing free bus services. Thanks to the Eagle and the River radio stations for promoting the Fairs. A special thanks to QUALITY FOODS, Save On Foods, Thrifty’s and McDonalds for donating the healthy snacks and coffee. A very active thanks to Pam from Stereo Fitness for getting the children and parents moving. A definite highlight of the day.
Extra thanks go to our wonderful volunteers; Liza, Darlene, Sue, Susan, Heather and the Bladerunners from Laichwiltach who help make the day possible.
With immense appreciation from the Organizing Committee for the Campbell River Children’s Health Fairs and the Campbell River Family Network.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; the Invisible Disability!
We typically acknowledge that life creates challenges for people with mobility impairments or visible developmental disabilities, but what about people who live with an invisible brain difference such as FASD?
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a term used to describe the range of damage that alcohol can cause to an unborn baby. FASD can best be described as a brain based disability with behavioural symptoms. The invisibility of FASD can be attributed the fact that people with FASD look the same as everyone else and come across as more capable than they actually are. This creates expectations for the person to perform and behave at a level that is beyond their ability.
Often the biggest challenge people with FASD face is that family, community, and professionals fail to recognize the extent of the disability. Children with FASD are continuously being told they could, “do better if they just tried harder” says Jenny McLeod, FASD Key Worker for the Campbell River/Gold River region . For these children, the emotional consequences of knowing that they are not living up to others’ expectations is often, “more crippling then the disability itself” emphasized McLeod. We often refer to people with disabilities as having, “special needs,” when in reality we all have the same needs, “to be loved and accepted for who we are” added McLeod. People with FASD have many personal strengths and the best strategy for success it to focus on these strengths!
If you or your community group would like to learn more about FASD contact Jenny McLeod, FASD Key Worker, Campbell River and District Association for Community Living. 250-286-0391
Child Care Concerns? PacificCARE Can Help!
Looking for child care can often be a daunting task; there are so many different sources of information that may not always be the most reliable. While internet search engines, social media sites and even classified internet ads may seem quick and convenient, as a parent, you want to ensure that your child is receiving the most quality child care available. Your children are your most precious commodity; it is so incredibly important to their development that you find qualified individuals with experience, training and a safe child care setting, so that your child may flourish in an enriched and loving environment. There are many steps to selecting quality child care and to ensure that you find the right match for your family, it is important to be familiar with these steps.
PacificCARE Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) can assist you in navigating through these steps. Our Child Care Consultants are available to explain the different kinds of care options available and to support you in your quest to find a child care arrangement that works for you and your family. We have a data base of care providers either licensed through Vancouver Island Health Authority, or registered through their local Child Care Resource and Referral. The booklet “Parents Guide to Selecting and Monitoring Child Care in BC” and other helpful resources can be found at the following two web sites: http://www.mcf.gov.ca/childcare/parents.htm or http://www.pacific-care.bc.ca
Our services to families in the Campbell River area include the following:
· Assistance with child care related questions and referrals to child care providers listed in PacificCARE’s region for families looking for daycare via telephone, email, mail or in person at our office.
· General assistance with completing Child Care Subsidy applications: free photocopying, faxes, telephone and computer access from our Nanaimo office.
· Workshops and training opportunities for child care providers in our communities.
· Assistance, support and training to individuals becoming Registered License Not Required care providers; training and support for opening a child care business.
· Access to resources and our Toy Lending Library with PacificCARE membership.
For more information about our programs and services, please contact a PacificCARE Child Care Consultant at 1-888-480-2273 or email us at mailbox@pacific-care.bc.ca.
10th Anniversary of early childhood development partnership: Success By 6
Research has shown that the first six years of life lays the foundation for a person’s life. A unique provincial partnership that bases its work on this principle is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. Success by 6 helps to ensure that children ages 0 to 6 develop the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical skills they need as they enter school.
This groundbreaking partnership, bringing together the public, the not for profit and the business sectors came together with a vision that it takes a whole community to support families with children under six years of age. Communities understand the needs of their young families and are best positioned to respond to those needs.
“As the Success By 6 Coordinator for the region from mid 2005 through mid 2008, my most treasured memory is having worked with so many wonderful people in the community. Goals were achieved because of their unwavering commitment to young children’s wellbeing and extraordinary generosity in contributing their time, knowledge, ideas and talents,” states Brenda Wagman as she reflects back during the time as coordinator.
Here in Campbell River and surrounding area, some of the programs and projects Success By 6 supports are Friday Family gym at the Sportsplex, Children’s Health Fair, Books for Babies, Campbell River Family Network website, free family swims, National Child Day, family coordinator on Cortes, and parent workshops on Quadra. Over the years many other projects have been supported, such as the Milestone Interactive Kits and Emergency Food Cupboard at Campbell River Family Services. “It was wonderful to know there was a place where I could come and get a little food or a few baby diapers when I was completely out of money.” parent K.D. Another parent’s response to the milestone kits, “I liked the Milestones Kits because they were age-appropriate and in a bag so I could just grab one when It was playtime with my child and everything was there to use.”
In British Columbia, Success By 6 was born on May 21, 2003 when the United Way of the Lower Mainland, The Savings and Credit Unions of BC (now known as Central 1 Credit Union) and the BC Government through the Ministry of Children & Family Development signed on to the Early Childhood Development Provincial Partnership.
Over the past ten years, Success By 6 has built a network of Early Years community coalitions across BC that involve local credit unions, local United Ways and government representatives along with many diverse stakeholders including parents, grandparents, educators, health professionals, local governments, Aboriginal leaders, children’s librarians, recreation coordinators and many more. Collectively they plan how their community’s children can best be supported.
In our community, “Over the past decade Success By 6 has worked tirelessly to build a vibrant community for children in their early years. With only one coordinator and a volunteer board, this organization advocates for young children and provides outreach at multiple events including the Children’s Health Fair, National Child’s Day, and Canada Day-- just to name a few. At the same time, its members have shaped our city and our schools by placing early years advocates on city committees and the School District 72 Board of Trustees. The accomplishments of Success By 6 reflect both how deeply the Campbell River community cares about its youngest citizens as well as the unwavering dedication of the organization itself.” –Lisa Scalapino, School District 72 School Psychologist and former coordinator of Understanding the Early Years
Today Success by 6 is a network of over 120 Early Childhood Coalitions in BC that support over 550 communities. 1,700 people are involved on these coalitions and an additional 1,500 volunteers take part in supporting their work.
For more information visit our website at www.successby6bc.ca, local website www.crfamilynetwork.ca
Local contact: Cheryl Jordan, coordinator, crsuccessby6@gmail.com