What have we been up to in Campbell River? We've been busy making a difference for the youngest children in our community.

With the guidance of the Community Council of Partners, the Early Childhood Development table and the Working Group the local Success By 6 and the Campbell River Family Network has been working with many agencies and volunteers on resources and opportunities for families in Campbell River and the surrounding area.

The volunteer members of the Community Council bring a diverse range of expertise and perspectives to this work as representatives from the business sector, service clubs, City Council, literacy groups, health and social services, Aboriginal services, and School District 72.

Our Taskforces are comprised of front-line program and service providers whose work involves young children and their families.

The strong network of agencies, coalitions and individuals involved in our efforts has enabled us to do a great deal.

We've been up to...maintaining the Campbell River Family Network website, a site made for Campbell River specifically for families in our region. The website has information on local services and programs, issues of interest to parents and caregivers of young children, and fun activities and outings for families. Take a peak, www.crfamilynetwork.ca.

We've been up to...presenting early years' key messages and EDI data to our future parents at the local schools. 

We've been up to...helping to organize local family events along with other partners, including the Children's Health Fairs, Family Literacy Day, and National Child Day.  We participate in other community events as well such as National Aboriginal Day, the Children's Festival, and the Community Awards of Excellence celebration.

We've been up to...raising awareness of why children's early years are vitally important for the whole community. We have published two Campbell River Family inserts partnered with the Campbell River Mirror, giving presentations to City Council, and School District Superintendent Meeting, and participated in the Early and Often messaging campaign.

We've been up to...providing funding for a broad range of community initiatives. Over the past year, Success By 6 "early years" grants have supported:

• § The Gathering Place, a family resource centre in the BC Housing complex, which offers early learning and youth programs. In the past month we have learned our RBC grant for $40,000 was accepted to support the after school programs.
• § Books for Babies program project to raise awareness of the importance of literacy in a newborn's life.
• § early development kits for children ages two to 24 months developed by Campbell River Family Services for use in their programs and to loan to parents.
• § a Mom's and Babes drop-in program on Quadra Island.
• § the Family Connections project in Sayward which supports a coordinator to oversees parenting workshops and a health fair.
• § a Family Coordinator position on Cortes Island.
• § a series of professional development workshops for Early Childhood Educators and Kindergarten teachers.
• § a Mother Goose program in Gold River.

To find out more about any of these initiatives or to provide input, please contact the Campbell River Success By 6 Coordinator, Cheryl Jordan @ info@crfamilynetwork.ca