A by the numbers look at Christmas 2016. Thank you so much to everyone who made this possible!
Click the images to see a full size / zoom in or download the printable PDF here.
Christmas 2016 Recap
You Changed Ricky’s Life
December 2016
Dear Friends,
I am writing to share the story of young boy named Ricky that lived at the Board of Child Care (BCC).
I am delighted to share that today, Ricky is off of all social welfare programs, graduated from high school, and is successfully living with his family.
Because of your previous support, you changed Ricky’s life.
Ricky is just one example of our mission in action: enriching communities, one family at a time.
Ricky learned skills for living through a therapeutic environment. He attended group and individual therapy, met with a psychiatrist routinely, worked with his social worker, and grew up at BCC to become a smart and confident young man. Ricky is just one of the many reunification stories we have to share with you.
Will you please consider making a year-end gift so that we can continue to share more of these stories with you? A gift of $250, $100, $50, or $25 will help our current program participants continue treatment.
Wishing you and your loved ones have a very happy and healthy New Year!
Warmly,
Laurie Anne Spagnola
President & CEO
PS. If you are inspired by our story please feel free to share on your social media site.
If you wish to make a credit card gift by year-end, please visit our website: boardofchildcare.org/donate before 11:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on 12/31. Please do not leave any credit card information in a voice message or in an email. The last day to make a gift of over the phone, a gift of stock or an IRA transfer is December 30th. For assistance with any of these please call our Development Office 410-922-2100 x 5430. Bequests can be done during normal business hours via phone any time of the year. Our offices will be closed on December 31st, so please make your gift online.
A copy of our current financial statement is available upon written request to Board of Child Care 3300 Gaither Rd., Baltimore, MD 21244 or by phone at 410-922-2100. The documents are also available online at guidestar.org.
Read more from You Changed Ricky’s LifeWV programs partner with Blue Ridge Community Technical College
Student tutors helping BCC youth in both Martinsburg locations
BCC’s West Virginia programs have partnered with Blue Ridge Community and Technical College (Blue Ridge CTC) to provide tutors for youth served by BCC.
Blue Ridge CTC student tutors are education majors who are taking a class that requires at least ten hours of face-to-face experience with at-risk youth. The Blue Ridge CTC students will provide one to two hours tutoring weekly from October through December. Cumulatively over 200 hours of tutoring will be provided for the approximately 25 young adults living at BCC’s WV programs.
This is the first partnership between BCC and Blue Ridge CTC. Orientation for the 18 Blue Ridge CTC student tutors took place September 26 at BCC. The student tutors received a tour of the campus and an overview of the therapy and programing offered by BCC.
“It is absolutely wonderful to have tutors coming in to help our youth,” said Jackie Columbia, Director of WV Operations for BCC. “We hope that Blue Ridge CTC will make tutoring at BCC part of the curriculum each year. It is such a wonderful resource for our youth especially so early in the school year. It really gives them some momentum and confidence heading into the second semester.”
BCC has two program locations in Martinsburg, WV and both serve foster care youth in WV. On the larger campus, youth live and go to school on the property. At the group homes, youth attend public school during the day. Blue Ridge CTC student tutors will volunteer at both program locations.
Official press release is available here.
Read more from WV programs partner with Blue Ridge Community Technical CollegeStrawbridge Home for Boys 2016 Reunion
Stronger Together
BCC staff share best practices and lessons learned
On October 6, 2016, BCC’s Director of Training, Monte Ephraim LCSW-C, and Shawn Elbert, BCC’s Baltimore Spiritual Life Coordinator, represented the Board of Child Care by presenting at the 36th Annual MARFY Conference.
MARFY stands for the Maryland Association of Resources and Families. The annual conference, this year held in Ocean City, MD, brought together human service and mental health professionals from all over the region.
The title of the presentation was:
Outside Resources for Internal Benefits;
The Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit
Participant were introduced to The Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (CWTTT), which is an evidence-based toolkit designed to teach basic knowledge, skills, and values about working with children who are in the child welfare system and who have experienced traumatic events.
The toolkit teaches strategies for using trauma-informed child welfare practice to enhance the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families who are involved in the child welfare system. Participants had an opportunity to review the toolkit and the applicable benefits to their own work. The presentation also discussed how to infuse trauma-informed care into an organization and make it a focus for each staff working with youth.
Shawn and Monte will be also be presenting at the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) Conference on October 27th. Their session will focus on Mental Health First Aid, of which Shawn and Monte are certified trainers.
Read more from Stronger TogetherBCC Spotlight: Ashley Hunt, Early Learning Program Teacher
Hunt is a born and raised Washington, D.C. native with a passion for working with young children. She received her associate’s degree in child development from Southeastern University. Hunt became a teacher in 2006 at BCC’s Early Learning Program (Washington, D.C.).
Q. Have you always known you wanted to work with young children?
A. Absolutely. In high school, I was a tutor in an aftercare program, and from them on always had a passion to work with young children. When I graduated from Southeastern, I went to work at a childcare center right away. Four years later, I joined BCC and have been here ever since.
Q. DC uses a mixed income model in its classrooms. How does that work?
A. A little over half of the children at the DC ELP are utilizing a voucher from the District of Columbia to cover tuition. The remainder of the families pay privately. I really like this model because it encourages an exchange of culture. Traditions such as clothing, language, and observed holidays all shine through in the classroom. It is a special moment when you see that the kids are learning from each other.
Q. You mentioned you had a “shadow” with you from day one. Who was following you around?
A. My first day at BCC was also the first day for an adorable little one-year-old toddler. I just so happened to be the first person she met when she came to the center. She must have seen my “I’m new here too” glow because she followed me around all the time after that!
Q. Leaving their parents is tough for some children. What do you do to help them adjust?
A. You absolutely need to be compassionate and remember that every child will adjust differently. The DC program serves kids from six weeks up through five year olds, but all of them need a lot of nurturing at this stage in their lives.
Q. How have early learning programs changed since you graduated from school?
A. I think the whole industry of childcare is changing and I am glad to be at a place where an actual curriculum is used. [Ed. Note: the curriculum the DC ELP uses is called the Creative Curriculum]. I learn a lot from it. I like all the ideas it gives me for how to manage my classroom and the actual resource cards, books, and learning tools are great. I also recently attended Quality Improvement Network’s (QIN) almost yearlong training in early childhood development and really took a lot away from that.
[Ed. Note: The Quality Improvement network is a consortium of early learning providers in DC working to improve access to quality early childhood education. Ashely completed eight, 3-hour sessions over the past year that were offered by QIN. Some of the modules covered included classroom management strategies and student-teacher interaction techniques.]
Q. We heard you took away more than a certificate of completion after the QIN training. What was it?
A. I was honored to be selected by my fellow classmates as the winner of the “QIN Spirit” award!
PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BCC & BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE NOW PROVIDING TUTORS FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kristian Sekse
443-845-4395 (cell)
ksekse@boardofchildcare.org
Martinsburg, WV – October 17, 2016 – The Board of Child Care’s (BCC) West Virginia programs have partnered with Blue Ridge Community and Technical College (Blue Ridge CTC) to provide tutors for youth served by BCC.
Blue Ridge CTC student tutors are education majors who are taking a class that requires at least ten hours of face to face experience with at-risk youth. The Blue Ridge CTC students will provide one to two hours tutoring weekly from October through December. Cumulatively over 200 hours of tutoring will be provided for the approximately 25 young adults living at BCC’s WV programs.
This is the first partnership between BCC and Blue Ridge CTC. Orientation for the 18 Blue Ridge CTC student tutors was held on September 26 at BCC. The student tutors received a tour of the campus and an overview of the therapy and programing offered by BCC.
“It is absolutely wonderful to have tutors coming in to help our youth,” said Jackie Columbia, Director of WV Operations for BCC. “We hope that Blue Ridge CTC will make tutoring at BCC part of the curriculum each year. It’s such a wonderful resource for our youth especially so early in the school year. It really gives them some momentum and confidence heading into the second semester.”
BCC has two program locations in Martinsburg, WV and both serve foster care youth in WV. On the larger campus youth live and go to school on the property. At the group homes youth attend public school during the day. Blue Ridge CTC student tutors will volunteer at both program locations.
The Board of Child Care has a long history of serving children and families in the community. The organization began as three United Methodist orphanages that opened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which later merged in 1960 to become the Board of Child Care. BCC’s operations expanded from Maryland to West Virginia in 2001.
Today, the Board of Child Care’s $27 million annual budget provides programs to enrich communities, one family at a time. It offers residential, mental health, educational, and therapeutic counseling services across Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. To see a map of all program locations and descriptions of each BCC program, visit www.boardofchildcare.org.
-END-
Read more from PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BCC & BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE NOW PROVIDING TUTORS FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTHThanksgiving Donations for 2016
Thanksgiving Donations for 2016
Projected number of baskets to be assembled 180
Below are the Region’s assigned items for the Auxiliary’s Thanksgiving Baskets. Please have your items to either your church or the Auxiliary’s office on the Baltimore campus by November 3, 2016. Baskets will be assembled on November 10, 2016.
*NOTE: THERE ARE CHANGES IN DONATION REQUESTS!!!!
*ALSO – NOTE CAN SIZES
We must have ALL donations delivered to Baltimore – Welcome / Archive Center, lower level by November 3rd. We need time to count – organize and purchase any additional items.
Annapolis-Southern Region |
Canned Fruit (20-29 ounce cans) ANDSweet Potatoes (29 oz or 40 oz) |
|---|---|
Baltimore Region |
Cranberry Sauce, Green Beans (15 ounce cans)AND Sweet Potatoes (29 oz or 40 oz) |
Cumberland-Hagerstown Region |
Money for Hams |
Frederick Region |
Stuffing Mix |
Washington Region |
Corn and Peas (15 oz cans)AND Cake Mix and Icing |
Check out photos from last year’s successful canned food drive!
Read more from Thanksgiving Donations for 2016
OMHC Families Benefit From Donated Supplies
This year’s donated school supplies were set aside for families using BCC’s Outpatient Mental Health Clinic (OMHC) in Pasadena, MD. Thanks to the incredible generosity of Brooklyn Community UMC and Oakland UMC (Sykesville, MD), families selected what they needed for their children’s upcoming school year.
All told, 65 families (including 79 OMHC clients as well as many of their siblings) benefited from the supplies.
Andrea Carroll, Director of the clinic, was on hand while the families were ‘shopping.’ “One mother was so overwhelmed with joy, praises, and thanks, that she gave me a hug and cried on my shoulder,” said Carroll. “Here are a few of the other reactions and notes of thanks we received.”
“Oh, Lord Jesus, thank you!” from a grandmother raising four school-aged children who has been down on her luck this past year and has a disabled child of her own.
“We are so glad that BCC was able to help us with our supplies. It is so expensive with two children and one income.”
“Thank you all for all that you have done with the supplies. This means more to me and my family than you would even imagine.”
“Wow!!! There are so many supplies to choose from. We love that BCC lends a helping hand.”
“The Board of Child Care is so thoughtful year round with the donations that they receive. We are so happy that you are able to help our family.”
“I am so thankful for all of the companies and people that make it possible for Board of Child Care to help families that need help. Thank you BCC for sharing and making everything easier for our family.”
Read more from OMHC Families Benefit From Donated SuppliesSometimes all it takes is a note
Community service project by BCC youth has lasting impact on hospital
Several months ago, the Spiritual Life team asked youth to create get well cards for patients at hospitals throughout Maryland. The community service project was not about personally knowing the people the cards would go to, but understanding that being kind, even to strangers, is important.
Rev. Stacey Nickerson, BCC’s Director of Church and Community Engagement, received a note back from a hospital chaplain who had received a stack of the cards.
Dear Nieces and Nephews,Thank you very much for your lovely, kind and thoughtful cards. I keep them in our chaplain office at the hospital – so they are always there, ready to be given away. I’m taking my time, allowing God to show me how to use them.
About three weeks ago, I gave away the first card to a gentleman on the behavioral unit. This is for people with emotional and mental illnesses. I’ll call him David. He is in his early 80’s and was very depressed when he came to the hospital. We had some good talks, but he couldn’t see any hope for the future. He has no family, and had a heart attack that left him unable to care for himself. He tried to end his life before coming to the hospital.
When I gave him your card, he looked at it, said “thank you”, and returned it to the envelope. He left the envelope on his tummy, and went back to sleep.
A few days later I saw him again. He still felt hopeless.
Well, yesterday, I read about him on the computer before I went to see him. I was so happy to read that he was feeling better. I went up to the 6th floor to see him for myself. He was still lying in bed, but he actually gave me a small smile. I hadn’t seen him smile before. He said: “it’s too hard to stay negative with about a hundred positive people in here all day long!”
He is being discharged to a nursing home. He thanked me for visiting and encouraging him. Your card was with his belongings that he is taking with him when he leaves. You definitely played a role in his recovery, because you are one of those “hundred” positive people who made it hard for him to stay sad.
So thank you very much for supporting David and showing him God’s love.
On Tuesdays, I lead a spirituality group on this unit. We talk about God together. So next week, I plan to take some of your cards with me, and focus the whole session around giving one of your cards to each member of the group. We have young and older people, men and women, black, white, Asian, Hispanic – everyone. I never know until I arrive who will be there, of course. We will discuss what it means for young people like you to take the time to make these cards, sending a message that says: “we may not know you but it doesn’t mean that we don’t care”. Your cards are a message from God, letting these people know that God still cares about them. It gives them a lot to think about, and makes them smile.
Another week in my group, I plan to have the group members make their own cards for other patients in the hospital, and even for the staff, to say thank you for caring for me! That will make the nurses and doctors feel happy.
I would never have had these two great ideas if you hadn’t made your cards and sent them for me to use. Your cards are truly an inspiration. Even when your cards have all been given away, your idea will stay behind and keep bearing fruit.
This is how love works.
Thank you again for your ministry to these lonely and troubled people.
With love,
~ Angela
Read more from Sometimes all it takes is a note