Monday, October 8, 2012

Paint the Town Blue 2012











Paint the Town Blue - A celebration of securing a safe and happy future for Dane County's children. With a mission to "Support parents in their efforts to nurture, protect and teach their children," Center for Families is proud to have hosted the 4th annual Paint the Town Blue.

Paint the Town Blue 2012 took place on August 16, 2012 from 6:30 -9:30 PM. We had a beautiful venue at the Boardman & Clark Law Firm 4th floor atrium and deck overlooking the Capital square. (Left) View from 4th floor deck.

This annual event  supports our programs and raises awareness of how our community works to support families and  prevent child abuse.  The nine programs at Center for Families address this issue from all directions.  Every child deserves a safe place to call home, outlets for learning and playing, and an adult they can depend upon. Our home visiting, respite/crisis child care, early childhood education and parent education programs, reach out to families in need. We are here to be an ally for parents, to help them help  their children grow up strong and healthy. We are all STRONGER TOGETHER.

This year, Paint the Town Blue featured The Good People Awards to acknowledge a few outstanding community leaders. Another thank you and congratulations goes out to all of our award winners:

GOOD STUFF AWARD - Pat Doucette ( AT&T Pioneers)
For countless years of donating necessary things and money to welcome babies into a nurturing world.
 
GOOD SHEPHERD AWARD - Covenant Presbyterian Church
For being the west side home of Parents' Place - a place for parents to learn.
 
GOOD DEEDS AWARD - Exchange Club of Sun Prairie
From the beginning - supporting the first Dane County home visiting program - a model for child abuse prevention.

GOOD FOUNDATION AWARD - Peg Scholtes, Fran Nelson, Patty Warner & Meg Miller
For founding Family Centers in 1989 which grew and developed into Center for Families in 2011.
   
GOOD WORKS AWARD - Donna Thompson & Dave Neelsen (Hand to Hand)
Special event coordinators extraordinaire - swinging and grilling to help families.




A big THANK YOU goes out to all the artists that donated to our silent auction:


A big THANK YOU goes out to all of our 2012 sponsors:
 
This year Paint the Town Blue had:
  • Over 150 guests in attendance
  • 15 generous sponsors
  • 120 auction items provided by 56 artists and several local businesses. 
  • and raised just over $17,000
We could not have done any of this without all of you support!
Thank you for believing in our mission and what we do here at Center for Families.





To view more photos from
 Paint the Town Blue
Click Here 







Download a copy of the Paint the Town Blue Program - Click Here



For more information about Center for Families visit www.centerforfamilies.org









 http://www.flickr.com/photos/centerforfamilies/sets/72157631325482688/show/http://www.flickr.com/photos/centerforfamilies/sets/72157631325482688/show/

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Our NEW brochures are here!

Nine great Center for Families programs under one folder.



Introducing our new Center for Families’ brochure is a pleasure after using outdated, individual program materials well in to the second year of our merger.  It was worth the wait.  The new brochures, printing donated by American Family, takes on a uniform look for Center for Families that sends the message that we are “Stronger Together”.

We categorized our nine programs into four separate brochure inserts:
Respite:
     Respite Center
Home Visiting:
     Welcome Baby
     Early Childhood Initiative (ECI)
     Parents and Children Together (PACT)
     Neighborhood Parent Aide (NPA)
Early Childhood Education:
     Play & Learn
     Parent-Child Home
Parent Support Groups:
     Parents’ Place
     CORE
 Take a closer look at these great pieces by clinking on the brochures below:
         
         

If you would like some brochures to display at your organization please contact  eventcoord@centerforfamilies.org or 608.729.1142

For more information on Center for Families please visit our website at www.centerforfamilies.org

       

     

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Play & Learn at the Zoo

Can you hang like a monkey? Can you roar like a lion?

Play & Learn is one of the nine programs offered at Center for Families. At multiple sites throughout Dane County, Play & Learn groups provide weekly learning and fun for children ages 0 to 5 and their parent(s). Our goal is to reach children who are not able to attend structured pre-school and provide early childhood education to better prepare them for kindergarten success. 

Last week we had our fourth annual Play & Learn at the Zoo. All the Play & Learn groups facilitated by Center for Families were invited to the Henry Vilas Zoo on Wednesday May 30 to learn about all the zoo animals. We had 106 parents and children participating in “Play & Learn at the Zoo. Each child was provided with a “Play & Learn at the Zoo Passport” that illustrated different Zoo animals and fun facts about them as a coloring sheet. The children were also given stickers to place on the sheet of each animal they found at the Zoo.



A copy of the “Play & Learn Passport” can be downloaded below. After a fun morning running around lions, tigers and bears everyone came back to the park for a pizza picnic and to share stories of all their fun encounters. 
A big THANK YOU goes out to all of the families that participated in this event and to the entire Center for Families staff that made it possible: Tracy Braunreiter and Rachel Werner: Play & Learn facilitators, Teri Weiland: Program Manager, Mike Kenitz: Co-Director, and Mary Joan Nastri: Program Support Specialist.



Play & Learn Facilitators Rachel and Tracy pose for a photo.

What came first, the chicken or the egg?









Keep Learning. Keep Playing.



For more information on Play & Learn please visit our website at centerforfamilies.org
View all the photos from the event Click Here
Download a copy of the Play & Learn Passport, Click Here



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

United Way Service Day

Yesterday, 40 United Way of Dane County staff members came to Center for Families for a service project.  Each year for the last 15 years, United Way  has chosen a different service day theme.  In 2011 it was independence for seniors, another year it was decreasing family homelessness. This year the theme is early childhood fun and education.  A planning team comprised of United Way staff asked agencies who work with families and young children what type of four hour volunteer projects they had for 40 volunteers.  The United Way planning Committee decided on Center for Families and we are sure glad they did! 
   
 
Our projects were not glamorous but they were important.  Staff teams washed windows, weeded our rain gardens painted rooms, organized and sterilized toys, planted flowers, added decorative birdhouses to our entrance and added finishing touches to the squirrel playground which sits outside the Respite Center window.


“How does washing windows and pulling weeds have an impact on children in their early years?” you might ask. The United Way volunteers were asked this question themselves at the end of the day wrap up. The answers ranged from keeping children safe and healthy by having a clean and bright place for them to play, learn, be comforted and have fun - to giving parents and children respect by offering them a welcoming place when they need help.




These service days are important to United Way, “Being together as a group, as United Way, and being able to do something first hand to change a child’s life makes everything worthwhile and we are proud to do it.” – Sarah Listug, Assistant Director of Community Engagement at United Way of Dane County


They are important to the agencies as well, “ The projects that the United Way staff completed at Center for Families are necessary to keep our building  looking great for our staff and the parents and children who make use of our programs.  The Center for Families building is a great community asset and it is our responsibility to keep it beautiful as well as functional. For economic and time management issues we need help to do this.  We appreciate United Way staff for their work this year and the help we receive from employee groups every year during their annual “Days of Caring – Meg Miller – Co- Director at Center for Families.

United Way Days of Caring is an annual volunteer event that officially kicks off the United Way Campaign.  It is an opportunity for companies and their employees to get into the spirit of giving, experience volunteer activities and corporate team building, and help in the community’s work in the Agenda for Change.  This year’s Days of Caring will take place August 21, 22 and 24.  Visit the United Way of Dane County website at www.unitedwaydanecounty.org for more information on Days of Caring and how you can participate.

To view all the photos from the United Way Service Day at Center for Families visit our facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/Centerforfamilies

Thank you
 On behalf of everyone here at Center for Families we would like to thank United Way for all their time and support.

- Center for Families


Thursday, May 10, 2012

Parking Lot Renovation


It is hard not to notice our Center for Families parking lot this week!  Our agency is familiar with toy dump trucks and excavators-- driven by the children of Center for Families.  But this week the big machines were here.  After many months of driving through mud and pot holes we have paved our big parking lot.
Many years ago, before Madison was established, the isthmus was a wetland.  Sadly, our first parking lot “sank into the swamp”—so to speak.  But with the help of Soil Engineering Services  and Fink’s Paving, we re-built a lot that will last for decades.
When our old lot failed we asked SES to provide soil tests.  They showed us that we needed to dig out the old soils and replace them with the ideal layers of fabric and rock.  The old paving was removed by another company last fall.  Unfortunately, the recession caused that company to close and we were left with a gravel parking lot.

In the spring we hired Fink’s Paving, of Mt. Horeb, to completely rebuild and pave the lot. Thanks to John, Brett, Jack and all the guys, in four days we had our new parking lot.
The whole parking lot project has been very exciting. Many of our Center for Families children and staff members have enjoyed watching the project.  They all got to see the giant machines in action.  
 Finks Paving, Excavating & Concrete has become the newest contributor to the strength and vitality of Center for Families and our mission to support the health and growth of Dane counties children and families.

 
Thank you to Fink’s, SES, Webcrafters (for sharing their parking lot for the week), Chris Boehm (facilities manager and project supervisor), Mike Kenitz (co-director), Meg Miller (co-director), Heidi Martin (finance) and Caitlin Ninedorf (documentation and publishing).

And to all the employees at Center for Families who showed great patience through a difficult winter!

THANK YOU
 For more photos of the project visit our facebook site.

Return to centerforfamilies.org


Friday, April 27, 2012

Barstool Open 2012


The second annual Barstool Open sponsored by Wisconsin Distributors and benefiting Center for Families was fun for all – participants and volunteers alike. The event took place on April 14 2012. 
The Barstool Open is a day-long miniature golf outing where participating downtown bars set up golf holes in their establishments and foursomes travel by foot to each venue. There were 42 teams registered this year and we hope to grow that number for the 2013 event. A prize was awarded to the team with the best costume so there were some really great and crazy styles walking around downtown.
Participating Bars included:



Brother’s
Kollege Klub
Wando’s
Church Key
The Vintage
Lava Lounge
Blue Velvet Lounge
Whiskey Jack's Saloon
Chaser’s Bar and Grille
Nitty Gritty
Madhatter Bar
The Lube
Wisconsin Distributors worked with Center for Families staff to make it a safe event. All of the bars are within walking distance of each other and free rides home are offered for golfers who drink.
To view a complete album of photos please visit us on our facebook page.



Thursday, April 26, 2012

Community Volunteer Awards


AmeriCorps Volunteers Meghan McMackin, Robin Stehle, and Lisa Xiong were acknowledged at the 2012 United Way of Dane County Community Volunteer Awards for their work in early childhood literacy in Center for Families Parent-Child Home program.

Parent-Child Home is one of our Early Childhood Education programs that prepares young children for school success by strengthening positive parent child interaction that develops critical language and pre-literacy skills. Services take place in the family home twice a week. Parents and children participate in the program for two years, ages 2 -4 years. Upon graduating from the program the child is the correct age and well prepared to enter a pre-k program.

  

To learn more about our Parent-Child Home Click Here