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GFECC Coalition

Connection November 2019

GFECC welcomed Dr. Donna Beegle for her

presentation on poverty

More than 150 service providers and community members traveled through a snow storm and filled the Civic Center as they listened to Dr. Beegle share the life-changing actions that allowed her to move from generational, migrant-labor poverty to achieve her doctorate in educational leadership, and run a successful company for 26 years. Beegle encourages all professionals who work with the poor to carry a "full resource backpack" to be able to connect people with available community resources. She also teaches the very basic: in order to work effectively with someone, first, make a personal connection. Beegle said understanding those in poverty can help combat generational poverty. “If you're judging, you can't connect; if you can't connect, you can't communicate; if you can't communicate, how are you going to do your job?" Beegle asked. The following facts were noted during the program:

More than 15 percent, or 43.2 million, of people live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2010

One in four working households in America (10.6 million families) spends more than half their pre-tax income on housing

Nationally, the average welfare check for one parent and two children is $478 per month. The average disability check is $600

One in five children in America goes hungry; 46 million suffer food insecurity and one-third of this group experience chronic hunger

Youth living in poverty are the least likely to become educated in this nation

Many people in poverty have internalized their poverty as a personal deficiency

The Great Falls Early Childhood Coalition looks forward to further discussion and continuing this work. Make sure you don’t miss the next event!

“Poverty is a real issue in our community and

we have been silent about it for far too long.”

-Dr. Donna M. Beegle

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Ferst Readers was founded in 1999 to address the growing problem of children, many from low-

income communities, entering kindergarten without basic early literacy skills and school readiness, a preventable problem that has far-reaching impacts throughout students’ lives. The recipe for early school success is simple: start school

with strong literacy skills. Ferst Readers’s recipe for encouraging early literacy development is even simpler. Ensure children have developmentally-appropriate books in their home and provide parents with resources that support them in their role as their child's first teacher.

Children in the Ferst Readers literacy program receive a bookstore-quality, age-specific book and resources mailed to them at home every month until their fifth birthday.

Our very own Board Member, Cyndie Einan is a part of the book selection committee with Great Falls Public Librarian and ECC Member, Rae McFadden.

This hand-picked selection committee are sent age-appropriate and positive reviewed books by Ferst Readers vendors and are asked to complete online ratings based on seven questions. All books with a rank of 3 or higher are entered into the master list of books available for the final book list in any given year.

Selection Committee for Ferst Readers

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Great Falls, Great Families is off to a great start! During the first committee meeting, attendees worked on an outline for upcoming forums and they all had wonderful ideas! We are thrilled for our first forum, Child Behaviors: What is Your Child Really Telling You?, which is scheduled for November 21st.

Future meetings will continue to work on developing forums that are scheduled for 2020, in addition to collaborating on engaging families and community members within Great Falls.

The committee is assisting Vineyard Church with their 3rd Annual Harvest Party, it’s a trunk-or-treating event for the whole family! There will be plenty of activities, from face painting to a bounce house, and even some hot chocolate, hot cider, popcorn, and hotdogs. This event will definitely have more “treats” than “tricks”!

Everyone loves a Baby Shower and our Community was no exception!

Held September 21, 10am- Noon at Whitter Elementary 25 families served, with all receiving a diaper bundle (diapers, wipes and a sleep sack or blanket) 11 Local Service Agencies sharing

information and knowledge with participants Portable Cribs raffled off Toys, books and clothing given away Formal and feeding support available for the taking Food provided by Food Frenzy Baby Shower themed cupcakes by Cakes by Carr Family Pictures available and taken advantage of

The feedback was positive! “Wow! All this just for coming. Thank you.” “Thank you for sharing the infant CPR. I would never have thought about that. Good

skill to have.” “It was so nice to be able to share with families just staring out on the journey as a

family tools and information that will support them in being successful. Thank you to our service partners and all those that came.”

GREAT FALLS, GREAT FAMILIES

COMMITTEE

/pcantaskforce

PCAN Yours, Mine, Ours Community Baby Shower 2019

NEXT MEEITING:

November 19th

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Hi! My name is Paige Held and I am the Montana Air National Guard

Family Program Manager. I recently became involved

with the local Raising Readers Program and was really

impressed at what they have done for our children in

the local area. After learning about what the

organization strives to provide for our community, I

knew that our guardsmen would be just as interested in

supporting this initiative. I spoke with a couple of

members on the Raising Readers committee and I asked

our leadership if an unsolicited book drive would be something we

could support during our upcoming drill weekends. Because we have

members who come to drill from all over the state, I thought hosting

the book drive two months in a row would offer better results. We

placed two large bins outside of the 120th AW Headquarters Building,

the Dining Facility, and at our collocated 219th RHS unit for

September and October’s drill weekends. Although the bins were

pretty low in September, word got out and service members as well as

their families were contacting

me and asking where they

could drop off their books.

After sorting through the

bins, we raised over 200 books

in two months! My hope is to

offer a book drive at the Guard base at least once a year and also get

involvement from Malmstrom AFB if there is interest. I am very happy

and proud to be a part of this organization, getting books into the

hands of young readers is so important.

“There are many little ways to enlarge you child’s world. Love of books is the best of all!” -Jacqueline Kennedy

MTANG Hosts Book Drive for

Raising Readers Program!

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MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH COMMITTEE

GFECC Community Forums

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Where do you work ? What is the best thing about your job? “I work at Opportunities, Inc. The best thing about my job is being able make a difference in lives of children and families everyday and working alongside a wonderful team of people.” If you could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance at winning a medal for? “Well…I used to ice skate and I would have loved to have gone to the Olympics as an ice skater! I used to really enjoy watching Michelle Kwan and I always thought that looked like such fun.” What are some small things that make your day better? A warm cup of coffee, humor and a good book. How do you relax after a hard day at work? “I like to spend time with my family. My daughter is so funny and always brightens my day. She is 6 but she is so wise and logical.” What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation? “I could give a presentation on the best kinds of coffee and coffee shops that all coffee lovers should try.” What was the most memorable gift you’ve received? “The most memorable gift I have received is when “Santa” left me a bell from one his reindeers. I thought that was the coolest thing ever.” What brand are you most loyal to? “I am not really a brand girl. I really enjoy purchasing stuff from Target and local boutiques.” What always cheers you up when you think about it? “My daughter. She is full of light and energy.” Why are you a part of the Great Falls Early Childhood Coalition? What is your favorite thing about being a Board Member? “I am a part of the GFECC because I really believe in the mission and vision of the coalition and I care about our community. My favorite part about being a Board Member is getting to work with so many different people from so many different agencies, programs and experiences and being able to come up with some really innovative ideas together to support our community. I am blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people.”

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Opportunities, Inc.

Helping People, Changing Lives.

Beth Branam

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Our Vision:

An engaged community with sustained, comprehensive and

collaborative strategies to support meaningful family en-

gagement for the health and well-being of children prenatal

to age eight.

Our Mission:

To ensure focused efforts on coordinated and comprehensive

systems of care to best meet the needs of families, women

and children, prenatal to age eight.

Follow Us!

WWW.GFECC.ORG

P.O. Box 1477

Great Falls, MT 59403

Phone: (406) 761-0310

Fax: (406) 761-0363

Coordinator:

jessicah@gfoppinc.org

Family Engagement Coordinator:

melissah@gfoppinc.org

/GreatFallsECC