It’s never too soon to instill in children the importance of financial literacy — and it’s never too late for their parents to achieve it.
That’s why The Child Center promotes the concepts of budgeting and saving in age-appropriate ways across our programs.
At our Escalera Head Start in Manhattan, that recently took the form of a financial literacy workshop called, “Break the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle,” organized by volunteers from TD Bank. Continue reading
Students of our Ficalora Family Foundation Head Start Center in Woodside got a big surprise last week: a visit by the lovable red Sesame Street character, Elmo.
The excitement was palpable as the preschoolers spotted him and shouted, “Oh my God, it’s Elmo!”
The friendly monster’s visit was courtesy of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation and its Week of Giving. Continue reading
A new school year is a time of adapting to new environments and routines, which can be both challenging and exciting for young children. Every family member has a vital role in fostering a smooth transition into the school setting, helping little ones feel motivated to learn in a safe environment. Continue reading
When Albert Perna, founder of the Perna Foundation for Kids and a member of Queens Community Board 4, received a generous donation of baby food to his organization, he wanted to be sure that it went to families who could use it most. Continue reading
It’s been nearly a year since Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled ThriveNYC, the most comprehensive mental health plan of any city or nation. Last week, the administration took an important step in ensuring that the program benefits our youngest citizens. First Lady Chirlane McCray announced a new ThriveNYC initiative called the Early Childhood Mental Health Network, which will provide mental health services and support for families who have young children (ages 0-5) with mental health needs. The Network was developed to work alongside new social-emotional learning support that will be offered at Administration for Children’s Services’ EarlyLearn sites and Department of Education Pre-K for All sites across the city.
As an organization with deep roots in both mental health and early childhood education services, The Child Center of NY was a natural fit for this initiative, and we are pleased to serve as the Queens borough-wide provider of the Network.
When a family enrolls a preschooler in a Child Center of NY Head Start program, parents must complete a home inventory that includes the statement, “You see 10 books in the home environment”—and parents answer either “yes” or “no.” More often than not, the answer is “no.”
“Most of the families in our program don’t own books,” explains Marie Mason, Education Director of The Child Center’s Ficalora Family Foundation Head Start Center in Woodside. “Poverty is an issue for the majority of them, and many parents may not be able to read English—or even their native language—and so are unable to read to their children.”
As common sense tells us and research confirms, early exposure to books is key to instilling a lifelong love of reading, and it helps provide a strong foundation for success in school. That’s why our Head Start programs keep classrooms stocked with reading materials. “Our center often provides kids with their first exposure to a collection of books,” says Mason. Teachers read often to the students, who love to listen—but they get really excited when someone new reads to them.
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Each day at The Child Center of NY, we work with children and families who have the courage to make a new start, and we see the strength and the resourcefulness they summon to succeed. These families want what all families want: a healthy home life, opportunities for their children, safe community spaces, and the chance to work and provide for their loved ones.
But their path isn’t easy. Some have to choose between medical bills and rent, between staying home with no income or leaving their children in unsafe care, between paying for the car or paying for an apartment. Some of the decisions are unexpected to those who don’t live this reality every day— like the calculating that goes into how often a parent can afford to change a child’s diaper—and they are choices no one should have to make.
One mother, who had to turn down three job offers because she lacked reliable transportation, described the quandary many families face: “It reminds me of the cycle of poverty that so many people go through. You’re trying to get out, and it only takes one thing to go wrong, like a broken-down car, and you’re all the way back to the beginning again.”
We’re here to make those choices easier wherever we can. Continue reading
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