Smart Start of Forsyth County Raises over $46,000 for Early Childhood Education

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (April 4, 2022) – Smart Start of Forsyth County, Incorporated (SSFC) raised over $46,000 for Early Childhood Education on April 1^st, 2022, at its annual event, Raising Forsyth. The event was emceed by DaVonte McKenith, Anchor/Reporter at WXII 12 News. SSFC is especially thankful for its top sponsors Wonderschool, Twin City Kiwanis Club, TRUIST Bank, McHoward Business Coaching, and Parsec Financial.

Board Chair Reginald McKaskill welcomed the attendees by affirming their presence, “As a Board, we are thrilled to see the community support our efforts more than ever before because the children are indeed our future.”

Dr. Sabrina Hinton, Chair of the SSFC Development Committee, shared that the Raising Forsyth surpassed the $30,000 goal and as a result, the CEO, Board Chair, Vice-Chair, Chief Strategy Officer, and Advancement Manager did the Floss Dance on stage.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Kimberly D. Pemberton of WSSU treated all in attendance to a fantastic speech about how our work in early childhood education is more important than ever. Dr. Pemberton stressed the importance of donating to early childhood education efforts on the front end because it provides children access to experiences that will allow them to successfully progress through the education system due to a strong foundation.

SSFC is fully invested in the development, growth, and leadership of the early learners in Forsyth County. “At Smart Start of Forsyth County, we are fortunate to have so many wonderful partners within our community. We are grateful for those who donated and for those who took the time to join us to celebrate our impact on the children and families of our community,” states Dr. Louis Finney, Chief Executive Officer.

Smart Start of Forsyth County, Incorporated would like to thank its Sponsors, Board, and Staff for their efforts in bringing Raising Forsyth to fruition. Smart Start is looking forward to growing the Raising Forsyth Annual Event and allocating the funds raised to continue being a leader and advocate for the children of Forsyth County

Contact: Ina Colon-Villafranca, Community Education & Outreach Coordinator (336) 830-0968 | inacv@smartstart-fc.org

On Monday, April 4^th, 2022, The Parenting Path hosted the Child Abuse Prevention Month: We Remember program in front of the Forsyth County Court House. During the program, they shared that in 2021, 28 children lost their lives due to child abuse in the state of North Carolina (1 of them being from Forsyth County). Community partners held balloons and let them rise as the name and a short descriptions of the victims were shared. About 4,200 cases of child abuse were reported last year. More than 1,600 of those cases were for children under the age of 5. Unfortunately, a child abuse case is reported every 10 seconds.

In solidarity with the awareness that the Parenting Path is creating, Smart Start of Forsyth County has a pinwheel garden in front of the building that can also be seen at other partnering organizations around Winston-Salem. Smart Start of Forsyth County is listed as a Child Abuse Prevention Agency on The Parenting PATH website. This list of agencies can be seen by clicking here!

Join us for our Play, Learn, & Grow Together Conference on

April 30th from 8:30 to 3:00 pm. To register, click here!

What is Active Supervision? (IN-OFFICE)

April 19, 2022, 6:30pm

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Environment Rating Scales: ITERS (IN-OFFICE)

April 26, 2022, 3:30pm

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Conscious Discipline Techniques (IN-OFFICE)

May 3, 2022, 6:30pm

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Make it take it Conscious Discipline (IN-OFFICE)

May 10, 2022, 6:30pm

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