Community Resource Sharing Newsletter

Roberta Miksch, CFP Director

The weather outside may be cold, but the work of CFP is heating up!

January is full of planning and laying the groundwork for many positive efforts on the way. Here is a sample of two things coming up for CFP outside of its normal day-to-day work of Community Prevention, increasing mental health supports and increasing quality and capacity of childcare.

We are already gearing up for Child Abuse Prevention month which is in April! In addition to the outreach and Wear Blue Day linked to this awareness month, there will be more educating on the ‘why’ behind the use of the pinwheel and working toward actions the everyday person can take to support families in our communities.

If you would like to dip your toes into a short-term project in 2025, this may be the one for you as we meet monthly by Zoom or in-person for an hour from January – April.

Have a passion for ensuring people have food to eat? The Food Access team may be your cup

of tea. Monthly Zoom or in-person meetings find many at our table. We work on rescuing food

that would otherwise go to waste and organize a free monthly potato pick-up for agencies to

take and distribute potatoes to those they serve. In addition, thanks to short-term funding soon-

to-be received, we are securing agencies/pantries to distribute eggs and ground beef to those

they serve and who are in need. This project will be an eggs-cellent opportunity to reach all

corners of our service area. We will very soon be focusing on the elderly and their access to

food as well as other topics.

Looking for a way to grow in 2025? Consider joining one of the teams mentioned above. You will

find passionate people at the table who truly care about the community they live and work in.

Shoot me an email if you would like to join either of these community-changing efforts.

December Collaborative Meeting Minutes

Kim Parsons,

Early Childhood Community Coordinator

Tots on the Turf is Back for 2025

Strong Starts Schuyler is happy to partner with Schuyler Community Schools to host Tots on the Turf 2025.

Tots of the Turf is held on the last Friday of the month at the Schuyler Middle School Fieldhouse. Scheduling this event on a Friday evening offers Schuyler families with children eight years and younger a safe place to play and explore. The goal of Tots on the Turf is to give families of young children a space to encourage the use of large

muscles for movement, coordination, balance, and body awareness. We offer games and activities intended to support children with a wide range of abilities.

Information about child development, parenting, and opportunities to increase quality early care and education are shared with the families. This is also a great opportunity for the Strong Starts Schuyler team members to interact with Schuyler's children and families. Strong Starts Schuyler - Early Childhood Partnership, is a non-profit organization, under the umbrella of Columbus Area United Way created to support and coordinate planning for access to high-quality early care and education for all children from birth through age five.

For more information please contact:

Kim Parsons- early childhood community coordinator

eccc@columbusunitedway.com

402.615.2685

Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StrongStarts/

Cheryl Drozd, RIR Coordinator

We will be offering a PIWI class starting in February. Parents Interacting With Infants is for parents who have a child 0-3 years old. We will learn the importance of play and stages of growth at the different ages and make friends with other families with children the same age as yours. Contact Cheryl Drozd if you are interested or know someone who would be perfect for this class at 402-910-2868.

Rooted had its December Collaboration with an amazing attendance from both Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 providers.

We started the meeting with some celebrations and a nice meal together in fellowship. Our Module 3B training had a piece we needed to finish up on Observation and Support Planning, so we used this time to do that. We also divided into four groups for our Week of the Young Child planning in April at the library this upcoming year. We will be having a Music Monday with instruments to make, music to dance to and songs to sing. Tasty Tuesday will be a night of making tasty treats with your children. Work Together Wednesday is a night of using blocks in different ways for learning and Artsy Thursday will be an evening of arts and crafts with your children. All are welcome to come and enjoy and our Rooted providers will share their talents and leadership with children and parents these four nights. April 7-10, 6:30-7:30 upstairs in the library.

Kate Wythers, Community Prevention Director

Community Prevention

December was a busy month for Community Prevention. Navigators and Coaches assisted families with local resources for food and gifts for the holiday season. Coaches participated in a local food drive to provide extra food for families. Staff had the opportunity to participate in a staff retreat. The location of the retreat was provided by Shae Spitz. Staff spent the day

participating in team building as well as future planning for Columbus Area United Way. Reghan Kabes has recently moved on and Keydy Vazquez has been hired as a bilingual Community Prevention Coach, she started on January 2, 2025. Community Prevention continues to be utilized, and there is a waitlist currently for coaching services.