Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 9-30-16 Online Edition

Local
Chapter Of National Black Child Development Institute Established
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
After more than a year of planning, the Greater Tampa Bay chapter of the National Black Child Development In- stitute was established for- mally last week at a chartering ceremony.
With dozens of attendees looking on at The Children’s Board, the national institute’s president and Florida native, Tobeka Green personally swore in members of the chap- ter’s board, which includes founding president, Louis Finney.
The Greater Tampa Bay
chapter is the organization’s third affiliate in Florida. Other chapters are located in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Establishing a chapter usu- ally takes two years or longer to complete. But the Tampa Bay chapter came online much quicker, thanks to Finney’s ability to bring area partners to the table, Green said.
“He’s made it happen,” she said.
The chapter’s work is just beginning, Finney said.
“This is the easy part,” he said. “It’s actually hard to do the work.”
In a separate interview, Finney – the executive direc- tor for Lutheran Services Florida – said the work in-
Louis A. Finey, Jr., Executive Vice President for Lutheran Serv- ices Florida and President of Black Child Developent Institute – Tampa Bay; and Tobeka G. Green, President and CEO, National Black Child Development Institute. (Photo by BRUNSON)
volves bringing together pub- lic and private sectors in the region to address matters per- taining to the health, educa- tion, and welfare of Black children.
“When you help Black chil- dren, you help all children,” he said. “We’re willing to partner with any organization.”
The chapter offers a chance for everyone on both sides of the bridge to get involved in the betterment of Tampa Bay Black children and families, Finney said in his remarks to the audience.
“Pinellas and Hillsborough very rarely do anything to- gether,” he said. “But there’s nothing more important to me that Pinellas and Hillsborough do something together...for children, especially for Black children.”
Chapter vice president, Evelyn McFadden, Head Start supervisor for Hillsbor- ough County Public Schools, said those partnerships will be crucial to increasing engage- ment among the community and families.
“I’m looking forward to collaborations with individu- als with like minds to further this mission,” she said.
For 46 years, the Washing- ton, D.C.-based institute has engaged leaders, policymak- ers, and parents on issues di- rectly affecting Black children and families.
The local chapter was char- tered just ahead of the insti- tute’s 46th annual conference this week in Orlando. More than 1,000 teachers, policy makers, elected officials, and parents will gather to discuss challenges facing Black chil- dren and communities and also highlight successes.
The conference also will in- clude the release of “Being Black is Not a Risk Factor: Sta- tistics and Strength-Based So- lutions in the State of Florida.” The report challenges the pre- vailing discourse about Black children that overly focuses on limitations and deficits and not strengths and assets of Black children, families, and communities.
PAGE 10-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016