Page 31 - Head Start Annual Report 2021-2022
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When Michael and Amy Mayer settled family is what Children’s Friend in life, like access to food, housing,
in Rhode Island almost a decade provides,” adds Amy. Families enter education, and healthcare,” Michael
ago, they were looking to connect into the agency’s many programs says. “Children’s Friend helps families
with a worthy local organization that such as Head Start, Early Head directly and indirectly address all of
helped vulnerable children. Each of Start, and Early Intervention, and these basic needs.”
them had grown up in large, loving WIC so that their children will
and secure families, and believed have high-quality early childhood Michael and Amy connect with
that every child deserved to have the developmental support. Through the agency in a variety of ways.
same. Not long afterwards, Amy, a They attend the “Investing in Our
wildlife biologist and researcher at Children Annual Luncheon” when
the University of Rhode Island, was their schedules permit. During
introduced to the Children’s Friend
Spirit of Giving Holiday Drive through Reading Week in previous years,
colleagues who donated to the event. POVERTY IMPACTS they have read to children in the
The annual Spirit of Giving Holiday classrooms. Michael especially
Drive provides gifts of warm new CHILDREN’S SOCIAL, enjoys Reading Week and looks
clothing, books and toys, and other forward to when it will be reinstated
necessities to over 1,300 low-income EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, and COVID restrictions are lightened.
families, representing about 5,000 Most recently, they have lent their
children. Amy felt a real connection AND EDUCATIONAL support to the agency’s part in the
to the family in need she sponsored.
She only knew the names and ages of DEVELOPMENT. United Way’s 401Gives event. The
the children and a little bit about their greatest connection they have is in
story, but she shopped for them like their passion and dedication to give
they were her own. back in order to help enable positive
their involvement in agency programs change in the lives of others. “We
As a result of her experience with the for their children, families can receive
Holiday Drive, Amy and her husband, “wrap-around” support from family want our gifts to benefit kids in the
Michael, a software engineer, decided workers who can help them develop programs and, as much as we can,
to learn more about Children’s Friend plans for their long and short term incrementally improve lives.”
and its programs. They visited the goals and can link them to resources Booker T. Washington, an American
agency, took a tour of one of the early educator, author, orator, and adviser
childhood education centers, and to address critical needs.
realized that they had found what they Poverty impacts children’s social, to several Presidents, once said, “If
were looking for: an agency they could emotional, physical, and educational you want to lift yourself up, lift up
support where they would feel part of development. By helping families someone else.” Children’s Friend
the mission and where their dollars connect to critical resources, the is grateful to Michael and Amy
would go directly to help improve the agency can help alleviate some of the Mayer and all of our donors for their
lives of vulnerable children. extreme stress on families brought commitment to our shared mission
“When I think of Children’s Friend, on by poverty. This help, in turn, to support the well-being and healthy
the word ‘holistic’ comes to mind,” can reduce the “adverse childhood development of Rhode Island’s most
Michael says. “Help for the whole events” or ACEs children experience vulnerable young children.
that are associated with poverty,
such as hunger and the lack of stable
housing. “There are great equalizers
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