Those Who Care for Us

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Together with You,

Building Safe, Stable and Nurturing

Families and Communities

for both Our Present and Our Future

Governor Lynch Proclamation:

February is Parent Recognition Month

Celebrating Those Who Care for Us

January 31, 2011

In This Issue

Governor to Honor 28 Parents

Just a Mom?

VNA Parent Friend Program

Partner with Parents

Bucket List Update

Give to Help

End Child Abuse

2011 Board of Directors

2011 Staff

2011 Interns

Dear Friends,

Parenting is both challenging and rewarding and it's often not appreciated. For children, parenting affects their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. The ability of parents to meet their children's needs has long term effects on the individual and on our society. Children who have their needs met are more likely to be healthy, graduate from high school, find employment and have healthy adult relationships.

It is our pleasure to honor 28 of New Hampshire's parents each year. We hope you will join us by honoring your parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors and friends for providing love and support to children. Why not make a call, send a card, or give a hug to a parent in your life. And if you do- let us know about it.

Thank you mom and dad, I wouldn't be here with out you!

Keryn

Keryn Bernard-Kriegl, Executive Director

Governor to Honor 28 Parents with NHCT Unsung Hero Award

February has been designated Parent Recognition Month in New Hampshire. To celebrate, the New Hampshire Children's Trust is honoring 28 parents, one for each day of February, for the exceptional jobs they are doing as parents. We are again honored to have Governor John Lynch handing out the awards in his chambers on February 23.

View pictures here from the 2010 Unsung Hero ceremony held at the State House with Governor Lynch.

2011 Unsung Hero Award Committee: Lori Safford, Pelham, 2011 recipient; Kristina Lombard, Manchester, 2010 recipient; Amy Girouard, Concord, 2010 recipient; Jean Rich, Bow, 2008 recipient; Representative Anne Grassie, Rochester, NHCT Board of Directors; Julie Day, NHCT Parent Advocacy Director

Thank you to our sponsor:

Thank you to our giftbag sponsors:

Laconia Savings Bank

Just a Mom?

by Lori Safford, 2010 NHCT Unsung Hero Recipient

Governor Lynch with Lori Safford-2010 Unsung Hero

Last year when I was notified that I had been nominated for and chosen to receive one of NH Children's Trust's Unsung Hero Awards, I was shocked and delighted all at once.

My husband Mike and I have three children. Benjamin is 14, Samuel is 13 and Lydia is 11. When Ben was just a toddler and I learned I was pregnant with Sam, we made the difficult decision for me to leave the workplace and stay home with our children full time. In addition to the financial repercussions on our family budget, I had spent 15 years building a career, so it was a bit of a transition for all of us. Several years later Ben and Sam were diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive muscle wasting disease that usually puts its victims in a wheelchair by the time they are 10 or 12 years of age and takes their lives by the time they are young adults.

Over the years I have come to realize that being a stay-at-home mom is not a walk in the park. My husband's job takes him around the world and as Ben and Sam's care has increased, it has not always been easy to be the one left at home with the children. While climbing the corporate ladder I used to look down on those who left the workplace once they had children. I'm ashamed to say that I remember thinking, "What are they going to do all day, eat bon-bons and watch soap operas?". Wow, was I ever wrong. Being a parent is the most demanding, difficult and rewarding job ever! I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to grow in ways I never could have otherwise. My children have taught me humility, self-sacrificial love and patience. Don't get me wrong, as my husband and children would attest, I still have a long ways to go in all of these areas!

The Safford Family

In today's world where people are often judged on the basis of wealth, position and material possessions, I am so grateful for the NH Children's Trust and Governor Lynch for taking the time to remember the Unsung Heroes in our state who may not get thanked very often for caring for their children. You encourage us to go on through the tough times of parenting. We may not think changing diapers, wiping noses, doing homework, cooking family meals and encouraging our children to become polite, respectful, productive young people is very important, but we are doing what we can to impact the next generation. Thank you NH Children's Trust for reminding us that what we do each day is worthwhile and valuable!

For Christmas I bought our family a Stephen Curtis Chapman CD and the lyrics to this song, "One Heartbeat at a Time" remind me of the encouragement I received from the NH Children's Trust last year; encouragement that empowers me to go on being the best mom I can each day for Ben, Sam and Lydia.

One Heartbeat at a Time by Stephen Curtis Chapman

You're up all night with a screaming baby

You run all day at the speed of life

And every day you feel a little bit less

Like the beautiful woman you are.

So you fall into bed when you run out of hours

And you wonder if anything worth doing got done

Oh, maybe you just don't know

Or maybe you've forgotten.

You, you are changing the world

One little heartbeat at a time

Making history with every touch and every smile

Oh, you, you may not see it now

But I believe that time will tell

How you, you are changing the world

One little heartbeat at a time.

With every, "I know you can do it"

Every tear that you kiss away.

So many little things that seem to go unnoticed,

They're just like drops of rain over time, they become a river.

And you, you are changing the world

One little heartbeat at a time

Making history with every touch and every smile

Oh, you, you may not see it now

But I believe that time will tell

How you, you are changing the world

One little heartbeat at a time.

Concord Regional VNA Parent Friend Program

by Lori Johnson, CRVNA

mom and baby

The Parent Friend Program is a free community service offered to families by the Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association. It services the greater Concord area as well as Hillsboro and its surrounding towns.

Parenting is a challenging undertaking especially in these tough economic times. Parents often struggle in the day to day stresses of life and are more often than not living far away from other family members and support easily making life overwhelming. Having a Parent Friend Home Visitor to share information, provide support, and make connections to community resources is an invaluable tool in assisting families in achieving both their short and long term goals.

The Parent Friend Program recognizes the hard work that all of our parents do on a daily basis to improve their family's situation. We also appreciate that our parents voluntarily seek assistance to reduce their stress and achieve their goals. In an effort to honor their efforts and support Governor Lynch's decision to make February Parent Recognition Month, we presented each of our hardworking families with a $25 gift card for gas or groceries in February 2010. It was our way of letting parents know we applaud their efforts in being the best parents they can be. All of the parents were very appreciative and touched to have us reward them just for what they consider "doing their jobs" but to us is so much more. We look forward to making this an annual event!

The Parent Friend Program is a flexible home visiting program which has no income guidelines for being a participant. Families need only to have at least one child in the home who is age three or under and have goals that they would like help and support with achieving. The program also works with prenatal clients and will continue to work with the family up to the baby's first birthday. Support comes in the form of a weekly home visit from a Parent Friend who works to build a trusting and open relationship with their families so that goals are worked on and completed in a nurturing and comfortable environment. The Parent Friend Home Visitors are well versed in available community resources. We work with our families, on average, for a year so the opportunity exists for many great connections and goals to be achieved.

What Agencies Can Do to Partner with Parents

Create an environment in which parents are comfortable enough to speak and interact.
Speak plainly, avoiding jargon and making sure you are clear about inviting questions or getting feedback.
See interactions with parents as a deliberate dialogue through which the goal is mutual understanding of a problem so that we can take action as a team.
Value and encourage parents to take on leadership roles in order to expand their influence in your organization or practice.

from Meaningful Parent Leadership: A guide for success by: FRIENDS National Resource Center