$1 Billion added to budget for ECE

Retired Generals support ECE

Wavering on ECE could ruin our future 

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                                                      March 2013

The Pinwheels for Prevention campaign is part of a national movement to change the way we think about preventing child abuse and neglect. The campaign promotes healthy child development, positive parenting practices and community action.  

Here in Orange County we are joining the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and would like for your business, school, church, civic group, law enforcement agency or media outlet to participate by "planting a garden" of pinwheels in a visible location on your property for customers to see.  It will serve as a discussion item so that the community can be reminded of the need for child abuse and neglect prevention.

If you would like to participate the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County will provide your organization with 24 pinwheels to plant and a laminated flyer that reads: Kids Are Our Business...Investing in healthy child development leads to a healthy economy. We support activities that provide children in our community with the healthy, safe and nurturing experiences they need for optimal growth and development.

 If you have more questions, please contact Shannette Prince at sprince@elcoc.org or 407-259-2464.

On May 11, 2013, Central Florida Letter Carriers will again help Stamp Out Hunger across America with your help. 

While some pantries have stock piles of food for youth who attend school, infants and toddlers have special food needs, we recommend these Five to Thrive.

Infants:

• Powdered infant milk or soy based formulas (WIC-approved preferred)
• Baby cereal
• Baby fruits (single ingredient preferred)
• Baby vegetables (single ingredient preferred)
• Baby Meats (no meat sticks)

Toddlers:

• Shelf-stable white whole milk for 1 year olds; Shelf-stable 1% (low fat) or skim milk for 2 years olds and up; Shelf-stable soy milk.
• Canned fruits, preferable high in whole grains and low in sugar
• Canned vegetables, preferably packed in juice with no added sugar
• Canned beans such as black, red, pink, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, pigeon peas, garbanzos
• Shelf stable foods designed for toddlers such as Stage 3, Graduates, etc.

Looking for an evening filled with succulent food, non-stop entertainment as well as a lively and mystique ambiance? You must join us at the 3rd annual The First Five Years Gala.

This collaborative fund development event between the Early Learning Coalition of Orange and Osceola Counties showcases why quality early care and education is important and the influence it has on our children during the first five years of their lives - an impact that directly strengthens their future chances for happy, productive and successful lives. 

This year's "Champion for Children" award will go to David Lawrence for his efforts to ensure all children are ready for success upon entering school. 

For every $1 received from supporters match opportunities provide an additional $15.67.  

Please visit www.firstfiveyearsgala.org for more information or contact Nancy James at njames@elcoc.org or 407-377-0508.

Thank you so much for joining the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County for the 3rd annual State of Early Care and Education forum.  We hope you took away several tangibles to introduce our youngest children to early science, technology, engineering and math, as well as, how to keep children engaged once they become interested. 

As mentioned at the forum, we could not have done this without the help of our sponsors Disney, Nemours, Florida Hospital, PNC Bank and Teaching Strategies or our esteemed panelists and moderator Dr. Barbara Bowman, Eva Blum, Mark Hayes or Jeff Day. 

The topic for next year's State of Early Care and Education will be centered around Social Emotional Resilience and addressing mental health needs for our children.

For more information or if you would like to sponsor the event please contact El Cabrel Lee at elee@elcoc.org or 407-259-2468.