Disc Golf

One of the joys of working with youth is getting to share your interests with them.  The grounds at Board of Child Care are perfect for disc golf.  Given one of the staff’s passion for the game, over the past school year, many of the students have learned to play disc golf.

A few of the students, in spite of the limited, very mediocre instruction they have received, have shown themselves to have the potential to be good to very good disc golfers.

For those readers who are unfamiliar with disc golf, it is very similar to golf but played with discs (Frisbees).  Instead of getting the ball into a cup the disc is thrown into a basket.  In the same way a traditional golfer uses a number of different clubs to get the ball from the tee to the cup, a disc golfer uses a number of different discs each designed with a specific purpose to get the disc from the tee to the basket.  There are drivers, midrange discs and putters.  Unlike traditional golf, most disc golf courses are free and a set of discs can run under $30 compared to hundreds of dollars or more for a set of clubs.

On April 9th, we were lucky enough to have Travis Foreman, a professional disc golf player, come to Board of Child Care to run a disc golf clinic for the kids.

As part of the clinic, Travis was able to get Gateway Discs to sponsor the event.  Each participant received a number of golf discs courtesy of Gateway Discs.  Travis also gave away disc golf bags to three residents who won a putting contest.

At the clinic, Travis did a few demonstrations of his abilities and then patiently taught the residents about the different types of discs and how to throw them.

The residents then got to practice throwing the different types of discs at baskets set at multiple distances.

The clinic ended with a modified game of disc golf using two of the portable baskets Travis brought with him.

All of the kids who attended had a great time!   So much so that the following Saturday, six of the residents and their staff went to the disc golf course at Poor House Farms to play their first round of disc golf on a real course.

Travis had such a good time that he offered to come back if another clinic was desired and he donated 24 of his own discs to ensure that the residents had all of the discs they needed to play a serious game of disc golf.We look forward to many future outings to disc golf courses in the area!

 

 

 

 

 

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A Day in Spring at BCC

Come one come all and join BCC for a fun-filled day at BCC!

April 23, 2017

12:00PM – 2:00PM

[Rain or Shine]

Welcome Center
3300 Gaither Road
Baltimore, MD 21244 (Map)

Youth and their families are invited to join BCC for a fun celebration together on campus. Lunch will be provided.

RSVP’s are required!
Simply email your assigned Case Manager with names of everyone who wishes to attend.

Not sure who your case manager is?  Call 410-922-2100 to be connected to the right person.

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You Changed Ricky’s Life

December 2016

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Dear Friends,

I am writing to share the story of young boy named Ricky that lived at the Board of Child Care (BCC).

I am delighted to share that today, Ricky is off of all social welfare programs, graduated from high school, and is successfully living with his family.

Because of your previous support, you changed Ricky’s life.

Ricky is just one example of our mission in action: enriching communities, one family at a time.

 Ricky learned skills for living through a therapeutic environment. He attended group and individual therapy, met with a psychiatrist routinely, worked with his social worker, and grew up at BCC to become a smart and confident young man. Ricky is just one of the many reunification stories we have to share with you. 

Will you please consider making a year-end gift so that we can continue to share more of these stories with you? A gift of $250, $100, $50, or $25 will help our current program participants continue treatment.

Wishing you and your loved ones have a very happy and healthy New Year!

 

Warmly,

la-signature
Laurie Anne Spagnola
President & CEO

PS. If you are inspired by our story please feel free to share on your social media site.

 

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If you wish to make a credit card gift by year-end, please visit our website: boardofchildcare.org/donate before 11:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on 12/31. Please do not leave any credit card information in a voice message or in an email. The last day to make a gift of over the phone, a gift of stock or an IRA transfer is December 30th. For assistance with any of these please call our Development Office 410-922-2100 x 5430. Bequests can be done during normal business hours via phone any time of the year. Our offices will be closed on December 31st, so please make your gift online. 

A copy of our current financial statement is available upon written request to Board of Child Care 3300 Gaither Rd., Baltimore, MD 21244 or by phone at 410-922-2100. The documents are also available online at guidestar.org.

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WV programs partner with Blue Ridge Community Technical College

blue-ridge-community-technical-college-tutorsStudent tutors helping BCC youth in both Martinsburg locations

BCC’s West Virginia programs have partnered with Blue Ridge Community and Technical College (Blue Ridge CTC) to provide tutors for youth served by BCC.

Blue Ridge CTC student tutors are education majors who are taking a class that requires at least ten hours of face-to-face experience with at-risk youth. The Blue Ridge CTC students will provide one to two hours tutoring weekly from October through December. Cumulatively over 200 hours of tutoring will be provided for the approximately 25 young adults living at BCC’s WV programs.

This is the first partnership between BCC and Blue Ridge CTC. Orientation for the 18 Blue Ridge CTC student tutors took place September 26 at BCC. The student tutors received a tour of the campus and an overview of the therapy and programing offered by BCC.

“It is absolutely wonderful to have tutors coming in to help our youth,” said Jackie Columbia, Director of WV Operations for BCC. “We hope that Blue Ridge CTC will make tutoring at BCC part of the curriculum each year. It is such a wonderful resource for our youth especially so early in the school year. It really gives them some momentum and confidence heading into the second semester.”

BCC has two program locations in Martinsburg, WV and both serve foster care youth in WV. On the larger campus, youth live and go to school on the property. At the group homes, youth attend public school during the day. Blue Ridge CTC student tutors will volunteer at both program locations.

Official press release is available here.

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Stronger Together

BCC staff share best practices and lessons learned

On October 6, 2016, BCC’s Director of Training, Monte Ephraim LCSW-C, and Shawn Elbert, BCC’s Baltimore Spiritual Life Coordinator, represented the Board of Child Care by presenting at the 36th Annual MARFY Conference.

shawn-elbert-presents-at-marfy-conference-2006MARFY stands for the Maryland Association of Resources and Families. The annual conference, this year held in Ocean City, MD, brought together human service and mental health professionals from all over the region.

The title of the presentation was:

Outside Resources for Internal Benefits; 
The Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit

Participant were introduced to The Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (CWTTT), which is an evidence-based toolkit designed to teach basic knowledge, skills, and values about working with children who are in the child welfare system and who have experienced traumatic events.

The toolkit teaches strategies for using trauma-informed child welfare practice to enhance the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families who are involved in the child welfare system. Participants had an opportunity to review the toolkit and the applicable benefits to their own work. The presentation also discussed how to infuse trauma-informed care into an organization and make it a focus for each staff working with youth.

Shawn and Monte will be also be presenting at the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) Conference on October 27th. Their session will focus on Mental Health First Aid, of which Shawn and Monte are certified trainers.

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BCC Spotlight: Ashley Hunt, Early Learning Program Teacher

ashley-hunt-board-of-child-careHunt is a born and raised Washington, D.C. native with a passion for working with young children. She received her associate’s degree in child development from Southeastern University. Hunt became a teacher in 2006 at BCC’s Early Learning Program (Washington, D.C.).

Q. Have you always known you wanted to work with young children?
A. Absolutely. In high school, I was a tutor in an aftercare program, and from them on always had a passion to work with young children. When I graduated from Southeastern, I went to work at a childcare center right away. Four years later, I joined BCC and have been here ever since.

Q. DC uses a mixed income model in its classrooms. How does that work?
A. A little over half of the children at the DC ELP are utilizing a voucher from the District of Columbia to cover tuition. The remainder of the families pay privately. I really like this model because it encourages an exchange of culture. Traditions such as clothing, language, and observed holidays all shine through in the classroom. It is a special moment when you see that the kids are learning from each other.

Q. You mentioned you had a “shadow” with you from day one. Who was following you around?
A. My first day at BCC was also the first day for an adorable little one-year-old toddler. I just so happened to be the first person she met when she came to the center. She must have seen my “I’m new here too” glow because she followed me around all the time after that!

Q. Leaving their parents is tough for some children. What do you do to help them adjust?
A. You absolutely need to be compassionate and remember that every child will adjust differently. The DC program serves kids from six weeks up through five year olds, but all of them need a lot of nurturing at this stage in their lives.

ashley-hunt-in-her-classroomQ. How have early learning programs changed since you graduated from school?
A. I think the whole industry of childcare is changing and I am glad to be at a place where an actual curriculum is used. [Ed. Note: the curriculum the DC ELP uses is called the Creative Curriculum]. I learn a lot from it. I like all the ideas it gives me for how to manage my classroom and the actual resource cards, books, and learning tools are great. I also recently attended Quality Improvement Network’s (QIN) almost yearlong training in early childhood development and really took a lot away from that.

[Ed. Note: The Quality Improvement network is a consortium of early learning providers in DC working to improve access to quality early childhood education. Ashely completed eight, 3-hour sessions over the past year that were offered by QIN. Some of the modules covered included classroom management strategies and student-teacher interaction techniques.]

Q. We heard you took away more than a certificate of completion after the QIN training. What was it?
A. I was honored to be selected by my fellow classmates as the winner of the “QIN Spirit” award!

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