LBWDC supports families every step of the way!

Dreams Happen…at Low Birth Weight Development Center

New Board Trustee Officers Announced:

Board President:

Cesar Rea

Vice President:

Dr. Roy Heyne

Treasurer: (not pictured)

Sandra Norris

Secretary:

Liz Heyne

October 2010

Volume 2, Issue 1

Footprints

Important Dates:

Tuesday, Oct. 12th from 1-2pm—Staff Potluck Lunch-eon

Tuesday, Oct. 19th from 3-5pm—Monthly Parent Meeting

Thursday, Oct. 21st from 6-8pm—Oak Cliff Young Profes-sional Mixer

Thursday, Oct. 28th from 6-8pm—Policy council Meeting at CCG

Inside this issue:

Parent Policy Council 2

Parent Education 2

Community News 3

Safety Month Activi-ties

3

Employee of the Month

4

Sponsor a Child 4

Only as high as I reach can I

grow, only as far as I seek can I

go, only as deep as I look can I

see, only as much as I dream

can I be.

- Karen Ravn -

Everyone is a dreamer...

Every dreamer is a believer…

Every believer is an opportu-

nity…

Opportunity is LBWDC.

We are: Life. Support.

ESL -

ESL 1 - Mon, Tues, Wed

10-11 am

ESL 2—Mon, Tues, Wed

11-12 noon

Calumet Community Center

See Mark for registration

GED- El Centro, Downtown

Call 214-824-2000 for info

Free Parent Education Classes

Read with Me—KERA program

for parents to help provide oppor-

tunities for reading with your kids

Tues and Thurs at 3pm

At LBWDC

Instructor—Mark Morales

Computer Classes

Basics of Microsoft Office

Excel

PowerPoint

Typing

Email/job search

Wednesdays m– 9:30-11am

At LBWDC

LBWDC is actively seeking a

parent representative for the

Parent Policy Council. Parent

Policy Council meets on the

fourth Thursday of each month

from 6-8pm. This group is

made up of parents from Early

Head Start and Head Start

Schools under the ChildCare-

Group umbrella. LBWDC is

one of those centers.

There is childcare available for

all age children and dinner is

provided for both children and

adults. There is also reim-

bursement for mileage.

These meetings are an inte-

gral part of our center opera-

tions. Through these meet-

ings, parents interact with

staff and shape the policies

and activities of the center.

Parents have a voice in how

the programs work and what

policies need to look like. We

need your help and input in

order to make the program fit

the needs of our families.

Simply go to the meetings,

participate in discussions

and bring back information to

our parents.

Please contact Mark if you

are interested or would like

more information. The next

meeting is Thursday, Oct.

28th at 6pm at the Child-

CareGroup Office.

We Need You… for Parent Policy Council

Read with Me continues; with a

twist!!

During the month of October, we

are having a contest to see which

class can get the most books read

by parents and children.

Each family will be given a bag-

gie with bookworm cutouts, mark-

ers and crayons to take home.

Please check out books from the

library, take them home and read

with your child. For each book

read, decorate a bookworm, write

the title of the book in a circle and

hang it on the classroom door.

The class with the most book-

worms gets a pizza party!!!

Happy reading!

Fall festival is Friday, October

29th from 3-5pm. Children and

parents may dress if you would

like. Get ready for some fun:

Pinatas

Games and Prizes

Pumpkin Painting

Cookie Decorating

Face Painting

Ask the teachers how you can

help!!! Last Year’s Fun!!!

Page 2 Footprints

Family Fun

Register for classes

by contacting mark

Morales at

mmorales@lowbirth

weight.org or call

214-467-2800.

The Oak Cliff Young Profes-

sionals Group will have their

monthly mixer at LBWDC on

Thursday, October 21 at 6pm.

This is a group of young busi-

ness professionals interested

in helping the community.

This group holds an annual

toy drive for LBWDC and sup-

ports our programs throughout

the year.

Teen Parenting Program:

As the selected provider of

teen parenting Assistance for

the City of Dallas, LBWDC

delivers outreach, education

and prevention classes to 7

DISD schools each month.

Since January 2010, we have

provided services to almost

110 teens in high school and

provided childcare to 22 chil-

dren while their teen moms

remained in school.

We have developed a smok-

ing cessation program in con-

junction with March of Dimes

for teens and pregnant moms.

LBWDC has been selected from

more than 2700 other agencies

to be a finalist in the American

Marketing Associations ―Best

Tagline Contest.‖ Our new tag-

line is Life.Support.

It represents what LBWDC

wants to provide for our families

and the community. We are

there to provide the support,

whatever it may look like, to

help our families reach their full

potential.

Whether it is improved parenting

skills, continued education or a

healthier child—we help Dreams

Happen.

Community News

October is Fire, Pedestrian and School Bus Safety Month

alarms contain an alarm signal

device within them.

School Bus Safety Week is

October 18-22.

When you are waiting for the

school bus, you should wait at

the bus stop, and stand well

back from the curb.

When you get off the bus:

Look to the rear of the bus

before you step off the bottom

step. Our friends at the Pupil

Transportation Safety Institute

tell us that more and more

motorists are passing stopped

school buses on the right

shoulder - where the door is.

Take (five giant steps) straight

out the bus door, and out of

the danger zone.

Make sure you have eye con-

tact with the driver, and wait

for the driver to signal you

before you cross in front of the

bus.

Never go back for anything

you have left on the bus.

Never bend down near or un-

der the bus.

Walking near school:

When school is opening in the

morning and closing in the

afternoon, it is a busy and

crowded area.

There are children being

dropped off or picked up by

both school buses and par-

ents.

It is important to look carefully

to the left, right and left again

if you have to cross the street.

If you must walk through

parked traffic, stop and look

carefully before stepping out

from between vehicles.

Remember the danger areas

around school buses where

the driver can't see you.

Don't run between parked cars

and buses.

Pedestrian Safety Training

To comply with Federal regu-

lations and to help keep fami-

lies safe, we will be providing

every family with specific train-

ing required by Head Start.

Mark will contact you to give

you training packets and set

up times to meet with you.

We must verify your comple-

tion of this training with a sign

in sheet.

More information will be sent

home with you very soon.

October 3rd, start the begin-

ning of Fire Prevention

Week.

The theme of Fire prevention

week this year is Smoke

Alarms: A Sound You Can

Live With! It is important to

know the difference between

smoke alarms and smoke

detectors. Smoke detectors

are hard wired into a fire alarm

system panel, while smoke

Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 1

October is Chil-

dren’s Health

Month.

This month, each

child will need to

have their lead lev-

els checked through

a finger prick.

Dental Screenings

will be scheduled

onsite. Dates to be

announced.

All children’s re-

cords will be

checked to make

sure immunizations,

well—checks and

screenings are up to

date.

Monthly Parent

Meeting

Tuesday, October

19th from 3-5pm.

At LBWDC. Food

and childcare will be

provided. This is a

great way to get

your volunteer hours

and learn more

about our programs.

We will have a

speaker presenting

financial education

information. Other

topics include: car

safety and transi-

tions.

345 Calumet Ave Dallas, TX 75211

214-467-2800 jbordner@lowbirthweight.org

Employee of the Month

Robert Dominguez

Once in a lifetime, you get the opportunity to

meet people that make you a better person by

just being around them. Robert has that effect.

Above and Beyond is the norm for him. We are

truly blessed to have him be a part of the

LBWDC family. Please take a moment to con-

gratulate him on a job well done!!!!!

All donations are tax

deductible. We rely on

donations from our

friends to help us make

Dreams Happen!!

Please contact Janie

Bordner at 214-467-

2800 or jbord-

ner@lowbirthweight.org

if you wish to make a

donation.

For a donation of $1000

you can sponsor 4 chil-

dren for an entire year.

This is just $83 per

month.

$83 per month gives 4

children the opportunity

to reach their full poten-

tial, to get an early head

start on learning and to

dream. At the National

Head Start Association

dinner on Sept. 22,

Lucille O’Neal spoke as a

parent and and talked

about how thankful she

was that her four chil-

dren, including NBA star

Shaquille, had the oppor-

tunity to attend Head

Start. That’s dreaming

BIG!

Volunteers Needed:

We have a huge need for volun-

teers and groups to help. Oppor-

tunities include:

Building and grounds maintenance

Computer Instructors

Infant playground design and con-

struction

Storage shed purchase and as-

sembly

Please contact Janie Bordner if

you are interested in volunteering.

Don’t be surprised if it changes

your life.

Sponsor a Child this Holiday Season

W E ARE ON THE W EB!

W WW . LOW BIRTHW EIGHT . ORG

Life.Support.

Guests having fun on the Cata-

maran Cruise benefiting

LBWDC.