Newspaper Page Text
July 2, 2008
NEW HORIZONS
PAGE 7
Building a future
C
lose your eyes and
imagine what the
future holds
for Georgia’s
children,
families and communi
ties. Do you see children
completing high school
with the knowledge and
skills necessary to suc
ceed in life? Do you see
young adults establish
ing themselves
McLendon
in the workforce Monroe County Family Connection
By Lisa
Choosing the Best - Choosing
your Soul Mate Program. This is
an abstinence based pro
gram that also addresses
relationships and mak
ing solid decisions as
teen’s transition into
adulthood. The
Pregnancy Center coor
dinates community vol
unteers to present the
material.
The School
Attendance
for our children
before starting
their families?
Do you see families taking
responsibility for the economic
growth and success of their com
munities? Leaders from our state
shared this vision 15 years ago
when they pioneered building a
statewide community based sup
port system to improve results for
Georgia’s children, families and
communities. That support sys
tem became Georgia Family
Connection Partnership (GAFCP).
Today, Family Connection is a
statewide network of 159 county
collaboratives comprised of com
munity partners that include fam
ilies, local business, and civic
leaders, local elected officials,
faith based and school based
organizations, and public/private
human service providers. Each
collaborative coordinates a plan
ning process that identifies com
munity needs and resources, sets
goals and priorities, evaluates
strategies and practices, and
measures and reports results for
their community. FCP is the sup
porting state intermediary that
links more than 3,000 partners
throughout the network, builds
the capacity of partners and
leverages resources.
This past year showcased many
activities for Monroe County
Family Connection. Choosing the
Best, an abstinence education
program is presented to the
eighth grade students at William
Hubbard, Bank Stephens Middle
School and Monroe Academy. The
classes are presented by the
Pregnancy Center and Monroe
County Health Department. The
Seniors at Mary Persons High
School were presented the
Councils’ purpose
is to work with the parents of
children who have missed 9 or
more unexcused absences from
school. The parents meet with
representatives from various
social services to create a case
plan to ensure the child attends
school on a regular basis. This
council operates under the
Juvenile Court and the case plan
becomes a court order. Since the
council has been in operation, all
schools in Monroe County have
seen an increase in student atten
dance.
Monroe Reads, which is affiliat
ed with the Ferst Foundation
Childhood Literacy is a a program
that provides books on a monthly
basis to registered children of
Monroe County who are between
the ages of birth and five. There
is no cost to the parents; there
fore, funding is dependent on
donations from organizations,
businesses and private donors.
Monroe L.I.F.T. (Learning Is
Fun Together) After School
Program is housed at William
Hubbard and Bank Stephens
Middle Schools. Partnering with
the Monroe County Board of
Education, MCFC wrote and
received the 21st Century
Community Learning Center
grant. The grant is a wonderful
opportunity for the middle school
children to receive additional aca
demic support and enrichment
activities. The program begins
with academic support, a time for
homework and ends with an hour
dedicated to enrichment activi
ties. The enrichment activities
involve youth development, recre
ation, life skills, and arts enrich
ment. The focus of the enrichment
portion is to offer the kids skills
that they will carry on into adult
hood. We have had representa
tives from the community come
and speak on nutrition, banking,
to even car repair. Another aspect
of the program is family literacy.
The parents or care givers of the
students can participate in litera
cy programs that have ranged
from nutrition, wills and estate
planning and parents with power.
Teen S.E.R.T. (Student
Emergency Response Training) is
a program that is presented to
students at Mary Persons High
School. Students go through sev
eral weeks of training on basic
first aide, leadership and how to
organize a disaster area. After
the classroom instruction is com
pleted, the students put their
newly gained skills to work by
participating in a Mock Disaster
Drill. The drill is very realistic
with student volunteers acting as
victims from minor injuries to
death.
In order for any community to
be successful, we must foster rela
tionships with our community
resources and citizens. Without
these relationships, Monroe
County Family Connection would
not realize the success we have
seen. We will begin the process of
conducting a Community
Assessment later this summer.
This is an excellent opportunity
for you to share your views on
identified areas. If you would like
to become involved, please contact
our office at 994-7981.
, 1 (■««!'
45 W. Johnston St. * Forsyth, GA * 478-994-2991
• Garden Supplies
• Plants & Seeds
• Fertilizer
• Worms, Crickets
FEEDS
^ Nutrena
Godfrey
& Hi Tek Rations David White - Owner
Spray Your Yards
with Rabon for Ticks
Open Until 5pm or Wed