Paul Szmal: Welcome back to FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio. It's 816 and joining me now it's Julie Champion from Child and Family Resources. Good morning, Julie. How are you this morning?
Julie Champion: Good morning, Paul. I'm good, thanks.
Paul Szmal: Excellent, excellent. I thought we'd start off by talking about what I think is a really neat thing that Healthy Families of Ontario, Yates and Seneca has put together and it's called a Community Baby Shower. Can you kind of shed some light on this for us?
Julie Champion: Sure can. Our Healthy Families program, which we've had about 20 years now, offers a annual baby shower and we've arranged it so that every county we have a community baby shower so any expected parent can pick one of the dates, register and come join us and we set up a bunch of partners, vendor tables so that they can learn about resources in their community that will support them as they welcome their new baby.
Paul Szmal: And I imagine that this was set up because there is a need for such a thing.
Julie Champion: Oh, most definitely. More and more, you know, over the years it's obvious when you have a new baby they don't come with instructions. And a lot of folks might be living far away from their support system, you know, relocating here, or they might not have much of a support system. So this program really is designed to work hand in hand with the parents on what to expect, child development, the whole prenatal care and connecting them to medical services. So it really is something that we design to support parents.
Paul Szmal: And, you know, I can imagine too that parents that maybe don't have access to all of the materials that are being offered in this baby shower for them, it's kind of an overwhelming prospect to have a newborn baby.
Julie Champion: Yes, it is. And we want to help ease that fear and help them become more comfortable with their new role. And I will say that, you know, because of a lot of the generosity and some local partners and some various grants that we've received, we're able to fill diaper bags full of resources and supplies for families. We have some great raffles and we have, of course, food and beverages for everyone. But I think the big part is that families really get to network and see what's out there. So they know where to go when they get that panicky feeling when they're about to have that baby.
Paul Szmal: I'm sure it helps as well for expectant parents or parents of newborns to be able to meet and talk to people that are going through the same thing.
Julie Champion: Yes, exactly. Peer support is critical. And when you have someone to talk it over with and share experiences, it's a little comforting to know that you're not alone.
Paul Szmal: And you mentioned there is one for each county. So there's actually three different locations, three different dates for these community baby showers.
Julie Champion: That is correct. Our first one is going to be in Yates County, and that's Saturday, April 26th from 10 a.m. to 1130 a.m. And that one is going to be located at Penny Inn Academy in the cafeteria. And our second is Saturday, June 28th at the same time, 10 a.m. to 1130 a.m. at the Seneca Falls Community Center. And the third is going to be Saturday, August 23rd from 10 a.m. to 1130 a.m. at the Wood Library in Canandaigua.
Paul Szmal: Okay. How do people register for these, by the way?
Julie Champion: We have a couple options. They can use a call or text Sarah at 315-412-4527. We also have information available on our website where there's a link in a registration form. Or if you happen to see any of our flyers, we have those all over the place. And we have QR codes that folks can just scan with their phone and sign up to attend.
Paul Szmal: Julie Champion from Child and Family Resources joining us here on FLX Morning. You're getting ready for National Provider Appreciation Day as well coming up on May 9th. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Julie Champion: Yes, I'd love to. For many, many years, we've celebrated National Provider Appreciation Day. It's typically the Friday before Mother's Day. And what it does is it recognizes child care providers, teachers, and educators of young children who oftentimes go unnoticed. It's the folks that work in a daycare center, at a Head Start, or someone who might run a family child care home out of their own residence. And it really is to help say thank you to them for all of their support, and time, and the education role they play with our very young children.
Paul Szmal: Well said. And an excellent idea to be able to celebrate those people and show them a little bit of encouragement, a little bit of kindness, and a lot of gratitude.
Julie Champion: Yes. I mean, saying thank you goes a long way. Everyone wants to be appreciated. And some of these staff, especially in home-based programs, they're working 12-hour days, and they're caring for the youngest population. And it takes a lot of energy, and a lot of dedication, and determination to care for young children that long, and not be exhausted at the end of the day, or stressed, or whatnot. So we really would like to recognize the fact that it's a tough job in a child care setting. And we want them to know that they're not forgotten. And we encourage parents to show their appreciation, whether it's something as simple as a handwritten thank you, or a kind word, or an awesome cup of coffee that they know they might love. But they know their provider, and they'll know what they might appreciate. So we encourage parents to think about their providers.
Paul Szmal: And sometimes providers are also educators, and the annual Child Care Educators Conference is coming up on June 14th.
Julie Champion: Yes. We are first in collaboration with Geneva 2030, and it's going to be held at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. It's a full day from 8.30 to 3.30, and any child care educator can register for the day. We have a keynote speaker in the morning, and a selection of workshops, two workshop sessions, and they can choose from four different topic areas each session. So for $40, providers can get five hours of training that actually meets their registration and licensing requirements.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. And this is, as Julie says, a full day. It runs from 8.30 until 3.30. Lunch is included. Some of the session choices include supporting children through challenging behaviors, or dealing with challenging behaviors and centers, nourishing healthy eaters, and early childhood education, and plenty of other topics that really run the gamut that a child care or a child educator is going to be facing at one point or another.
Julie Champion: Yes, very much so. And again, just like earlier, we talked about parents being able to connect with each other. Events like this are awesome for the child care profession to connect with each other and be able to meet and talk about their experiences in working with children all day.
Paul Szmal: And how do people register for this? I know it's a little bit different. You can go to the website, but there's also a different phone number specifically related to this particular conference.
Julie Champion: Yes, they can call 315-536-1134 if they have any questions. Again, on our website, we do have the QR code as well as a registration link, and there's a form they can fill out. And then we can discuss with them options for payment for the fee and any other questions they might have.
Paul Szmal: And again, the general website if you want to find out more information about the Child Care Educators Conference or anything that we've talked about with Julie this morning is cfresources.org. That's cfresources.org.
Julie, as always, a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you for sharing.
Julie Champion: Thank you, Paul. We'll see you next month.
Paul Szmal: All right, it's 825 on FLX Morning.
