So Long Summer, Hello Fall!
Boosting Babies Brains on Day 1!
“As a parent of two little ones under 5 , I’ve seen firsthand the ways nurses, doctors, and hospital staff work to support bonds between newborns and their parents. The offerings in the Brain Bags will nurture those connections far beyond their stay at the hospital.”
Starting this fall, Sarasota Memorial Hospital will send parents home with a special gift to promote early brain development.
After delivering their baby at SMH, new moms and dads will get a Brain Development Bag. The brain bag concept, developed by Studer Institute, Pensacola, includes tangible items families can use to track development, and brain boosting activities families can do with their children. Sarasota County Libraries, a key partner in the initiative, has donated a book for each new baby’s library at home. Another key component includes the hospital Mother Baby, Pediatric and NICU nurses educating new parents on their infant’s brain development prior to discharge. Parents will be encouraged to sign up for The Basics text messaging service, which provides twice weekly tips to help parents boost the quality of interactions they have with their children and promote brain growth.
HUGE thank you to initiative steering committee members, Mary O’Connor and Pam Beitlich, for leading this innovative project and collaboration.
Register for Upcoming Events
Resilient Retreat Trauma Trainings
Reminder that registration is still OPEN for the Resilient Retreat Trauma Informed Care trainings, sponsored by First 1000 Days Suncoast, click here to register! Join us virtually from the comfort of your own office/home, for an hour once a month, to learn more about ways to help support families in our community while also taking care of yourself.
There will be two tracks, clinical and non-clinical, and two opportunities to attend each training series. The first series, beginning October 12th, is non-clinical. Non-clinical includes any professionals that are not licensed mental health or healthcare providers, community volunteers, or parents in the community. See below for the calendar of events.
**The clinical series will start January 2022 in the evenings. We are planning to offer free continuing education credits to healthcare and mental health professionals.
No Small Matter Viewing & Discussion Panel
The Florida Campaign for Grade Level Reading is sponsoring screenings of the documentary, No Small Matter, a powerful and impactful film to get families and their children, as well as educators to "give children a head start in Literacy and Learning".
Watch separately, discuss together: The plan is to have everyone virtually view the 1 hr. 14 minute video over a 2-day window of time, followed by a virtual community conversation for all. (Date and time TBA.)
Click here to view the trailer and email Shelly Dorfman at nosmallmatterdocumentary@gmail.com to inform her of your organization's interest in participating in this important initiative. Your experience and passion are what we need!
Nurturing Dads
Children First Nurturing Dads class is holding a FREE 10-week course for new, expecting, married or single dads. The Nurturing Father’s Program is structured to provide fathers with experiences that allow the self new cognitive (thinking) and affective (feeling) responses, thus providing the opportunity to change parenting attitudes and behaviors. As a result, program participants can choose to reshape and relearn fathering, to let go of old fathering practices that do not bring desired results and to adopt new nurturing ones that achieve the established goals. The growth in self-concept and self-esteem can lead to more nurturing, rewarding relationships with children, spouses/co-parents, and other family members. Therefore, The Nurturing Fathers Program is created on an experiential learning model, which provides activities that stimulate thinking and feeling in a supportive group atmosphere.
Classes start October 6th, and will occur every Wednesday or Thursday from 6:30pm-8:00pm (10 TOTAL virtual sessions via zoom)
Contact Jack Baker at (941) 953-5507 ext. 1127 or email jbaker@childrenfirst.net to learn more.
Virtual Teen Support Group
Kabod Counseling offers support groups to females ranging from ages 12-16 years of age. Through peer support, teens will have the opportunity to push themselves and each other to flourish beyond their current situations. Support groups fosters healing, a sense of identity and belongingness through building safe, secure, and respectful relationships within a community of teen girls.
FREE Virtual Support Groups are held every Tuesday at 6pm.
Click here to register and learn more!
Angel Tree Program
There will be three locations in Sarasota County where families can access Angel Tree by appointment (See links below).
Please review instructions and the required items to apply. Documents must be original, no copies.
All families will need to sign up for an in person appointment through Signup Genius. They will also be able to find the application and any documents they need through the links below.
SARASOTA Residents: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/salvationarmy-sarasota-angeltree
VENICE Residents: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/salvationarmy-venice-angeltree
NORTH PORT Residents: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/salvationarmy-northport-angeltree
Partner Spotlight
Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center
Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center continues to be a fantastic and supportive partner of First 1,000 Days Suncoast. In addition to actively and quickly responding to Unite Us referrals sent from the community, they have been leaders in many of the projects of First 1000 Days. Jennifer Carey, CEO of Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center, is a co-chair on the Professional Development workgroup and was instrumental in the development of the recommendation for a region-wide training on Trauma Informed Care. The entire SMPC team continues to work collaboratively with many community partners to bring programs, services, and classes to their facility for parents to enjoy all the resources they need in a comfortable and inviting environment. Shelley Rence, Natalie Cava, and Linda Wenck have worked closely with First 1,000 Days and are always brainstorming unique ways to help pregnant women in our region. Their organization also coordinated focus groups for new and/or expectant parents, where the initiative learned about the dreams and aspirations for families and children. We appreciate all of you and look forward to future collaborations together.
Glasser Schoenbaum Health & Human Services Center
The Glasser team continues to be instrumental in the work of the initiative. Kameron Hodgens, CEO, sits on the initiative’s Steering Committee. Kameron continues to promote the use of Unite Us, assists with community connections, and has brainstormed many strategic ideas on partnerships and collaborations. Her team has also been a key piece of the success of the initiative, Charlene, Kameron, and Chris have been involved in a variety of workgroups and activities. Chris Russi was also co-chair of the Professional Development workgroup and helped with the Resilient Retreat Trauma Training recommendation. Thank YOU Glasser!
Calls-To-Action
We welcome you to be a part of the initiative. Partnerships are key to innovation and we believe you can help! See below for ways to get involved:
Share the Sarasota County Prenatal Care Survey so we can learn about the barriers pregnant women face in accessing care in our community. Click here to access the link. There will be $20 gift cards given to five lucky winners.
Sign-up for the monthly newsletters, schedule a meet and greet with the team, and/or join a community workgroup by e-mailing first1000days@smh.com
Join Unite Us! To attend an information session, click here and/or e-mail our Unite Florida Community Engagement Manager, Stephanie Harris, at stephanie.harris@uniteus.com
Print First 1,000 Days fliers by clicking here and provide to all pregnant women and families with young children.
“Like” and “follow” the First 1,000 Days Suncoast Facebook and Instagram Pages and share relevant content on your organization’s page.
Care to Share?
We would love to help share information about any events within your organization. Send any content you would like in our monthly newsletter by the second Wednesday of every month for it to be included. Please email first1000days@smh.com with the exact content and images you would like displayed.