See what is happening in St. Clair County for our families and children.
Great Start Parent Coalition Meeting
Are you a parent of a child 0-12 years old?  Would you like to have more say in what is happening for our children in St. Clair County?  Join the Great Start Parent Coalition and meet with other parents and caregivers committed to ensuring the well being of St. Clair County's youngest children.  The Parent Coalition works to raise awareness and support for early childhood programming in the community.

Please join us for the next meeting on February 14th from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Blue Water YMCA.  Please RSVP (for child care and food count) to Jennifer Gunderson, Parent Liaison, at (810)455-4443 or gunderson.jennifer@sccresa.org.
There is a new page on the Great Start website dedicated to community events.  If you know of any events coming up in St. Clair County you can fill out a form and have it added to our community calendar.  Visit the Great Start website for more information.

Visit the Great Start website to see the community calendar with upcoming events.



Great Parents, Great Start
Great Parents, Great Start has four free resource centers for St. Clair County families of children ages 0-5.  Early Learning Groups are held at each center though out the week.   Visit Great Start's website for more information.

Great Start to Quality Resource Center
The Great Start to Quality Resource Center provides a variety of resources for parents, guardians and child care providers throughout the state of Michigan.  For child care resources visit Great Start CONNECT.

Great Start Readiness Program
Register your 4 year old today for the FREE GSRP program in your area.  Visit St. Clair County RESA's website for more information.
Riley Alley
Great Start Collaborative Director
(810)455-4397
alley.riley@sccresa.org

Jennifer Gunderson
Great Start Parent Liaison
(810)455-4443
gunderson.jennifer@sccresa.org

Lending Library

In collaboration with the Great Start to Quality Resource Center, your St. Clair Great Start is housing a lending library of early childhood resources.  This Lending Library, located at St. Clair RESA’s Great Start Family Center!  The library is free of charge to child care professionals and parents and is a fun, easy, and convenient way to enhance the experiences for children birth to 5 years.  For more information, or to make an appointment to view the available resources, please contact Riley Alley at 810-455-4397.

Mission:

St. Clair County will have a coordinated system of community resources and supports to assist all our families in providing a great start for children from birth through age five.

Vision:

Every child in St. Clair County will have a great start in life.  They will be safe, healthy, and eager to succeed in school and in life.

Community Wide Baby Shower

The Great Start Collaborative is partnering with local agencies and organizations to put on the 23nd Annual Community Baby Shower.  Held at Woodland Developmental Center, the Baby Shower offeres an evening of education, snacks, gifts and fun.  Expectant mothers and fathers throughout the county have an opportunity to speak to various vendors which included hospitals, agencies, sales reps, and more.  We are excited to announce that this years baby shower will take place on Wednesday March 20, 2013, from 5-8:30p.m. To register for the shower, go to the Great Start website and open the Community Baby Shower tab.

Great Start News


Community Baby Shower

Are you pregnant?  Do you know someone who is?  St. Clair County offers a FREE baby shower to all expectant mothers living in St. Clair County.  There are no income guidelines, qualifications or restrictions.  "We want every mother to have a wonderful experience and enjoy a beautiful baby shower put on by community agencies and organizations." says Great Start Collaborative Director, Riley Alley. 

"We have been working hard to create some extra touches with our new seating layout, interactive speaker presentations and a more relaxed "baby shower feel" as we strive to create a memorable experience for our expectant mothers." says Jennifer Smith, Chair of the Community Baby Shower Committee.

For more information or to register, visit the Great Start Website.

News from Great Start to Quality

Nearly 7,000 people have visited www.greatstartCONNECT.org since December 17 when the first Great Start to Quality  4-Star and 5-Star ratings were posted.  More than half of those visitors (3,612 out of 6,647) were new to the site.

Great Start to Quality Logo

The ratings make the online database for finding quality child care and preschool even more valuable to parents and providers alike.  Parents can easily see which programs and providers offer the best care for their child.  And programs and providers can have their quality verified and publicized on the site.

Spurred by the quality ratings, the most recent visitor numbers put www.greatstartCONNECT.org on track to surpass the number of Michigan families - 50,000 - that used the site last year to find child care and preschool.  This is good news for Michigan's young children and reflects the experience in other states that a public rating system raises the demand for quality child care and preschool.


Help Spread the Word and Win

Great Start is only as successful as the people who help support it.  We need more people like you to know about Great Start and the wonderful things we do for children.  For the month of February we will be running a contest to have more people sign up for our monthly newsletter.  Tell your friends to sign up for the newsletter and if they sign up both you and your friend will be entered into a drawing for a Great Start bag full of goodies.  In order to qualify, have your friend visit Great Start's website and sign up for the monthly newsletter.  In the box that asks "How did you hear about Great Start?" have your friend put in your name.  Both of you will be entered into the drawing.  The more friends you refer, the more times you are entered.  What a great opportunity to spread the word and have some fun.

Register for FREE Preschool

It is already time to start registering for the 2013/2014 school year.  If your child will be 4 by November 1, 2013 you can register them for the Great Start Readiness Programs or Head Start Programs in St. Clair County.  Visit the Great Start website for more preschool information.

Training Opportunities

Are there trainings that would like to see come to St. Clair County?  Visit the Great Start website and fill out the training survey at the bottom of the page.  This will help determine the needs of our county and provide the best and appropriate trainings. 

8th Annual Parent University

Raising a child isn't easy, and most people have to learn as they go along.  Parent University can help.  Find out what experts and other parents say about some of the issues you face.  Learn about products and services available in St. Clair County.  Get ideas to make your job easier and your child happier.
Cost: $13.50 fee includes continental breakfast and lunch
Location: St. Clair County RESA campus, Technical Education Center, 499 Range Rd. Marysville, 48040
For more information or to register visit the Great Start website.

 

Other News
Would you like to help?

We are always looking for people to help promote and support the Great Start work.  If you are interested in volunteering for Great Start please contact us at greatstart@sccresa.org.
Volunteer opportunities:
  • Sanitizing toys at any of the Great Start centers.  This can be done at any time that is convenient for you.  Email Great Start to set up a time and location.
  • Hanging flyers and restocking Great Start information throughout the county.
  • Sanitizing and taking inventory on the Lending Library.


Great Start's Shining Stars                                            

St. Clair County RESA is this months Shining Star.  St. Clair County RESA has supported Great Start since it began in 2007.  RESA puts extra time and effort into making sure that our children in St. Clair County have a Great Start in life.  RESA helps financially by supporting Great Parents, Great Start, the Imagination Library Program and other early childhood programs.  Without RESA as a supporter Great Start would not be as successful as it is.

For more information about St. Clair County RESA visit their website, www.sccresa.org.
Copyright © 2013 St. Clair County Great Start Collaborative, All rights reserved.
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