Champions for Children
Children First and the Children First Board of Directors recognizes and appreciates the commitment and dedication of the champions listed below. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of children! January 2008 - Barbara Edwards As a past volunteer at the Family Resource Center at Emma,
Barbara gave of her time unselfishly, often times eight hours a day,
sometimes more, providing any services that were needed. She would help
staff the front desk, pack food boxes, and sort the clothing closet. She
would always willingly do anything that was asked of her, despite her own
health problems. We are thankful for the time she has given us. December 2007 - Ms. Cynthia Sellinger Cynthia is the
principal of Vance Elementary School of Human Diversity and Ecology. She has
been an educator in Asheville City Schools for 26 years. She began as a
chorus teacher at Asheville Middle and then moved into administration as the
assistant principal at both Randolph Elementary School and Vance Elementary
School, where she now serves as principal. Novebmer
2007 - Ms. Kristi Neal October 2007 - Ms. Jean Meyer Jean is a dedicated volunteer at the Children First Family Resource Center at Emma. Thanks to Jean's persistence at the Resource Center, we were able to secure donations of yarn for our knitting/crochet circle meetings on Tuesdays. Jean also never fails to check on the clothing closet and keeps it organized and in great shape. Jean also helps in the community garden and often volunteers on Saturdays weeding other garden plots and making sure that we have what we need to keep the garden in good shape. She willingly does whatever we request of her and recently brought in school supplies and office items for the Family Resource Center. September 2007 - Ms. Cathy Pollock Cathy has chaired the Early Childhood department at A-B Tech since 1993. Her leadership has made A-B Tech's programs among the best in the state. The vast majority of individuals working in early childhood in our region have taken classes at A-B Tech. The curriculum prepares individuals to work with children from infancy through early childhood in diverse learning environments. Thousands of children and families through the years have been the beneficiaries of the rigor and care that Cathy brings to teaching and administering our programs. For all her many accomplishments, if you ask Cathy what part of the job she likes best, her face lights up and she talks about the children she interacts with in her many site visits. She simply loves children and wants the best for each of them August 2007 - Julia and Phillip Gibson The Gibsons are long-time, consistent supporters of our Family Resource Center at Emma; supporting its work as donors and volunteers. As volunteers, they enjoy the personal interactions at the Center. The Gibsons fondly recall a Christmas volunteer experience where they really got to know a family they were helping when they were invited in for dinner and sent home with fresh tamales. They believe wholeheartedly in the programs offered through the resource center and show their appreciation by helping out in any way that they can. We thank the Gibsons for their generosity! July 2007 - Ms. Minnie Jones - Pisgah View Community Ms. Jones was the first to integrate public housing in Asheville. She has been a long-time tireless advocate for the children living in the Pisgah View Community and continues to do so today. Ms Jones provided on-site programs for children and youth for over 20 years, started an on-site health clinic for residents, and facilitated the partnership with Manna Foodbank to open a food pantry in Pisgah View. Those of you who know Ms Minnie know that she is high spirited and advocates for those who cannot speak for themselves. June 2007 - Carol Ray - Claxton Elementary School Principal Carol has served as an administrator in the Asheville City School System for 13 years, as the principal of three city elementary schools, and the Executive Director of Elementary Education. She was honored as the Western Region principal of the year in 2001. Carol facilitated the partnership with the city elementary schools and Children First to fill needed school positions such as teacher assistants and volunteer coordinators with Project POWER/AmeriCorps members. May 2007 - Brenda Logan Brenda is leaving her role as Chief Juvenile Court Counselor (a position she has held for the past 7 years) to become a part-time supervisor so that she will have more time to stay home with daughter. Brenda is a former Children First Board Member; member of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council; and member of the Children's Collaborative. Her dedication and passion for our community's children is evident in her work and volunteering. April 2007 - George Ettwein and Black Forest Restaurant George and his staff have been so generous and thoughtful in selecting Children First as beneficiaries of their annual Oktoberfest celebrations, raining funds for the important work that we do in our community. Those staff and Board Members who were lucky enough to work these festivals have enjoyed themselves thoroughly; celebrating great food, drink and music. We are grateful for this very worthwhile partnership and appreciate your local business support. March 2007 - Howard Hangar and the Jubilee! Community Our March Champion for Children is Howard Hanger and the Jubilee! Community. We are grateful for their continued support of Children First and for financially supporting our Family Resource Center at Emma's Emergency Assistance fund since 2001.This fund allows Children First to meet immediate needs of families and help them through crises. We are able to provide utility assistance, food supplementation, and emergency financial aid in large part due to Jubilee's generosity. Children First, with the support of Jubilee!, empowers families to reach their full potential. February 2007 - Dr. Ben Bailey Dr. Ben Bailey is recognized by the Children First Board of Directors for his outstanding commitment to children in our community. He came to Asheville 28 years ago and founded Mountain Area Pediatrics. He has served on many committees and boards dedicated to the well being of our youth. As his wife so lovingly puts it: “Ben has always believed in the potential in every child. He has always believed in family and he has always believed in love.” January 2007 – Kelly Webb and Asheville Fire and Rescue Children First is grateful for the support Asheville Fire and Rescue has provided to Safe Kids WNC in their mission to reduce preventable injuries to children. Kelly and Asheville Fire and Rescue have done tremendous work to educate our community’s families about child seat safety and childhood injury prevention. December 2006 – Captain Tim Splain and APD Children First is grateful for the commitment that the Asheville Police Department has made to our organization. Through your generous support of Project MARCH, Children First has successfully implemented three homework club sites in Pisgah View, Deaverview, and Woodridge apartments and provided summer camp programming for youth in the Pisgah View community. November 2006 – Harriet Marlor Harriet works tirelessly to meet the needs of children, youth and their families as Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Social Services' Health Choice program. She has been instrumental in reaching out to families in need in our community. October 2006 - Hope for Horses Hope for Horses donated two weeks of summer camp for 20 children this summer. Through Hope for Horses' program these children not only had an excellent time, but also learned valuable lessons of responsibility and compassion for others. We are fortunate to have such a caring organization in our community that puts the needs of both animals and children first. Many of the children attending the camp had never had a summer camp experience, thank you for giving them memories for a lifetime! September 2006 – Emma United Methodist Church Emma United Methodist Church generously donated space at the church to temporarily house the Family Resource Center at Emma after the Resource Center's building was damaged by a flood in July. This selfless commitment to those in need enabled Children First to continue providing critical resources to those in the Emma Community. The Food Pantry maintained distribution to dozens of families each week, the Latino Mother-Child Playgroup continued to meet, and outreach workers were able to gather one-on-one with individuals in crisis. May 2006 - Cindy Lawler Cindy was recognized as a champion for children by her commitment to making healthy changes in the school food environment (reference the specifics: taking out fryers, rinsing meat, switching to skim and low-fat milk, etc.) She got on board early with the Farm to School program, being one of the first in WNC to source locally grown produce for the ACS district, benefiting not only farmers and the local economy, but offering children the chance to eat fresh produce and connect to their agricultural heritage. She began Farm to School in ACS in Dec. 2004. Through her Farm to School work, approximately 4,400 children in ACS have the opportunity to eat fresh, locally grown produce in the school cafeteria Cindy participated in a national farm to school survey, allowed Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) to interview all her cafeteria managers, and she includes Isaac Dickson’s Eat Better Learn Better and ASAP in cafeteria manager meetings April 2006 - JaneAnne Tager JaneAnne is a mother of 3 and started by making change happen in her own children’s school (Isaac Dickson). She wrote a grant to the Buncombe County Medical Society to get three Community Supported Agriculture shares (CSA) of fresh produce for the school and funds for weekly cooking classes and monthly cooking demonstrations JaneAnne Picks up the CSAs at the tailgate market, stores it overnight in her refrigerator and brings it to school the next day – delivering it to the school cafeteria manager. She helps lead the cooking classes or recruits parents/chefs to come to the school. She distributes information about CSAs to parents at Isaac Dickson. She also sends home healthy recipes regularly to Isaac Dickson families. March 2006 - Ms. Co-Wefa Lyda Co Wefa Lyda grew up in an orphanage ~ Eliada Homes for Children. She has been a foster parent of 5 children over the past 35 years ~ still for Eliada Homes. She is an adoptive parent of 2 children. Co Wefa is a board member of the NC Foster Adoptive Association. She is a certified trainer for foster parents ~ locally and statewide. She is also a certified trainer in CPR and first aid for the American Red Cross. Mrs. Lyda co-chairs our Children's Collaborative Training Team ~ which teaches the System of Care Protocol to service providers and families ~ to assure that families have a clear voice during Child & Family Team meetings. February 2006 - Families Together Families Together, Inc. has helped the Juvenile Court Counselors as they struggle with case management services and they have provided service at no cost until Medicaid can be worked out for several children. That's a huge offer when trying to arrange placements for kids, trying to keep them from long term detention stays, and trying to move cases along. It's that kind of stepping up to the plate that makes things happen for kids in our community. January 2006 - Ms. Beattie O’Brien Bettie has worked in the Childcare field since 1980---for 25 years she has been a true advocate for children with special needs. Bettie worked with children in Cherokee County from 1980-1989. In 1989 she joined the team at Buncombe County Child Care Services. Beattie ran the SNAP (Special Needs Assistance Program) until 2003. This program enabled child care providers to work effectively with children with special needs. In 2001, Beattie also began working with the Buncombe County after-school programs. She currently oversees 18 after-school sites. Beattie’s greatest strength is her genuine caring and concern for the kids, the parents and her staff. Group Honors Children's Advocates Bob Burgin: Special Man With a Mission
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