AN UPDATE FROM OUR CEO

Korrie-Mae Wiszniak

Dear Kids@ Churchill Park Families,

Welcome to November and our Agency Updates!

As a recap:  We’re aiming to keep you in the loop with everything “Kids@”, and feel monthly updates and in the newsletters is the best way to do that!

We have several ‘shares’ for our families in this update!

Deal Deck

You will have received an invitation from your centre inviting you to help with our fundraising efforts.  We are fundraising with Deal Deck, selling 4 themed decks of cards that come in a cute tin and have unlimited savings for 1 whole year.  When the year is up, you can keep the cards, since they are a real deck of playing cards. The discounts are higher than what we’ve witnessed in other coupon books as well, so we see that as a big plus! We want our families to view this fundraiser as an opportunity and not an obligation!  An opportunity to raise funds for our programs, get great discounts that you’ll actually use and bring families together to play card games with their new deck of cards!  The decks are $20/each and the campaign allows us to retain up to 60% of the proceeds.

Giving Back

As part of our commitment to give back, on behalf of the Kids@ Churchill Park community (again, that means you too, our families), last month we provided assistance to an elderly member of our community whose life depended upon the generosity of others!  Dominique lives behind our main office and visited us one afternoon (our Main Office is housed out of a church).  She was desperate to seek help from the church, but the church team was not in. She had pneumonia and was lacking the funds to pay for antibiotics to treat her condition. Luckily, Maritza and Aimee (two Family Day Home team members), welcomed her inside, listened to her story and were instrumental in getting her the medication she needed.  Over the course of the month, our Main Office team provided companionship, toiletries, food and clothing to help get her back on her feet.  Our entire Main Office team welcomed her company for a few coffee’s and a lunch!  Thanks to the Kids@ Churchill Park fund, as an agency we were able to provide the support she desperately needed.  She is now on her feet and back to working.  Thanks so much Maritza and Aimee for having servant’s hearts and caring enough to take the time to support a member of our community in such a meaningful way!

Kids @ Family Day Homes

We have an incredible Family Day Home program!  Last month they were very proud to nominate day home educator Ishrat Rizvi for a ‘Minister’s Award of Excellence in Child Development’.   What an honour to have Ishrat represent Kids@ Churchill Park.  One parent told the Family Day Home team: “Ishrat is exceptional and one of a kind. Her love and passion for caring is something you not only see but feel when you are with her. She transforms materials in innovative ways, creating valuable learning tools.” Nominating her for this prestigious award allows the Family Day Home team to acknowledge the wonderful things she is contributing to children’s development. We all wish her the best of luck!

Kids @ Churchill Park Kitchen

We are SO thankful to have Chef Caroline serving up yummy food to our little ones every day!  Healthy food and nutrition are her passion! Under her direction, the Centralized Kitchen team provide healthy and hearty snacks and lunches every day, so we want to highlight some key points about the food we are serving at Kids@ Churchill Park!

Our menu follows the Canadian Food Guide and Alberta Health Services recommendations. What we love is that our kitchen cooks and bakes almost all the menu from scratch, which has the added benefit of ensuring there is little to no added sodium, sugar or saturated fats. The baking is made with a mix of whole wheat and non-bleached all purposed flour. The sugar is also reduced to a minimum or even absent.  For example, to bake 130 bran muffins, only 2 C of brown sugar is used, equating to about ¾ of a teaspoon per muffin. In blueberry bread, the sugar is completely absent, and instead replaced by  fruit. Chef Caroline is also a fan of using vegetables in her baking to substitute for sugar.  She uses carrots to replace sugar, and then only uses small amounts of honey for her carrot cookie.

We can’t imagine that little ones don’t adore this menu, but there are a few, shall we call them ‘refined palates”.  So, there is always extra food available just in case the lunch isn’t favoured (vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, eggs, cheese, oatmeal and soup).  We hope that provides you with a clearer picture of the care and love that Chef Caroline and her team put into everything your little one eats!

On behalf of the Kids@ Churchill Park team, we hope this month treats you well and allows you to spend time with family and friends, doing things that make your heart happy!  We love being an extended part of your family and appreciate the trust you place in us to care for your children, all the while knowing we are passionate about creating healthy bodies, nurturing curious minds and happy hearts!

A most heartfelt thank you on behalf of our entire team,

Korrie-Mae

Chief Executive

We can’t all do great things, but we can do small things with great love ~ Mother Teresa

Kids are not a distraction from more important work; they are the MOST important work ~ Dr. Trainor