Childcare Resources drew a sold-out crowd of 290 supporters of early childhood education to its fourth annual Starfest Luncheon at the Oak Harbor Clubhouse last Monday.
Judie Robbins, who co-chaired the event with Pat Arnold, Janet Gefaell and Angel LaVine, didn’t have to go too far afield to find this year’s dynamic speaker. Mel Robbins, CNN commentator, legal analyst and motivational speaker, is married to Robbins’ youngest son, Christopher, with whom she has three children.
As guests sat down to lunch, Past President Stanley Doggett, shared a simple six-word slogan to describe Childcare Resources, saying, “It’s children learning, parents working, families thriving. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s the ballgame.”
“Since June 2012, it has been Childcare Resources’ great fortune to have the talents of an absolutely dynamic executive director. Her professionalism and dedication have been outstanding, and she has her sights set on an exciting future for our organization,” said current Board President Carolyn Veeneman, introducing Shannon McGuire Bowman.
Childcare Resources was founded in 1994 to provide early childhood education to lower-income working families who earned too much to be eligible for state or federal subsidies, yet not enough to afford quality child care. The organization currently subsidizes the cost of care for 105 children between 6 weeks and 5 years old, with another 150 on a waitlist.
“Today, as then, we remain the only nonprofit organization in Indian River County helping these families,” said Bowman. “We partner with these parents to make high-quality early education possible. If you were to ask our board president, What does Childcare Resources do? her answer is short and it’s spot-on. She’ll say, ‘We’re building brains.’ There are approximately 2,000 days between the time a child is born and the day we take them to kindergarten. What we do during this crucial time is life-changing.”
The Childcare Resources Education Center is accredited through NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) and has received the Gold Seal Quality Care designation from the State of Florida DCF. “Last year in Indian River County, there was only one school that achieved 100 percent kindergarten readiness on their score. And that one school is Childcare Resources Education Center,” said Bowman, acknowledging the organization’s leadership and teachers.
Guest speaker Robbins kept the audience entertained with tales from her years in the industry, from Donald Trump informing her before her very first on-air interview that she had a false eyelash stuck to her forehead, to being kept busy this year with the various NFL scandals. From a motivational standpoint she spoke about happiness; advocating people surround themselves with happy people, because “behavior is contagious.”
Robbins had toured the Education Center earlier in the day and was struck by the full-on educational curriculum, stressing, “It’s not babysitting.”
She invited parent Krista Betz to join her on stage, explaining that three years ago Betz unexpectedly found herself in need of Childcare Resources when she and her husband were suddenly thrust into the position of parenting the four children of a family member. Compounding the issue, the children, 11 months, 2, 3 and 6 years old, were emotionally and socially stunted due to their initial upbringing. They were eventually connected to Childcare Resources and the results have been transformative. Only the youngest, now 3, is still enrolled; the others having graduated to kindergarten where they continue to thrive.
“Thank you for your donations, your commitment to the organization,” said Betz. “Without you, families like mine wouldn’t be blessed.”
