Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions

Mark your calendars! August 14, 2012--Indianapolis will be the site for the "kick-off" of a national campaign that will promote public policy to improve healthy development for babies, conception to age three years. "For Our Babies" is a national movement promoting healthy development in U.S. children from conception to age 3. We advocate for the types of environments, experiences, and relationships that infants and toddlers need in order to thrive.

J. Ronald Lally, Co-Director of WestEd's Center for Child and Family Studies, will present "First Things First: Why Is It So Important to Start With Babies?", in which he will address issues like the difficulty and expense and detriment to children, families, communities, and the nation when healthy development does not take place in the first three years.

For more information, please visit www.itsi-indiana.org or forourbabies.org/wp/

FREE Online Tax Resource

A free online tool can help low-income neighbors access a wide range of financial assistance. Purdue University's Cooperative Extension Service is hosting the "Benefit Bank". The Benefit Bank offers free help with income tax preparation-including tax refunds and obtaining the Earned Income Tax Credit. The free web-based resource also helps eligible citizens enroll for food stamps, fill out the FAFSA for college financial aid, and register to vote. The Benefit Bank is best utilized by youth organizations, schools, community centers, faith-based ministries and other civic agencies that can directly assist people in using the web site. For more information, visit: www.tbbin.org

Spring Training Near You!

National experts on youth development. working with parents and organizational management will deliver trainings in March and April in Merrillville, South Bend, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Evansville, and New Albany. The line-up includes:

"Engaging Parents and Non-Traditional Families"

"The Pursuit of Peak Professionalism"

"Bullying, Bravery, and Behavior Management"

"Behavior Management: A Facilitated Discussion with Executives, Administrators, and Managers"

Registration fee: just $20 per half-day session. Continuing education credits are available. For more information, visit: www.iyi.org

Grant Tips:

The MetLife Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation fund community-police partnerships that improve community safety and revitalization. Award range is $15,00-$30,000 and Deadline is March 11, 2012. For more information, visit: www.lisc.org

Playground Grants! The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, in partnership with KaBOOM! is offering funding for the construction of playgrounds. Eligible applicants include schools, nonprofits, day care centers, municipalities, and neighborhood associations. Recipients need to provide matching dollars ranging from $9,000-$25,000. Grant range is $15,000 and Deadline is March 16, 2012. For more information, visit: kaboom.org

For more grant tips, please visit: http://www.iyi.org/fundraising-grants.aspx

SPRING TRAINING: Top Experts, Practical Information, Immediate Impact, New Format

Regional trainings featuring national experts will be presented in a new format designed to fit the needs of youth workers with little time and less funding.

The Indiana Youth Institute’s regional trainings will deliverpractical information and useful strategies that you canimplement immediately on topics related to working with kids, communicating with parents and strengthening your youth organization. Two separate half-day sessions will be offered in each region, with each session costing only $20. The first round of spring trainings includes:

“Engaging Parents and Non-Traditional Families”
(9a – 12p): Infuse new life into your relationships with parents and all caregivers through your agency environment, personal attitude and program activities.

“The Pursuit of Peak Professionalism” (1p – 4p):
Help your staff achieve peak professionalism by understanding the emotions, motivations, labels and systems that strengthen teamwork and impact.

Both sessions are taught by Lisa Jones, a veteran youth worker who designed and implemented quality assessment tools for more than 200 youth programs and who has been training youth-serving professionals for more than a decade.

The trainings will be offered in: Ft. Wayne (March 6), South Bend (March 7), Merrillville (March 8), Evansville (March 20), New Albany (March 21) and Indianapolis (March 22).

The registration fee for each session is just $20 thanks to generous funding from Lilly Endowment, Inc., The Clowes Fund, and the Nicholas H. Noyes Jr., Memorial

For registration information, contact the Indiana Youth Institute (800)343-7060 or visit www.iyi.org

NASA Ignite! Training Mission
Enrolling: Certified Teachers, Preservice Teachers, and Afterschool Educators

When: March 17, 24, and April 28, 2012

Where: Marian University,
Marian Hall Upper lobby (old Civic Theater area)

Time: 8:30-5:00

Topics:
Day 1, March 17 – Rocketry - rockets and discussion of expectations and responsibilities for the teachers (a "flight plan," so to speak)
Day 2, March 24– Astrobiology - life science (the body in space, NASA's search for other life in the universe)
Day 3, April 28- Space exploration (our near neighbors in the solar system and then moving beyond to comets, stars, and how we get there)

Cost: $75 (includes training, 3 lunches and teacher materials)
Seating is limited! Make checks payable to Marian University NASA Workshop

Commitment: Participants will commit to attending all 3 workshops and some additional training throughout the year facilitated by NASA educational consultants. Participants will be invited to teach hands-on activities at summer programs in the Indianapolis area. The Marian University Summer Learning Institute will provide a stipend for those who participate in summer teaching opportunities.

Reservation: Dr. Judy Bardonner, Director, Center for Community Learning, Marian University; (317) 955-6545 jbardonner@marian.edu