Monday morning ramblings - traffic, early childhood & leadership

 Monday morning - and the start of another week. For me, the day started with gridlock in the center of Derby because of traffic problems caused by backups on Route 8 and an accident on Elizabeth Street that created a monumental traffic jam. Luckily, I was on my way to a meeting of the Valley Early Childhood Task Force which was being held at the Parent Child Resource Center next to the Parking Garage.One person took 45 minutes to get from the area of St. Michael's Church to the meeting!

It was worth the hassle as the Committee reviewed the impressive work that it has done in the last couple of years to advance the cause of early childhood education in the Valley. The task force was one of the first committees of the Valley Council for Health & Human Services, but it really took on a much larger role in supporting early childhood education issues when the Graustein Memorial Fund started doing Discovery grants to individual cities. Originally Ansonia and Shelton received grants and then Derby joined the fold. When the Fund also offered regional Discovery grants, the Valley was well positioned because the Task Force was already a regional group and the individual cities are part of it. On top of that, Seymour was part of the Task Force even though Seymour was not eligible for a city grant. However, they did become part of the Regional Discovery grant.

The partnership between the individual towns and the the regional collaborative has been mutually beneficial to all. Training has been provided for early childhood providers, a bridge has been built between those providers and the school systems to ensure a smooth transition to kindergarten and home care childhood providers and institutional day care providers have a greater appreciation for each others role in working with our pre-school population. Parent training has also been provided, resources guides developed and a website is now in place as well - PreschoolTools.org. Earlier this month they coordinated the Read Across America program in area schools and in April they will host the Fourth Annual Play and Learn Fair at Warsaw Park.

United Way is pleased not only to have served as the fiduciary agent, but also as a funder and partner in this effort.

When I finally got to the office, I picked up the Connecticut Post to find a great article about one of our recent Special Needs Grants and the difference it is making in the lives of people served by the Parent Child Resource Center. You can read the full article here. It's a great story, but also a sad commentary on the difficult situations that many people in the Valley find themselves in at the moment.

Another uplifting story took place on Saturday with our new Leadership Greater Valley Alumni Group. The Leadership Program has been around for more than a decade, but the Leadership Alumni Group met just recently to establish themselves, and they wasted little time in making a difference. On Saturday, a number of the graduates made their way to the Spooner House where they made lunch for the residents and found time to socialize with them. One of the highlights was Greater Valley Chamber President (and a man of many, many taletns!) Bill Purcell playing the piano for everyone.

All in all, for a Monday that started in gridlock, it is turning out to be filled with a lot of good news. Let's hope the rest of the week continues the same way!


For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.