How one little boy's first birthday made a difference

Birthdays are an important day whether you are turning one or 107. In most cases, the first birthday is the cutest, with cake everywhere and a face full of icing. For one-year-old Jayce, his birthday party proved that even with cake covered cheeks you can make a difference in the world no matter what your age.

The birthday boy after his party.

Jayce is already a giver --whether he's giving loving squeezes to his stuffed animals or consoling a crying nursery mate with a tender hug-- and as his first birthday inched closer his parents saw an opportunity to help others instead of adding to a roomful of toys.

"Before we had our son, my husband and I both agreed we wanted to teach him the value of volunteer work and doing things for others over yourself," said Jayce's mom, Maurisa. "When his first birthday was getting closer we realized that Jayce has plenty of toys. We decided for his first birthday we wanted to start the lesson of giving."

Seuss themed goodies and cakes.

As a counselor at Moore High School, working with a parenting group that is ran by CCFI, Maurisa and her family see firsthand the benefits from the programs and felt that they should give back to the agency by hosting a Dr. Seuss themed benefit party for Jayce's birthday.

And the timing could not have been better as Jayce's birthday weekend kicked off a week of national reading celebrations during Dr. Seuss's 107th birthday for Read Across America Day on March 2nd.

Cake time!

"We chose the Dr. Seuss theme because we love books. Jayce loves to sit and flip through his board books," Maurisa said. "We value reading as a foundation for his future and have read to him every night since he was a month old."

As friends and family arrived for a Seussational adventure filled with red fish and blue fish made out of Jello and 478 diapers in tow, Jayce--with his cake-filled fists-- his very proud parents, and their guests gave local children and families much needed items from the CCFI wish list.

When the party came to an end and all the cake had been washed away, Jayce climbed into his chair- looking a little bit bare- and there he sat, exhausted, cuddled up with his Grinch stuffed animal... and after a year of laughter, learning and fun this little philanthropist turned one.

Gearing up for 11th annual block party

Check out this article from the Norman Transcript about our upcoming block party: 

NORMAN — The Center for Children and Families is gearing up for its 11th annual “I Love My Neighborhood Block Party” next month near Wilson Elementary School.

Block party competition, 2010

Chelsea Turner, program specialist for CCFI’s Neighborhood Centers, said the party will be noon to 2 p.m. April 9 in the parking lot of Trinity Baptist Church, 801 N. Peters Ave. Families can expect games, food and crafts.

The event will give families an opportunity to visit information booths set up by local organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Turner said. Vendors will supply food, and music will be provided.

Turner said about 1,000 people attended last year’s party.

Balloon animals being made, 2010 block party

“We’re just trying to reach out to the community and neighborhood to get everyone together,” she said.

Those who attend also can learn more about CCFI’s Neighborhood Centers program.

Turner said the Neighborhood Centers are available at Kennedy and Wilson elementary schools and Irving and Longfellow middle schools. The centers operate from 3:50 to 5:15 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at Irving Middle School and at the same times Tuesday and Thursday at Longfellow Middle School. Operation hours are later for elementary schools.

Mega slide, 2009

Turner said the centers are open 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at Kennedy Elementary School and at the same time Tuesday and Thursday at Wilson Elementary School.

“We operate every day that they have school,” she said. “Our program is completely free and we have arts and crafts.” Turner said children also receive snacks.

For more information on this years block party click here.

Girl Power group offers middle schoolers guidance and friendship

For many girls, middle school becomes a pressure cooker filled with power struggles, conflicting impulses, physical growth and strong emotions. Girls at this age mostly talk.  Cliques get clique-ier, the need to be in power intensifies, girls can get meaner- and much of this behavior stems from the intense desire to belong. At the same time, middle-school girls develop deep and close friendships, separating from their families and forming their own rewarding social universes.

Out of our Neighborhood Centers after school and evening program, 55 girls meet each month to help each other navigate through these waves of middle school via a special group called: Girl Power!

CCFI Neighborhood Centers Girl Power Group

Developed out of on-going requests from the girls in the Neighborhood Centers program wanting to spend more time with female staff and volunteers, the Girl Power group elects to spend one Friday night per month addressing topics such as fitting in, schoolwork stress, bullying, concerns about being judged, boys, cliques, relationships with family members, and more through all sorts of activities and conversations.

For instance, this past Friday the Girl Power group discussed the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and the first step in building self-esteem was taken- talking about it. Once the conversation was started the girls began to relate with one another and saw that they weren't alone in battling the issues that they face. Each month interactions like these lead to more friendships based on personality and shared interest rather than looks- which causes many girls enormous amounts of pain. Having a strong support system, one where all feelings are valid and listened to can make a world of difference in helping girls 'hold it together' when braving some of those "middle-school storms."

Through interactions like these, each young woman is given the opportunity to hang out, belong and connect with girls they might not be friends with in other settings. For most girls, friends form the center of their lives. Friends light up girls' days in preschool, become inseparable in elementary school, and help girls in middle school develop their own, separate lives- it's through Girl Power, that we try to help them enjoy the ups and survive the downs of their ever evolving social lives with confidence.


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