More than 2,000 expected to attend Block Party Saturday

Official CCFI News Release
The Center for Children and Families, Inc. (CCFI) is gearing up for its 12th annual “I Love My Neighborhood Block Party” this Saturday near Wilson Elementary School.

2011 Block Party

Jessica Hutchinson, senior program specialist for CCFI’s Neighborhood Centers after school and summer youth program, said the party will be noon to 2 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Trinity Baptist Church, 801 N. Peters Ave. Families can expect live music, games, free food, and crafts. 

We’ve received so much support for this event from the community and it has really grown over the last few years, Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said nearly 2,000 people attended last year’s party and they expect the number to exceed that this Saturday.

2011 Block Party

“We’re just trying to reach out to the community and neighborhood to get everyone together,” she said. “It gives families an opportunity to spend some quality time together without having to worry about finances.”

Families who attend can visit booths hosted by local businesses and also can learn more about CCFI’s Neighborhood Centers program.

Hutchinson said the Neighborhood Centers after school and summer services are available at Kennedy and Wilson elementary schools and Irving and Longfellow middle schools and operate after school until 8:00 pm through out the week.

“We operate every day that they have school and over the summer months,” she said. “Our program is completely free and we offer every child a unique experience through a number of enriching activities from service learning projects and homework help to weekly gender-specific mentoring groups for the older, middle school age groups.”

For information about CCFI’s Neighborhood Centers youth program visit www.ccfinorman.org. To get involved with this years block party visit www.ccfinorman.org/blockparty.

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The Center for Children and Families, Inc. (CCFI) is private, non-profit located in Norman, OK specializing in healing children, empowering youth, and strengthening families.

Bottoms up.



CCFI Baby Pantry



Imagine everything it takes to be a parent.
Now imagine it without diapers.

Many families struggle to provide basic needs for their children. In fact, one in three mothers will struggle to provide clean, dry diapers for their babies. Contrary to popular belief, government programs do not assist with paper products, including diapers, and many daycare and child care agencies will only accept disposable diapers. With that said it becomes a difficult situation, and often times a choice, for parents struggling to make ends meet.

However, the Center for Children and Families, Inc.’s (CCFI) Baby Pantry assists parents in being able to meet these essential needs. One of our core organizational beliefs here at CCFI is that all parents need help and should never be ashamed to ask for advice, diapers or support. We see caregivers that seek help in raising their children every day at CCFI and know it is a sign of maturity and hope – never failure.
Anytime you can help lessen stress and assist families in being successful parents you are teaching them valuable skills.  Stressed parents do not always make positive decisions. By offering support and hope we are providing the opportunity for parents to have one less stressor in their lives.  Sometimes it helps just knowing that someone cares…and is there when you need them the most. Our Baby Pantry serves that role and is there for when parents need it the most.

At CCFI we’ve been fortunate to stock our Baby Pantry entirely on community donations and provided thousands of parents with nearly 40,000 diapers and hundreds of essential items (baby wipes, formula and cereal) in 2011. If we can provide support, encouragement and hope to families by allowing them to focus on the more important areas of parenting, like the relationship with their little ones, then it’s truly a benefit for the parent, child and the family as a whole, all of which transcends into a healthier community.

This April...

Promote Happier Childhoods

Across our neighborhoods, community and state we want to see love in place of the abuse that shatters the lives of more than 8,000 children in Oklahoma annually.

Abuse is an epidemic affecting our entire state — taking the lives of too many children — yet no one wants to talk about the topic of child abuse. Moreover many people are just not aware of child abuse, its signs or that they can and must speak up – because it may save a child’s life.

Starting today, we want to inspire you to begin conversations and attract attention to the cause and join CCFI in promoting happier childhoods across our community for National Child Abuse Prevention Month during Apri

Show your support. Help us prevent child abuse.

Host a diaper drive

Donate/collect diapers of all sizes for our Baby Pantry at CCFI. Help us keep little bottoms covered, clean and dry. Tell your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers to join you or do the same!

Go BLUE

Since 1989, thousands of people nationwide wear the blue ribbon to create awareness of the need to keep kids safe and families strong. Get all the information for blue ribbon and children abuse prevention awareness initiatives here.  

Join Us

Join us at the Capitol as we meet with legislators and showcase prevention efforts in our community. Please come by and visit our booth, we'd be glad to answer any questions or to have your help! For more information on Child Abuse Prevention Day at the Capitol click here.

Lend Your Voice

Get involved as an individual by:

Write your state or federal elected officials to advocate for greater healthy child development and child abuse prevention funding. After all, child development is a building block for community development and economic development, things we all believe in.

Get involved as a local organization by:

·         Joining Child Abuse Prevention Month activities in April.

·         Incorporating child abuse prevention into your work.

·         Discussing child abuse prevention at your conferences and meetings.

·         Contacting us to explore the possibilities.

Get involved as a company by:

·         Having change canisters, pinups, or electronic donation opportunities for customers.

·         Sponsoring awareness activities in the community.  

·         Printing messages on your bags or insert bill-stuffers to bring attention to this issue.

·         Inviting your employees to show their support by building a blue ribbon tree.

·         Creating a pinwheel garden on your company's premises in April to show your support during Child Abuse Prevention Month.

·         Contributing your company's professional expertise to help us advance this campaign and our organization's mission.

·         Donating or supporting the purchase of advertising space to help continue getting the word out.

If you have any questions or would like any more information about the content above, contact Stacy Hawthorne at shawthorne@ccfinorman.org or call 405-364-1420.

Seuss inspired ways to connect with children through reading

It's the National Education Association's Read Across America Day. How can you get kids to love reading? Dr. Seuss, whose birthday is today, may have some answers.

Sylvan Learning is offering some "Seuss-inspired" suggestions on how to make reading fun and how to inspire children to develop a lifelong friendship with books while connecting with caring adults.

Oh say can you say? Read aloud with children. Reading aloud is right up there with eating chocolate in terms of pleasures. In fact, we could argue it's even better than chocolate: It's never too early for it, and there's no such thing as "too much." Reading to young children nurtures an interest in language, words, and communication. And strengthens parent-child relationships. For older kids, reading together can be fun and interesting. As reading aloud becomes a routine, it will not only help develop your children's reading skills, but will also create a basis for ongoing discussion.

I can lick 30 tigers today! Wrangling children's schedules can feel like wrestling tigers. But making the time to read every day—even for just 10 to 15 minutes—is worth taming a tiger or two. It establishes reading as a regular, daily habit.

One book, two books, red books, blue books. From baseball cards to comic books, children have always been natural collectors. Encourage your children to create their own treasure trove of books. By encouraging the creation of a personal library, you invite your children to create a magical kingdom that's right at their fingertips. Turn book collecting into a treasure hunt: Look for books at yard sales, in the book section at bargain stores, at the grocery store, and wherever else you can find them. Here at the Center for Children and Families, Inc. (CCFI), we offer a book barn that is stocked with free books for the children and families that come into our doors each day.

This just in: Horton heard a who. But then what happened? Children need to understand that there is more to a news event than the 30-second sound bite they hear on the television. Weekly and monthly general interest magazines can fill this gap. Kids like to be "plugged in," and these publications give them in-depth details to satisfy their curiosity. Plus, the vivid photographs appeal to children of all ages. Read an article together, and help your children with difficult words or abstract concepts.

Why did the Cat in the Hat cross the road? To get to the riddle book on the other side! Children enjoy riddles and jokes that rely on wordplay. Laughing together at clever jokes and riddles can make a Saturday trip to soccer or hockey practice more enjoyable and memorable. Next time you're at the library or bookstore, bring home some giggles to read together.

Oh, the thinks you can think! As anyone who has read a Dr. Seuss book knows, words can be fun. Turn vocabulary from a grind to a giggle by creating word games. Compile a word list, or ask your children's teacher for a word list, and make daily or weekly vocabulary games.

And to think that you saw that word on Mulberry Street. As you zip about town, learn new words on the road. Every trip, regardless of the distance, presents creative opportunities to introduce new words to your children. From bulletin boards to street signs, words are hanging out on every street corner, just waiting for you to drop by.

My Book...By Me Myself. Encourage your children to write original stories and illustrate them with their own drawings. It's a great way to increase comfort and familiarity with words.

Oh, the places you'll go! The Internet is a goldmine of great websites that provide reading lists for children. Visit Book Adventure, a free Sylvan-created interactive, reading, motivational program that can be found online at www.BookAdventure.com . Another great resource is a local library, Pioneer Library System here in Oklahoma offersgreat programs and resources to get kiddos reading.

Encouraging children to read helps transform reading from a chore to a treat. Then, this basic skill becomes a learned behavior and an intellectual habit. Among reading's benefits, many research studies have found that children who are read to or who read on their own at home do better in school.