PROJECT PROMISE

Action & Impact Committee meeting

Minutes of March 26, 2009

 

Attending: Lee Allinger, Will Bloedow, Julie Coenen, Julia Drobeck, Marcia Engen, Carrie Hankes, Gayle Hardt, Helene Iverson, Jeanine Knapp, Sandi Moore, Catherine Scullion, Barb Uehling, John Wollner; and guest/speaker, Amy Wilson, Appleton Area School District Birth to 5 Coordinator.

 

Welcome/Introductions: We welcomed 3 new members, Helen Iverson (Volunteer with NAMI and LEAVEN), Catherine Scullion (Appleton Public Library), and Barb Uehling, community volunteer.

 

February Minutes:  Andrew was out of town at a training, but Carrie & Sandi believed they were approved via email prior to todayÕs meeting.

 

Meeting dates for 2009: Carrie reintroduced a brief discussion held last month about times and sites for the meeting, since Appleton Library does not open until 9 a.m. It was decided to keep the next meeting (April 23 at 9 a.m.) at Appleton Library. Carrie will send out brief survey to all A&I members to re-commit their membership and determine date/time that would work best for the majority of individuals interested in serving as an active member.

 

News from Project Promise Poverty Coalition steering board:

á        It was reported at the March 11 meeting for all volunteers at Zion Lutheran Church that Project Promise now has 214 individual members, 32 member organizations, and an $800 budget.

á        Mito Kudaka is the new co-chair of the Analysis & Information Committee and that group continues to work on the root cause (of poverty) analysis.

á        Kelly Butzlaff, co-chair of Awareness & Education Committee, reported that 8 persons have gone through the SpeakersÕ Bureau training now.

á        A discussion was held regarding the need for a PPPC budget moving forward, one idea was possibility of establishing a dues structure; the Executive Committee members will explore this at their April meeting.

 

Subcommittee Reports

á        Will reported that the Faith & Poverty Subcommittee met on March 22 and that group continues working on projects related to the October 9-15 Faith & Poverty Week. Members have begun compiling materials for the media kit, which will be rolled out in June. The next meeting will be 4-6 p.m. on April 26 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Appleton; the subcommittees will be examining materials each has researched to take the next steps on creating the media kit.

á        Gayle reported that the Continuum of Care Subcommittee has been having trouble finding compatible dates to meet, but have decided upon April 29 in the Fowler Room at St. ElizabethÕs Hospital.

á        Julia reported that the Volunteer & Resource Fair planning is underway and they are also looking at a summer event, perhaps tied into the Farmers Market in some way. They are meeting again April 8.

á        Website Subcommittee- No report due to AndrewÕs absence.

New Projects

 

               AASD Superintendent Lee Allinger introduced Amy Wilson, the subcontracted Birth to 5 Coordinator for children in the Appleton Area School District (AASD). Lee said that AASD has many initiatives in ramping up services to this age group. This is essential, he noted, because studies have shown that children who fall behind in reading ability by 3rd grade will have a difficult time catching up to grade level. The AASD screens 3 and 4-year-olds to identify special needs and begin services. Lee said that some of the federal stimulus money that the district expects to receive will be used to fund additional Title 1 reading efforts in the AASD.

 

Amy discussed the importance of the screenings and was happy to report that the numbers of children screened has risen dramatically in the last 2 years and is expected to top 900 this year. Screenings occur year-round with the bulk occurring February –April and include vision, hearing, and developmental aspects. .  Amy is employed by the Child Care Information and Referral center and coordinates her AASD efforts with WIC and Head Start as well to promote Kindergarten readiness.

 

She shared other interesting statistics. Approximately 4000 babies are born annually at St. Elizabeth, Theda Clark, Appleton Medical Center and New London Hospitals. A Thrivent grant has allowed them to provide Books for Babies for each of the new mothers. They also will sponsor a Family Fun Day on April 16 at the Family Resource Center in Menasha.

 

They are working on a new project to be unveiled soon, RTP. Did you READ to your child today? Did you TALK with your child today? Did you PLAY with your child today?

 

               Amy commented that literacy and poverty can be inter-related and while the team took no action at the meeting, she said she would be a resource person for future discussions.

 

Current Projects

 

á        Seedfolks: The Seedfolks Book Project is continuing. It started as an AASD classroom and community initiative, Appleton Library and Lawrence University became involved as well. Copies of the book are to be read, signed, and passed around to others until May 22, when they should be returned to the library at any Appleton School.

 

The Multicultural Center will hold a Seedfolks Kick-off event at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23, entitled Turn off your TV and Read. There will be an event on Sunday, May 10, from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Community Garden, followed by a speech from 2-3 by Paul Fleischmann, author of Seedfolks, at the Appleton Public Library. Students will present a play based on Seedfolks at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 11, at Appleton West. All of these events are open to the public. Additional private activities will occur as well, by invitation only.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Sandi Moore

Action & Impact Secretary 

 

Hope to see you at 9 A.M. on April 23 at Appleton Public Library for our next meeting!