Community News

EARLY LITERACY AT HEART OF ANNUAL GALA FOR THE CHILDREN By Micki Bare

Since 2009, the Gala for the Children has served as Randolph Partnership for Children’s (RPC) premiere fundraising and benefit auction event.

Those familiar with the RPC’s fundraiser know the theme is always a well-known children’s book, series, or author. Community members, business owners and leaders, and elected officials alike have enjoyed coming together to celebrate Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss. They’ve hobnobbed with Peter Pan and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They’ve voyaged to Where the Wild Things Are.

The focus on children’s literature brings out the wideeyed inner child of guests to this annual event. However, there’s a greater purpose to RPC’s storybook themes.

Early literacy is a foundation of RPC’s work in early childhood. It is critical to brain growth and development in the first years of life. It is a predictor to later success in school and life. Children who are read to and have access to books at home and in early care and preschool reap cognitive, health, and social and emotional benefits that last a lifetime.

“As a parent and educator, nothing warms my heart more than hearing those three sweet words, ‘Read it again!’” Shannon McCrary, RPC Board Director said. McCrary also serves as RPC’s Sustainability Committee Chairperson and served with husband, Walker, as 2018 Gala for the Children Chairperson. “We know when young children have access to books, their brains grow bigger. The earlier we get books into their hands, the better. Reading to children from birth and having access to books in the home is essential to early learning.”

The Gala for the Children has always been more than a fundraiser. RPC uses the event to highlight the importance, reach, and impact of local early literacy programs like these:

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Dolly Parton began the Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county in East Tennessee to inspire a love of reading, plant the seeds of lifelong dreams, and combat illiteracy. This program is now a global effort that provides children younger than 5 a free book every month until their fifth birthday. Locally, parents can register their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers online at SmartStart.org/DPIL or by contacting RPC. In Randolph County, more than 4000 children are receiving books through the Imagination Library. RPC works with community partners to reach the more than 8,000 children younger than 5 in the county, all of which are eligible for this program.

Reach Out and Read: Local pediatricians and healthcare providers “prescribe” books and family reading time through Reach Out and Read. Participating doctor’s offices have a literacy-rich child’s waiting area filled with children’s books. At each well-child check-up between 6 months and age 5, the child receives a free book to take home. At the same time, parents learn strategies for incorporating reading time into the family’s daily routine. Reach Out and Read participating providers through RPC’s High Qualitydesignated program include Asheboro Children’s Health and Randolph Health Pediatrics in Asheboro; and Randolph Health Liberty in Liberty. Healthcare providers who want to participate in Reach Out and Read can contact RPC for more information.

Books for Babies: RPC assists Randolph County Public Library Friends with this outreach program. Books for Babies provides a bag for parents of newborns that includes board books to read with baby, a blanket, and information on the Imagination Library, Reach Out and

Read, and The Basics Randolph (the five pillars that support healthy brain growth). The bags are distributed at Randolph Health by trained volunteers. To learn more about donating or volunteering for Books for Babies, email friends@randolphlibrary.org.

“The Partnership fosters a love of reading among children by promoting and sustaining early literacy initiatives. As a volunteer, former employee, and now a board member, I am so thankful to be involved in these wonderful programs,” McCrary said.

Money raised through Gala for the Children sponsorships, auctions, and related activities are used to sustain and expand these literacy programs as well as a host of other support programs and initiatives for young children in Randolph County. All of RPC’s work is related to preparing young children to enter kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.

This year’s Gala for the Children theme is IF YOU GIVE. It celebrates the works of children’s book author Laura Numeroff, including If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Dog a Donut, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, and If You Give a Moose a Muffin. Adding to the festive theme are two notable book birthdays in 2021. If You Give a Moose a Muffin was published 30 years ago and If You Give a Dog a Donut hits the 10-year milestone this year.

“The money raised through the Gala for the Children makes it possible to give the precious gift of reading to all young children in our county—and it’s fun, too! My husband and I look forward to this event every year,” McCrary said.

RPC’s programs support and enhance early literacy, health and wellness, and early learning through play and exploration for children birth-5; support parents as their child’s first and most important teacher; and support early educators in providing high quality care and attaining educational goals in the profession. To learn more about the 2021 IF YOU GIVE Gala for the Children fundraising and benefit auction or RPC programs and initiatives for young children, visit RandolphKids.org.

Photos provided by Randolph Partnership for Children, 2013.

COMMUNITY NEWS

RCC, MOUNT OLIVE AGREEMENT EASES TRANSITION FOR STUDENTS

Randolph Community College and University of Mount Olive faculty and staff, along with members of the RCC Board of Trustees, gathered Thursday, April 15, in the Dr. Robert S. Shackleford Jr. Allied Health Center for an agreement signing ceremony. The two agreements will make it easier for RCC students to not only seamlessly transfer to Mount Olive to earn a bachelor of science degree in multiple agricultural disciplines, but also to earn a degree in other programs offered by the university without leaving Randolph County.

The documents are the result of four years of work between the schools — even before RCC had an Agriculture program.

“We're so excited about this partnership and the way that it is coming together,” RCC President Dr. Robert S. Shackleford Jr. said. “They are making an effort to provide classes here on our campus and classes online. That's a unique opportunity and a unique commitment on the part of Mount Olive — one that we respect and appreciate. This is going to serve a lot of students. … The second agreement we’re signing is icing on the cake.

“What you're seeing today, it's not just a signing ceremony. The future of education is getting out of the silos. Education is moving quickly towards seamless pathways. We can't do our job unless we work closely with the high schools and closely with universities because it's all seamless. You're getting a foretaste of what education’s going to look like in the years to come — us all working together for the common good of the students and the common good of our communities.”

“It is great to be here today,” Mount Olive President Dr. H. Edward Croom added. “I am very happy to tell you how confident I am in the program. It’s a great day for us. It is a great day for our School of Ag and Biological Sciences. It's a great day for your students here in Randolph County. We're looking forward to a great partnership.”

Starting in Fall 2022, students who have completed an agricultural associate degree from RCC can enroll seamlessly with Mount Olive to pursue bachelor’s degrees in agribusiness, agricultural communication and leadership, agricultural production systems, and plant science on the RCC campus. Courses will engage students in theoretical applications of agricultural principles through handson learning. Mount Olive will deliver junior- and seniorlevel courses in a hybrid format on the RCC campus, and

Randolph Community College President Dr. Robert S. Shackleford Jr. (right) addresses RCC and University of Mount Olive faculty and staff and RCC Trustees during a signing ceremony Thursday, April 15, in the Dr. Robert S. Shackleford Jr. Allied Health Center on the Asheboro Campus. Pictured on the left is Mount Olive President Dr. H. Edward Croom.

students also will have Mount Olive advisors and faculty available to them on the RCC site.

“Mount Olive is offering a great opportunity to start here and then go to Mount Olive to earn a bachelor’s degree and to not even have to leave the county,” RCC Agribusiness Technology Department Head Derrick Cockman said. “It will be beneficial to everybody.”

Mount Olive already partnered with Providence Grove High School four years ago with The Higher Education (THE) Ag Experience, which allows students to work toward an Associate of Science degree in Agriculture through the university while still in high school.

“We just had to wait for the stars to align,” Mount Olive Dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences Dr. Sandy Maddox said. “Dr. Croom can say that he wasn't in place at the time, but he put the whole idea of the academies into our brains. And then, with the right people in place, we were able to bring this to fruition. It was a great idea four years ago, and I think all of us knew we’d be here today.”

Croom and Maddox were joined by Dr. Burt Lewis, Assistant Vice President for Curriculum Development, and Jason Davis, Assistant Dean of the School of Ag and Biological Sciences.

RCC Vice President for Instructional Services Suzanne Rohrbaugh said the partnership with Mount Olive began four years ago with Pathways to Prosperity — a collaboration of RCC, Asheboro City Schools, and the Randolph County School System, working together with industry, to create a seamless pathway for students to go from local high schools to a great career in Randolph County. The school systems debuted the project in 2015 with pathways for advanced manufacturing jobs. The second initiative in 2016 focused on creating health care pathways. The third initiative, agriculture — Randolph County’s largest industry for land mass, was introduced in April 2018.

“The Mount Olive team has been just tremendous to work with,” Rohrbaugh said. “We feel like we're in a really good position to support our community here in Randolph County. The beauty of this [Ag] agreement is students will have the opportunity to remain right here in Randolph County, to be able to complete their degree. [Mount Olive staff is] going to be spending some time on our campus; they're going to help us with the advising and the recruitment and it is truly a partnership.”

RCC Vice President for Instructional Services Suzanne Rohrbaugh (left) addresses those in attendance. Pictured next to Rohrbaugh, left to right, are Mount Olive Dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences Dr. Sandy Maddox, Assistant Vice President for Curriculum Development Dr. Burt Lewis, and Assistant Dean in the School of Ag and Biological Sciences Jason Davis