Kinship Connection Spring 2015

Spring 2015

Welcome Baby May! Julia Pearl Born April 8th

Kinship Events During the transition from the cool season into the warm season, you may have noticed that the Kinship Care activities have quieted down. However, please know that as upcoming events occur we will keep you notified by phone and mail of these events Our hope is that you utilize these resources! As caregivers, you give selflessly to maintain a healthy placement for your kinship child. So please let us use any opportunity we have to support you on this sometimes demanding journey. Thank you all for your kind and gracious hearts!

Spring Break Food Boxes At the end of March, the Kinship Coordination program had the opportunity to collaborate with Covenant Community United Methodist Church to distribute spring food boxes to families with school age children during the week that they would normally be eating breakfast and lunch at school. We had a great turnout with more than 25 boxes going to Kinship families and many more to other homes in the community. A big THANK YOU to Covenant Community UMC for organizing this drive!

After 42 weeks and 1 day, Julia Pearl May was finally born on April 8th, 2015! She weighed 8 lbs and 12 oz, and was 20 inches long. Laura May, Kinship Coordinator, shared that she and little Julia are doing wonderfully and enjoying their time getting to know one another. Laura will be back to Kinship Care sometime in June.

Until then, please keep the May family in your thoughts and prayers as they bond and adjust as a new family unit.

Cakes for Kids Cakes for Kids is a new event that the Kinship program is beginning! We are partnering with Biltmore Baptist Church Ron Howard Connect Group to provide a unique and special cake on your kinship child’s birthday. Each family will receive an information sheet for each child. Please fill them in and turn them into Laura May or Lauren Schneider at the Bair Foundation so we can get the information to our volunteers. Every child should feel special on his or her birthday!

Biltmore Baptist Church

THANK YOU!

Who is Bair & What is Kinship?

Bair’s Asheville Location at Executive Park

T

he Bair Foundation is a child and family ministry with over 40 years of experience in the field of child welfare. Our Asheville office has been providing therapeutic foster care to local abused and neglected youth for the past four years.

We recruit and retain quality homes in Asheville and the surrounding areas that are able to provide structure, stability, safety, and love to children in the foster care system. The Bair Foundation actively recruits teen homes and families who are willing to take sibling groups, as that is where the need is greatest. The objective of our ministry is to strengthen families and ultimately provide permanency for these children, either through returning home, foster-to-adopt, legal guardianship, or kinship care.

Kinship Care is a program designed to help support a child who resides outside of his or her own home, either temporarily or for the long term, with a relative, godparents, stepparents or any adult who has a “kinship bond” with a child. Kinship Care is an option that allows a child to grow into adulthood in a familiar family environment instead of being placed in foster care.

THANK YOU Kinship families for providing transitional care for your “kin” while their biological parents complete the steps necessary so their children can return home.

Questions?

Kinship

Resources

Buncombe County Health & Human Services Announcement: Triple P Parenting What is Triple P? Triple P is one of the world’s most effective and well-researched parenting programs.

It is designed to give parents the skills they need to raise confident, healthy children and to build stronger family relationships.

Triple P doesn’t tell people how to parent.

Rather, it gives parents simple and practical strategies that they can adapt to suit their own values, beliefs and needs.

Triple P is distinctive in that it is not a “one size fits all” parenting class. Rather, it is a system that offers increasing levels of support to meet parents’ different needs.

Parents can choose anything from one-off public seminars to more intensive group courses or individual counseling sessions.

Laura May, Kinship Coordinator The Bair Foundation Executive Park Suite 108 - Bldg. 1 Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 350-5197 (877) 213-0723 toll free (828) 350- 5199 fax email: LMay@bair.org

Why Positive Parenting?

Buncombe County Dept. of Social Services 40 Coxe Avenue, PO Box 7408 Asheville, NC 28802 (828) 250-5500 (828) 250-6235 fax

“They are also much less likely to develop behavioral or emotional problems when they get older. Similarly, parents who use positive parenting skills feel more confident and competent about managing day-to-day family life. They are also less stressed, less depressed and have less conflict with their partners over parenting issues,” explains Sanders.

If you would like to help/give/hold a donation drive please contact Laura!

“Children who grow up with positive parenting are more likely to develop the skills they need to do well at schoolwork, build friendships, and feel good about themselves.” says clinical psychologist and Triple P developer Matt Sanders.

triplep-parenting.net

A Real Effort to Reach Every Parent

With so many different child-serving agencies across the county offering these different levels of Triple P, parents have the opportunity to experience the program in a trusted, known environment. Triple P Coordinator Deanna LaMotte explains her excitement about the program this way: “Every parent has questions. Every parent feels overwhelmed or frustrated at least sometimes. If a child’s pediatrician and her teacher, and the local librarian and her church are all telling the parents it’s okay to seek parenting help, and the right kind of help is nearby, they’ll take advantage of it. And all families in our community will be happier and healthier when that is the norm.”

Get More Information To find out more about Triple P and to find local Triple P providers and public events, go to www.triplep-parenting. net or contact the Program Coordinator, Deanna LaMotte, at deanna.lamotte@ buncombecounty.org.

facebook.com/thebairfoundation

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Places to Go

Crafts & Projects to Make

Things to Play & Do

Go to the library and check out books and story time

Make paper plate zoo animals

Play balloon hockey

Have a play date at McDonald’s.

Ice Cream is $1.00

Paint with Kool-aid. Smells good too!

Have a family board game party or game night

Go to your local craft store for any free kid’s clinics

Read a favorite Dr. Seuss book and create a craft

Have a bon fire and roast marshmallows

Go to a local indoor pool

Make homemade play dough

Play frisbee

Go camping in the front yard, back yard, or living room

Make bird treats and hang them in a tree outside

Have a scavenger hunt

Go to your local recreation center

Make an obstacle course and have Olympics in your yard

Do a puzzle together

Go see if your church is offering any activities

Make your own kite

Play hide and go seek in the dark

Go fishing

Make homemade bubbles

Build a clubhouse or fort

Go hiking

Make your own board game

Plant something - start a garden

Go to the park

Make puppets and put on a play

Have a picnic in the park or your yard

Summer does not have to be a time of kids wandering around the house saying “I’m bored.”

Here is a simple chart of some options you and your kids can try during this upcoming break from school.

LOCAL Summer Vacation Opportunities

Get Wet

Cool off at Splasheville at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville. Hours are generally 9 AM to 9 PM daily from April through November.

The pavilion offers drinking fountains and rest rooms.

Get Outdoors

Enjoy free admission at the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah Forest on National Get Outdoors Day, which is scheduled for June 13th. Special events include skill teaching, live demonstrations and guided nature walks.

Get Your Feet on a Trail Get in the Groove You won’t run out of possibilities when searching out hiking trails. Consider venturing to a high spot where you can see almost forever.

Mount Pisgah and Craggy Dome are two spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway with stunning views.

Head south of Asheville to reach Mt. Pisgah at Milepost 408. Head north to reach Craggy Gardens, the visitors center is at Milepost 364.

Get Free Lunch

Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch and it happens every Wednesday at the Welcome Table of Haywood Street Congregation downtown. Lunch is served family style during three seatings: 10:30 and 11:15 am and 12:00. Everyone is welcome to take part. Area restaurants like Curate, Table, Fig, Strada, Wicked Weed and others often prepare the meal.

Get in a Pool

Open swim sessions at the three Asheville city and five Buncombe County pools are $3 per person. Both offer discount admission passes. (See attached pool flyer).

There are plenty of places to listen to free music this summer. Here are a few ideas: Shindig on the Green: At sundown on Saturday evenings in the summer, flocks of people pull out their camp chairs or blankets and relax while listening to the old time music and ballad singers. The event runs 7-10 PM most Saturdays, June 27th - September 5th at Roger McGuire Green at Pack Square Park.

Asheville Drum Circle: This popular Fri. night event in Pritchard Park features the inspiring beat of dozens of drummers.

Homegrown in Pritchard: 98.1 The River Summer Concert Series in Prichard Park in downtown Asheville. Performances take place Thursday evenings between Memorial Day & Labor Day.

See a Movie

A summer movie series for kids is just a dollar a ticket at Regal Biltmore Grande in Biltmore Park in South Asheville and UA Beaucatcher Cinemas on Tunnel Road. The 10:00 AM showings on Tuesdays & Wednesdays run for 9 weeks starting June 17th. Two films offered each week. (See attachment for schedule.)

Get Crafty

Learn more about how the region’s crafts are made through programs at the Folk Art Center, at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Two upcoming events include Clay Day on Saturday June 6th and Wood Day on Saturday August 8th. Both events run from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM and feature live demonstrations and hands on activities for kids and adults. There’s free parking here, plus access to popular hiking trails and picnic tables. Learn more at www. southernhighlandguild.org.

Get to a Ballgame

There are some chances to snag free tickets to see the Asheville Tourists play at McCormick Field.

Ingles Night: June 10th, July 8th & August 19th. Show your Ingles Advantage Card at the box office to buy a ticket and get another free of charge.

Goodwill Night: June 2nd, June 9th, June 30th, July 28th, August 18th, and August 25th.

Pick up a free ticket at the Goodwill truck parked in front of the stadium when you donate three items of gently used clothing.

Family Support Groups The Bair Foundation would like to invite YOU to Kinship & Conversation, a bi-monthly kinship support group. When you come to a kinship support meeting, you get a chance to connect with other kinship caregivers by sharing stories, resources and offering support.

Coffee and pastries provided!

Although family and friends may provide much needed encouragement, perhaps no one offers emotional understanding, information and advice as well as people whoa re in a similar life situation. The Family Support Network of Western North Carolina is a parent-to-parent program serving caregivers of children with special healthcare needs and developmental concerns. FSN of WNC facilitates monthly Family Groups that offer education, support, and resources for each family member, including the children in your care.

When: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month: June 3rd and June 17th, July 1st and July 15th, etc...

Please RSVP. Signing up will help ensure there is enough food for dinner and volunteers for groups.

Where: The Bair Foundation, 108 Executive Park, Asheville, NC 28801

To Register: Call 828-213-0047 or email Kerri.Eaker@msj.org

Kinship & Conversation Support Groups

Please let Laura May know if you plan on attending. You can RSVP via phone call or text, 280-0407. We hope to see you there! *We are not able to provide childcare at this time.

WHERE: Mission Reuter Children’s Center FSN of WNC 11 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Asheville NC 28803 Meetings are the 1st Tuesday of each month.

June 2nd: 5:30-6:00, dinner; 6:00 – 7:30, meeting July 7th: 5:30-6:00, dinner; 6:00 – 7:30, meeting August 4th: 5:30-6:00, dinner; 6:00 – 7:30, meeting September 1st: 5:30-6:00, dinner; 6:00 – 7:30, meeting

The Tack Room 828-777-6033

Dial 2-1-1 United Way’s 2-1-1 of Western North Carolina is a community service information line that links people to health and human services in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, McDowell and Transylvania counties.

2-1-1 service is free, confidential and available 24/7 to speakers of all languages. Whether you want to find or give help, trained referral specialists are available to answer your call and identify the right resources for you.

The Tack Room provides clothing for children of all ages. You can also get needed baby equipment, diapers, emergency supplies of formula and toys.

All items are FREE to Kinship families in Buncombe County.

Where: 36 Vance Avenue, Black Mountain, NC 28711 (Take Exit 64, turn left, then take the first left between SunTrust Bank and Subway/Gas Station onto Vance Avenue. Tack Room will be past the stop sign on the right).

When: Monday - Saturday by appointment. To schedule an appointment, contact Millie Lewis via text or phone call at (828) 777-6033.

Laura May, Bair’s Kinship Coordinator and Millie Lewis, founder of The Tack Room