Tea Time

Angels walk among us and they are our mothers and grandmothers, the women who nurture and care for children and foster the dreams of the next generation. This month Coastal Coalition for Children (CC4C) is hosting a Tribute Tea that celebrates these (continues)

important women in our lives. This event is a fundraiser for CC4C and will serve as a kick-off to “May is Generation Celebration Month,” and Executive Director Teri Evans is hopeful that this is just the first year of a new annual event and one of many more additions to raise the profile of CC4C in the community. While you may not recognize Coastal Coalition for Children’s name, perhaps you are familiar with their pillar programs, Grandparent Connection and Healthy Families:

In Glynn County, there are approximately 1000 families in which the primary caregivers for the children are their grandparents. Raising children for a second time can be very challenging for grandparents and a major adjustment for them, as well as for the children. Grandparent Connection helps to make the situation easier for all involved by assisting grandparents in bridging generational gaps, meeting the child’s physical and emotional needs, and locating available financial and healthcare resources. The program is not limited to grandparents and is also available to help relative, or kinship, caregivers. Grandparent Connection also provides assistance in the school system by advocating for these families and helps grandparents to find beneficial family resources of which they might not be aware. Collaborating with the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Georgia, Grandparent Connection provides parenting classes for grandparents at local Boys and Girls Club facilities using “Parenting the Second Time Around,” a curriculum designed specifically for “grandfamilies.” The classes help grandparents understand issues facing children today and to be able to better identify the emotional needs, as well as the physical needs, of their grandchildren. The 8 modules of the curriculum address family dynamics, current methods of effectively disciplining children, legal concerns of relatives rising children, advocacy and connection with community programs. The Boys and Girls Club staff offer supervised programs and activities for the grandchildren while their grandparents are in class. Upon competition of the classes, grandparents are encouraged to continue to support one another in the monthly peer support group meetings that take place on the third Tuesday of the month at the Terrell Thomas Boys & Girls Club Center in Brunswick. The group provides input as to meeting topics. The Grandparent Connection works closely with the health department, police, the County Extension Office, legal and financial advisors, the YWCA, school systems, and the Glynn County Recreation Department to provide grandparents with the vital information they need in raising their grandchildren. These groups give presentations and answer questions on areas like obtaining help for the children through the schools, qualifying for government health care, immunizations, and custody and adoption issues.

The support groups have provided invaluable benefits to participating grandparents. The accepting environment and opportunity to connect with people who are experiencing the same things helps grandparents, and children, to know they are not alone. Members offer help and support to each other in many ways, from advice to transportation and childcare. The families enjoy gatherings like picnics, Easter egg hunts, trips to local water parks, and Family Days at the YWCA. Through donations, Grandparent Connection is able to host an Giving Tree and a Back to School party each year.

Healthy Families of Coastal Georgia (HFCG) is a credentialed program that follows a national program model designed to help expectant and new parents get their children off to healthy start. The program is available to any consenting parents in Glynn and McIntosh Counties at no cost. Families participate voluntarily in the program after a preliminary eligibility screen (prior to or within two weeks of birth) and receive free home visiting and referrals from trained staff. By providing services to overburdened families, HFCG fits

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into the continuum of services provided to families by the Coastal Coalition for Children, Inc. and other coastal area agencies.

HFCG uses the “Growing Great Kids” prenatal to 36 months curriculum, an interactive parenting and child development curriculum and a staff development program. This curriculum includes assessment tools to monitor baby’s developmental growth and also focuses on the development of nurturing and empathetic parent-child relationships beginning at birth. A trained Family Support Worker (FSW) is assigned to the family and visits the home once a week to present the parenting curriculum, model appropriate mother/child behavior, monitor the baby’s growth and development, and make referrals to help the parent provide a safe healthy home for their child. The objective of the program is to support young families as they strive to create a safe and stable home environment for their child. The Family Support Worker helps the family develop an individual family support plan to attain educational and financial goals and become self-sufficient members of the community. Young families are encouraged to remain in the program until the child is old enough to attend an instructional pre-school program at 3 to 4 years of age.

This important work of helping to raise today’s children falls under the umbrella of CC4C. So even if you don’t know their name, you can see they’re providing some vital programs. It was the idea of grandmother-mother-daughter tea parties that sparked the idea for April’s fundraiser.

The Tribute Tea will include a formal afternoon tea and a separate Kids Mad Hatter Tea & Etiquette Lesson (with childcare) for girls and boys in Kindergarten through Grade 4. The menu for the formal tea will include English scones and their traditional accompaniments, like jams and clotted cream with fruit, tea sandwiches, crudité, and canapes, pastries, tarts, and macarons. Two brewed teas will be served and there will be a brief, fun “Tea Talk” about the origin, history, and etiquette of a “proper tea.” In the Mad Hatter Tea room, children will enjoy kid-friendly tea sandwiches, yogurt and fruit, cupcakes and other treats while they learn good table manners and social grace. Look out, Brits, the ladies of the Golden Isles are comin’ for ya and bringing their kids!

The Tribute Tea will take place from 2:004:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, at the A.W. Jones Heritage Center and will also include announcements of the CC4C Volunteers of the Year, the Healthy Families HOPE recipient, and Grandparent Connection Gratitude recipient. Some fabulous door prizes and goody bags will also be part of the afternoon fun. Elegant Island Living is proud to be a presenting sponsor of this inaugural event and we hope to see you there. Patrons are invited to purchase a table for 8 guests for $300 and come as a group of friends, co-workers, or family. Individual tickets are also available for $35 with a second adult (mother, daughter, friend) on the same purchase only $30. Children’s tickets are $15, limited to the first 20 reservations. The raffle tickets for door prizes are 3 for $5 or 6 for $10. For tickets, please contact 912.388.0376. For more information about CC4C, visit cc4children. org. Grab the ladies in your life, don your favorite frock, add a chic chapeau, and come join the tea party!