Region A Partnership for Children continues to engage with partners to provide families with opportunities to experience fun and educational events
Congratulations to Macon County Public Library staff for pulling off a spectacular event for children and families on June 1st, 2024, for their Sesame Summer Reading Kickoff starring Costume Character Count Von Count, straight from Sesame Street. The event and Sesame Street in Communities program participation were sponsored by the Dogwood Health Trust grant for Raising Resilience WNC, a regional project coordinated by Region A Partnership for Children and other Smart Start Partnerships to bring new resources to families in the 18 western NC counties.
Over 300 participants were in attendance at the Sesame Summer Reading Kickoff. In addition to meeting Costume Character Count Von Count, participants enjoyed performances by the magical Professor Whizzpop and the music of Big Bang Boom. Included in the experiences for children were Touch a Truck emergency vehicles and a tractor, face painting and other stations for kids. In addition to the library staff other resource providers were on site to bring information to families including Read to Me, Catholic Charities, Vaya, Children’s Developmental Services Agency, Macon County Public Health Department, Macon Program for Progress, Macon County Public Schools, Southwestern Child Development Commission, KIDS Place and Region A Partnership for Children.
The Raising Resilience WNC initiative and the Dogwood Health Trust partnered with Region A Partnership for Children to bring Sesame Street characters and resources to all seven of our Region A counties over the last two years, including Cookie Monster, Super Grover, Abby Cadabby, Rosita and Count Von Count. Community partners and volunteers in all seven counties worked together to create memorable experiences for children and adults with a variety of themes, resources and activities. Thanks to the generosity of the Dogwood Health Trust, children and families also received special food and giveaways at the events.
In addition to sponsoring Sesame Street in Communities events, the Raising Resilience WNC initiative has provided children and families with Early Learning Toolkits with fun and educational materials about school readiness, early literacy, healthy social and emotional development and building resilience skills.
Region A Partnership for Children will continue to engage with our partners to continue the opportunities for families to experience fun and educational events.
The amazingly fun and educational free resources from Sesame Workshop, the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street are available at sesame.org These resources provide guidance and information for parents and caregivers on a wealth of child and family centered topics related to early education, resilience, and modern day issues.
Region A Partnership for Children is grateful to the Dogwood Health Trust, the Raising Resilience WNC team and all of our partners for the generosity and effort that has made this initiative a great success. We will continue to build resilience with our partners in our region with new energy believing in new possibilities.
Photo by Deanna Lyles
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