Community Day Fundraiser

We are once again participating in the Community Days event.  This year the coupons are able to be used on November 11 & 12.  With a $5.00 cash donation, you will receive this coupon booklet.  It's Elder-Beerman's thank you gift for contributing to our organization.  So while you assist us in building the future of our program, you can build a new wardrobe or get a jump start on your Christmas shopping.  There are so many items that you can use these coupons towards, and we have found several items that were regular $20.00 that we were able to get for free!  You can also use more than one coupon at a time, which means you can multiply your savings while helping our program even more.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Exciting news here at HUMmingbird Day Care Ministry.  The announcement was made this week that Jerry Blesch is in the process of donating the Dutch Haus Restaurant to Holland United Methodist Church for our use. We have expanded multiple times during the last five years.  As the communities need continues to grow for high quality childcare, we have been able to continue to expand and meet the need.  We were at a juncture where we were simply out of room to meet this growing need.  We are so blessed for the support of Jerry, Betty and their family to find it in their heart to make such a generous donation.  We are blessed beyond words. 

With the new building in the process of being donated, we are planning for big projects.  Perhaps my favorite is the addition of the "Club H" after school program.  We find that the majority of our school agers have attended our program since infancy and we want to celebrate the fact that their tastes and interests are changing.  For this reason, we will be creating a specific room just for our older school agers (2nd grade and up).  In this classroom we will have a variety of items such as games, foosball table, couches and chairs among other things that are of interest to their growing needs.  We understand that although we are in the business of early childhood education, our school agers have unique needs and we want to meet their expectation for a fun and exciting place to spend with their friends.

Update on Paths to Quality

Here's an update on where we stand on Paths to Quality.  We have received our visit from the state for the Voluntary Certification Program.  For us to acquire the VCP's we must pass in the areas of infant and toddler care, health, nutrition, and safety.  We passed all 4 areas in our first visit.  This is quite an accomplishment.  We were able to schedule our first Paths to Quality visit last week when we successful passed Level 1.  I immediately scheduled level 2 visit for September 6th.  At that time we will pass level 2 for Paths to Quality.  Level 2 focuses on the environment in respects to classroom arrangements as well as the staff interactions.   They will also be looking at the staff training and education, which we surpass the requirements in both of these areas. 

The staff at HUMmingbird Day Care Ministry have been working hard to offer the families and the community a high quality child care program.  I am extremely excited that with the passing of the VCP's and Level 1 we can begin having the validation of all of their hard work.  If not for their energy and passion for what they do, our program would not be what it is today.

Once Level 2 is complete we will be required to wait 6 months before applying for level 3.  This is only for financial reasons on the Paths to Quality program's end.  With the financial contribution of $1,000 for level 2 and level 3 they require the wait.  Please understand that although the Paths to Quality sign may not say Level 3 at this time, we are in fact meeting all of these requirements at this time.

25 years of excellence

Holland United Methodist Church assessed the growing needs of the community 25 years ago and determined that their was a need for center based program in Dubois County.  Their vision was to provide a program that focused not only on the child's social and education needs, but their spiritual development as well.

Today we continue with that vision.  We are dedicated to the education of the children in our care, while also focusing on their social development.  We are in the business of creating life long learners and the leaders of tomorrow.  We believe that the foundation for your child's future success is established well before they enter the public schools.  It begins with the secure relationships that they have with the staff within the program.  It continues to unfold as the child continues to transition through our program in a group of peers that they have been able to build a relationship with over the years.  Children learn their numbers and their letters, but most importantly they learn to respect the differences of the individuals around them. 

An update for the families of HUMmingbird Day Care Ministry

We will be having our visit from the State for our Voluntary Certification Program on Tuesday, June 28.  The Voluntary Certification is a measurement to allign our program with that of a licensed facility.  Although all of our policy and procedures have been in place for some time, we did have to do some major reconstruction of our physical program in regards to electrical work, plumbing and installing the fire alarm system.  After the use of various resources from fundaising and grants, we are ready for the first step towards achieving future accredidation.  We are so thankful for all of the parents who have volunteered their time and talent as we have made these changes, to ensure that our facility structure would mirror the high quality programming that we have offered the families of our community for years.