May!

April was an incredible month for CHS-Parkersburg in terms of activities to promote positive support to children and families in our community. It was exhausting in so many ways, and had its disappointments (in terms of some grants we DIDN'T get, to further our work), but all in all it re-affirmed many things about our mission and impact. Thanks to all the staff for their hard work; and thanks to our community partners and supporters for the so many ways you help us with our work and mission.

May is likely to prove similarly busy! Of note in May will be the agency's Council of Accreditation site visit the last week of the month. We expect Parkersburg to be a site visited. This every four year process gives the agency the opportunity to show that it meets national standards for quality of programs and agency organization and structure. There has been some very hard work going on to prepare for it, and we approach it with confidence, due to the dedication and commitment to quality that the agency holds. We note National Foster Care Month this month, and besides the day to day work of Ken, Greg (and in her absence due to her maternity leave, Carna!!) and Shelley's supervision of the program, we will have an event on Saturday May 8th at City Park in Parkersburg to commemorate the month. Statewide, there is a larger walk on Saturday May 15 in Charleston. Its called "Walk Me Home" and it is also a fund raiser for foster care in West Virginia. May also sees the meeting in Capon Springs of all the Partners in Prevention projects around the state. Lisa and Shauna will be attending this on our behalf, and really enjoy spending the time with the other projects' people, and the very strong state leadership for Prevent Child Abuse. May is also when the Alliance for Children hold their annual conference, and Shelley and I will be attending this conference in Charleston. The Alliance always puts together excellent workshops and sessions, bringing some of the most relevant topics to the leaders of the Alliance. Missy will be attending a grant writing workshop in Flatwoods this month, in hopes of gaining some skills and ideas for further our work here at CHS-Parkersburg. We will be holding two of our community forums this month; one on the 6th about Transitioning Living Services, and one on the 25th about the new Child Protective Service system (called "SAMS"). We will be having the "usual" Family Nights, life skills sessions, Glasser groups, youth activity nights and hosting various meetings, too! I will be attending the United Way funding request session to advocate and support for our allocation from the United Way. We are having a meeting this month to organize our local mailing list of community supporters, in preparation for beginning a quarterly site newsletter. Look for an update about the November auction event at the Art Center soon, too. Ann and I will be attending a statewide meeting of the Partners in Community Outreach, as well as the kick off event of "Our Babies: Safe and Sound" in Charleston on Tuesday.
And in the meantime, our staff daily/ weekly / monthly continue to serve hundreds of area children and families with the many ways that hopefully strengthen families, provide nurturance and promote the well being of children. Take a deep breath and get ready for a wild ride!