Wow – it’s seriously been a really long time since we’ve posted here. There’s been a lot going on, what with volunteers helping out, kids being moved up into new classrooms as they’ve gotten older, and then we lost one our founding mothers, Freda Blecher, just a few weeks ago. I’m sure we’ll be talking more about Freda’s contribution to VICCC soon – she was one of a kind.
One thing I’ve been meaning to post for a while though, is the video from the ribbon cutting ceremony in August. We had a great time, and wanted to share it with you here:
We are SO excited! We’ve finally gotten all of the kids, the equipment, the staff – EVERYTHING – into the new facility and we can’t wait to show it off! There have been hundreds, maybe even thousands, of volunteer hours contributed to this herculean effort, and it has paid off. The walls are painted, the playground is awesome, and the kids are as happy as can be to be under one roof!
If you’re so inclined, PLEASE be our guest at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new center this Wednesday at 11am. We’d love to show off our new home, as well as introduce you to some of the incredible staff and volunteers who make all of this possible. Directions can be found here, and light refreshments will be served.
One child’s face was so swollen that his eyes were slits and his pudgy arms could barely move. The parents had taken him to the doctor several times and were sent away with advice to watch what he ate. After several weeks, the swelling was so bad, the mother took him to the emergency room in the middle of the night. A woman doctor in the last hour of her shift asked if the child had had any blood tests because it looked to her as if the child might be suffering from a kidney malfunction. He was. This was the first time a blood test was suggested. In the year of listening to the doctor who accepted Medicaid patients, these parents finally realized that perhaps they were not getting the same care as other parents facing a similar situation. Maybe that’s unfair. But, I have seen it a number of times in my work with low-income families. The doctor says to our staff, “Wait until the seizure lasts four minutes before calling 911.” Four minutes. What medical school did that doctor attend? This child is 7 months old! What about the obviously vacant eyed child who had been sexually abused by her father since she was months old? Barely verbal, eating her feces and running from everyone at age 3. On the physical form signed by the doctor was written “Grossly Normal.” Not having run across that term before, I called his office to inquire what that meant. I was told that the child exhibited such normal behavior that no one could think by looking at her that she was anything but normal.
On what planet?
This is what our children are dealing with on a regular basis. How could we NOT try to help them??
One of our dads works for a landscaping company. When he came to pick up his child one day, he pointed out a very large branch with a split in it. If you cocked your head sideways you could see the resemblance to an alligator mouth. The dad said that huge branch was going to break off. As it was hanging a good 8 feet over the green room where the four year olds are, not to mention the fence and play equipment all rests below that tree, and so we notified the landlord right away. Three days later a big storm came and blew that branch right off that tree. The next morning the staff discovered the verdant and woodsy giant lying neatly next to the fence. The tallest offshoot of that branch was easily 3 times as tall as any man and it hadn’t even scratched the fence.
Our only conclusion was that the property of the Good Shepherd Church of the Brethren was as safe a place as any for our child care center. We are so blessed …
One child was a runner. She was 3 years old, and had learned to cope with her abusive father by just running away – and was she fast! In the blink of an eye, she could be on top of the bookcase, under a table, or have the door open and be halfway down the hall. We used positive words. “Use your walking feet, child”, or “Inside we use our walking feet, child” (with a little more stress on the phrase).
One energetic morning, the child was as free as the wind, running in circles around the room. “Use your walking feet child” came the encouraging response from the teacher. The other adults took up the chorus. “Use your walking feet child.” In frustration, the child stopped and looked at us all like the dunces we were and said, “I’m using my walking feet to run!”
Sometimes, it can be easy to get frustrated with this item or that, but there’s a greater purpose. Whenever we get too frustrated, it doesn’t take long to realize the reason we’re here … here’s what one of our mothers just went through.
Recently one of our single moms was in a car accident on the way home from work. She was coming to pick up her newborn and her 2 year old and it was near closing time. The payment for her child care for that week was in her purse and it was all she had to get the car fixed enough to get home.
I work all day and go home to no other person, no pet and no plants. Many days I sink into my favorite chair and let the drool slide out of the corner of my mouth. That’s how tired I am. Thinking of a single mom with two little children, a full-time job, next to no money makes me more tired than working all day myself. Swimming against the tide, trying to make ends meet when there is too much room in the middle and not having any time left over to coo and cuddle is not fair to mom or baby.
It can always seem tough, but there’s someone out there that has it tougher. Things can go poorly, but it’s never the worst. People need child care, and they need to know that VICCC’s here to help.
Welcome to the VICCC blog, we thank you for stopping by!
The Valley Interfaith Child Care Center – we just like to call it VICCC, for short – is a very special place. With dozens of kids running around, dedicated volunteers, and exciting projects coming up, there’s a lot to talk about, and so we thought this blog might be that place to share some of the joys – and sometimes sorrows – of working with little ones.
We hope you enjoy reading, and that you’ll come back in the future! For now …
