Calling all golfers! Team spots are filling up quickly for our inaugural Chip In For Children golf tournament. This event benefits local programs that serve more than 75,000 children age birth to five in Mecklenburg County. Join over 100 of Charlotte's business leaders for a day of golf, raffles, prizes and friendly competition. A team registration includes:
  • A team of four golfers
  • A team sign at one hole
  • Team name and organization listed on the website
  • Breakfast and lunch
  • Registration packet for reach player including Footjoy windshirt, shoe bag and socks
  • Raffles, prizes and awards

Sign up today to reserve one of the last team spots and to support the health and growth of our community's children.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
Did you know: According to the CDC, children who experience any of the four most common types of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual or neglect) are at risk for disrupted brain development. This disruption often leads to an increased risk of serious physical, mental, or social health issues as adults.

Join us this month as we invest in strengthening families in our community during Child Abuse Prevention Month. Here are a few ways you can get involved:

  • Wear blue on April 6 to raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention.
  • Speak up! Tell your elected officials at every level that you support programs that promote great childhoods.
  • Purchase a Kids First license plate. In doing so, a portion of the fees go back to local programs that help prevent child abuse and neglect.
  • Plant a pinwheel garden in your community to help raise awareness. Be sure to share it on social media using #PassThePinwheel or #GreatChildhoods.
Treating Childhood Trauma
Having experienced abuse in her own childhood, Oprah Winfrey recently set out to explore the realities of childhood trauma, the developmental effects of these early experiences on children and what new methods are being developeded to help victims heal from abuse or neglect.

In a recent segment on 60 MINUTES, Oprah interviewed women and children who have experienced abuse, doctors and counselors who are researching the most effective ways to help victims of abuse, and organizations that come alongside the abused on their journey towards healing.

One organization featured in the segment uses a groundbreaking approach to therapy that is quickly spreading among those working with abused women and children. Saint A, a nonprofit in Milwaukee, WI, embraces a "trauma informed care" approach that focuses on a child's past experiences rather than their behavior. They begin by asking "What happened to you?" in place of "What is wrong with you?"

Click the button below to learn more about "trauma informed care" and how experts believe the key to overcoming a traumatic childhood is a nurturing relationship with someone who can lend a helping and healing hand.

Triple P Parenting Tip of the Month
If your child misbehaves, stay calm and give them a clear instruction to stop misbehaving and tell them what you would like them to do instead (e.g., “Stop fighting; play nicely with each other.”).

Praise your child if they stop. If they do not stop, follow through with an appropriate consequence.

Funded Program
Safe Journey's Parents as Teachers is a parenting programs for teen mothers and their children ages birth to five. These programs assist participants with completing their high school education, delaying additional pregnancies, assistance with counseling and educational resources and effective parenting skills.
Communities in Schools Children & Family Services Center
601 E. 5th St., Suite 300, Charlotte, NC 28202
Smart Start of Mecklenburg County administers approximately $13 million a year in state and private funds to programs serving children birth to age five, their families, and their caregivers in Mecklenburg County. 

Thank You!

Thank you for all you do to ensure that ALL children in Mecklenburg County enter school healthy and ready to succeed!