Healthy Start Mom Welcomes Foster Child
A graduate of The Baby Fold’s Healthy Start program has opened her heart and home to a child in foster care. Hillary Pacha first encountered The Baby Fold as a Healthy Start client, receiving support before and after the birth of her first son, Eljah. Ten years after graduating from Healthy Start, Hilary is now the founder and CEO of a local nonprofit agency, serves as a guest lecturer at Illinois State University, and spends much of her time volunteering at church. “In a situation that only God could orchestrate, my family is growing again. The Baby Fold is back in my life. This time to guide me as a foster mother to baby Darius,” Pacha explains. She uses the valuable skills learned in Healthy Start to care for the new baby and is happy to give back to the agency that helped her and her son at the beginning of his life. Pacha credits her foster care worker, Taylor McDonald, with much of her growth and success as a foster parent. “She consistently advocates for me, while balancing the needs of Darius, his biological parents, and the court system. She quickly moved us through the complicated maze of foster care so that I could be Mommy to Darius for now and for as long as he needs me...I’m forever changed by this.” Elijah enjoys his new role as big brother, even changing diapers and helping with chores. The Baby Fold was there for Hilary when Elijah entered the world and is still by her side today, as she provides a loving home for a foster child.
The Baby Fold's Clinical Director Hosts National Seminar
The Baby Fold's Clinical Director, Dr. Robert Lusk, hosted an online seminar for Prevention Works! on August 11 about trauma treatment in children. Dr. Lusk has dedicated his career to helping trauma survivors and their families. He is a nationally recognized clinician, speaker, and author on understanding and treating trauma. Dr. Lusk delivered a compelling presentation about how children are impacted by different types of emotional distress, how their brain processes trauma, how to build attunement with a child, and how to use positive discipline and promote emotional regulation with children. Childcare workers and health experts from across the country attended the online seminar to hear Dr. Lusk speak. Mary Wegmann, PhD, retired clinical psychologist and past president of Prevention Works! attests, "Dr. Rob Lusk brings us a rare combination of deep scientific knowledge, years of working with emotionally distressed children and youth, practical advice, and humor."
PNC Helps Heathy Start Children to Grow Up Great
The PNC Foundation donated $25,000 to benefit children in The Baby Fold’s Healthy Start program. Through this grant, Healthy Start will host monthly Family Support and Engagement groups for parents and children to learn and grow through hands-on educational activities, reading materials, and developmental tools. The Baby Fold’s Healthy Start Program perfectly aligns with PNC’s mission, as new families learn parenting techniques, stress management, social/emotional development and more through collaborative play and expert guidance. This grant will fund interactive family engagement groups in both McLean and Champaign counties for 12 months. Opportunities for guided lessons from child development experts only happen when strong and generous people, like PNC, step up to help kids “Grow Up Great”. 
Students Across the Agency are Back to School
Children in Foster Care, Adoption Support, Healthy Start, Autism Services, and Hammitt Schools have begun a new academic year. The Baby Fold collaborated with special education experts to train teacher therapists and staff at Hammitt Schools on the latest tools and techniques for trauma-informed care. Topics included Conscious Discipline, Equity, and more. Amidst trainings, Hammitt Staff enjoyed a ‘Hammitt Family Reunion Carnival’ with team-building exercises. In The Baby Fold’s Community School Collaboration, social workers from The Baby Fold are embedded in Cedar Ridge and Fairview Elementary Schools to provide support for trauma-impacted students, their families, teachers, and classmates. Baby Fold volunteers helped spruce up the Cedar Ridge campus to provide a safe and welcoming environment for students, teachers, and families by pulling weeds, spreading mulch, trimming shrubs, and pruning bushes. Baby Fold staff also helped the Back to School Alliance distribute 4,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students enrolled in Unit 5 and District 87 School Districts. State Farm collected supplies and provided the space for the drive-through distribution. Students from 40 surrounding school districts are attending Hammitt Schools this year. The Baby Fold is collecting supplies for clients who did not qualify for the Back to School Alliance distribution. Please click here to help our students on their academic journey.
Grandmother Raises $3,000 for The Baby Fold through 'Free' Garage Sale
Jeanne Girard raised $3,000 for The Baby Fold through “Grandma’s Giveaway”, a garage sale where all items were FREE but customers were encouraged to give a financial donation to The Baby Fold. Girard had gathered dozens of used toys from her grandchildren and wondered how she could pass the love on to members of the community. “I’m not really a garage sale person. I just wanted to give the toys away and bring smiles to children who would be excited to play with them. And we wanted to support what The Baby Fold does,” explains Jeanne. With the help of her friend, Mary Lou Allman, they posted “Grandma’s Giveaway” on Facebook and encouraged people to visit. “We figured maybe we would get a couple hundred dollars,” reported Jeanne with a slight chuckle, “but the community really responded.” The 'free' garage sale raised $1,500 for The Baby Fold. The donation amount was doubled with State Farm's matching gift program as Jeanne's husband, Greg, is a State Farm retiree. Grandma's Giveaway along with State Farm's dollar-to-dollar match raised a total of $3,000 to benefit the children and families served by The Baby Fold! Click here to view a list of top Bloomington-Normal employers who offer a gift matching program.
State Farm Donates 30 Amazon Echoes To The Baby Fold
State Farm donated 30 Amazon Echoes to families in the Healthy Start Program, Intact Family Services, and Hammitt Schools. The Amazon Echo is a voice-activated smart speaker. Many families are using their Echoes to play soothing music as their children nap, or play fun, upbeat music to dance and sing with their children. They use the calendar feature to help with daily reminders and appointments such as doctor visits, bedtime schedules, or feedings and diaper changes for newborns. A family who recently moved to the community uses the technology to become familiar with community resources in the area, and one mother is using the Echo as a baby monitor with an app extension.