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October Went by Scary Quick!

Featured Image: Students and staff at Green Baxter Court Community Center celebrating Halloween!

CAN kicked off the holiday season with a number of Halloween and Fall festivities! We have had a month packed full of gatherings and busy programs, not to mention our brand new program, CAN CARES, getting started. Check out some exciting updates plus a chance to get involved below.

Spooky Season at CAN

October at CAN is incomplete without a little (or a lot) of Halloween fun!

Bryant transformed the teen center into a haunted house for the community and hosted a costume party!

The Arrowwood community enjoyed a Halloween Fest complete with games, candy, and a photo shoot, before going trick-or-treating!

Brick celebrated with a Halloween Party for the kids - so much fun!

GBC kiddos went all out with spooky costumes and the whole community enjoyed some festive activities!

Hikone staff hosted a trunk at Allen Elementary's Trunk-or-Treat event! Huge thanks to Keegan, our Director of Art & Design for making the shark come to life - we know it must have been special for our Hikone kiddos to see CAN staff at their school!

Introducing...

CAN CARES

Community Assistance and Resources for Empowerment and Support

With the addition of a Director of Behavioral Health to CAN's staff, we are proud to annouce the formation of a new program that will be integrated into our educational programs!

"My name is Kayla, I use she/her pronouns. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I got my MSW from U of M and I've been working with CAN in some capacity since 2019. In my free time, I like to cook, listen to live music, and read. "



-Kayla Samuels, CAN Director of Behavioral Health

What is the goal of CAN CARES?

The goal of CAN CARES is to improve the mental health and well-being of students participating in CAN programming by providing behavioral health support to our community center directors, increasing awareness around mental health, and providing referrals to outside organizations when necessary. Ultimately we hope to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and increase the self-sufficiency of the people we work with to advocate for mental health care for themselves.


Why was CAN CARES created?

We created CAN CARES because mental health was identified as a need by our communities through a health disparities survey conducted in 2020.


Who will benefit from CAN CARES?

The long-term goal is that anyone who interacts with CAN programming with benefit from CAN CARES, across the lifespan. Right now our emphasis is on our k-12 students. We're working to build strong relationships with our students so we can provide them with tools to become self-sufficient adults. We know from working with students and families who are underresourced that mental health and behavioral health is often something that becomes deprioritized for a variety of reasons. But we also know that mental health can be a barrier to things like a stable job, stable housing, and access to education. We want to help remove these barriers. 


Learn more about CAN CARES here!

Farewell, Jazmine!

Although we had a super fun month, we are not having any fun announcing that CAN's Director of Arrowwood Hills Community Center, Jazmine Harrison, will be ending her season with us this week. It is such a bittersweet time - we know she has many exciting endeavors awaiting her, but we will miss her so much! Jazmine has been with CAN since 2019 and has made such a positive impact on everyone she worked with. Last week, we enjoyed a lovely send off at the apple orchard to celebrate Jazmine. Join us in wishing her all the best as she moves out of Michigan to be close to family!

Want to get involved this holiday season?

There are two ways you can make a difference for CAN families

over the holidays!

Contribute to CAN's

Fall Giving Campaign

CAN's programs and services robustly continue throughout the Fall season, in addition to some seasonal programs that help families thrive during this time of year! Contribute to CAN's Fall Giving Campaign today to support under-resourced families in your community!


All donations will be MATCHED by a very generous donor up to $50,000 so your contribution will be worth twice as much!

Contribute today!

Sponsor children through CAN's Holiday Gift Drive


Want to help make sure CAN kids have a great holiday? We are looking for generous groups or individuals who want to sponsor 3 or more children and ensure they get gifts this holiday season. Wishlists are created by each CAN child and are worth about $100. Sponsors shop for the gifts and deliver them to CAN in early December just in time for families to celebrate the holidays!



Please email Colette at cderaud@canwashtenaw.org if you are interested!

Interested in helping shape CAN's future?


Would you like to give feedback on our programs and services?

Click on the button below to kickstart our next strategic planning process!

Take The Survey!

Want To Support CAN's Mission?

Make a contribution online:

Donate to CAN

Mail a donation:

PO Box 130076

Ann Arbor, MI 48113

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Community Action Network partners with children, youth, and families from under-resourced Washtenaw County neighborhoods to create better futures for themselves and improve the communities in which they live.

Community Action Network

info@canwashtenaw.org

www.canwashtenaw.org

(734) 994-2985

PO Box 130076, Ann Arbor, MI 48113