Tag Archive for: #smartstart

The Local Skinny! Duck Derby Is Just Around The Corner

The 13th annual Ducky Derby is set for Garnett Street in mid-September and Garry Daeke said that after a couple of years of making adjustments because of COVID, the Derby is returning with a full complement of associated festivities.

“This year, we are back to doing  a full street fair and festival,” Daeke told John C. Rose during Monday’s The Local Skinny! segment. There will be food trucks, music and more along Garnett Street beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17. The race commences at 2 p.m.

The Derby is an annual fundraiser for Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start, and as FGV Partnership Development Coordinator, Daeke said it’s become a fun time for families and others in the community as well.

FGV staff and board members have tickets for sale – $5 a duck, or purchase a Quack Pack to get 5 ducks for $20. Spend $100 for a “flock” of 25 tickets, Daeke said.

Daeke offered appreciation for the fire department, for their help in turning Garnett Street into a “river” on which the rubber ducks float to the finish line, and to Greystone Concrete Products for their assistance in “releasing” the ducks – from the back of one of their cement mixer trucks.

First prize is $1,000, second prize is 52 weeks of Chick Fil-A, third prize is a $250 gas card and the prize for the last duck to cross the finish line is $100.

In addition to purchase of rubber duck contestants, FGV is accepting sponsors for the event. Sponsorship levels are:

$500 – Super Duck

$250 – Feathered Friend

$100 – Quacker Backer

Buy your ducks today! — https://my.cheddarup.com/c/fgv-smart-start-2022-duckyderby or scan QR code below

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Smart Start

TownTalk: Smart Start Year End Review

The Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start Inc. annual report has been released and the agency’s executive director said his agency and staff undoubtedly have learned how to be flexible and adaptable as it continues to advocate for children, in spite of pandemic restrictions.

In a letter accompanying the 8-page report, FGV Executive Director Dr. Tony W. Cozart said the 2020-21 year had been “difficult but very gratifying as well.”

FGV’s fiscal manager, Garry Daeke, agreed wholeheartedly. Daeke spoke with John C. Rose Tuesday on Town Talk and said he was very happy to report that, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, FGV staff had been able to maintain relationships with both child-care providers as well as parents.

“We’ve been able to keep in contact and provide service and information to people,” he said, acknowledging that the one-on-one contacts have been limited, but FGV has found ways to do an end-around some challenges.

For instance, Daeke said FGV has been able to provide technical assistance via videotape and through increased filming of sessions. By filming programs and activities, FGV staff can critique and provide suggestions to help child-care providers with everything from how to set up a classroom to being financially efficient – staying safe and healthy at the same time.

There are 112 child-care programs in the three counties that FGV serves, Daeke said. “They’ve kept people working, because people need childcare.”

The agency gets most of its funding from the state (85-90 percent), and it has spent $907,689 to help parents pay for childcare in the past year, according to the report. The subsidy is available to parents who send their children to programs with a 4- or 5-star quality rating.

“We spend a great deal of money to provide a subsidy” to parents, Daeke said. FGV also supplements wages of teachers who stay in their jobs for a certain length of time and who continue to further their education. The report notes that 80 teachers received an average of $1016 in supplements in a six-month period.

“We spend a lot of money to make sure child care is high quality and that parents are able to access that child care,” Daeke said.

A number of programs that FGV supports don’t happen within the walls of a child-care center at all; rather, there are a variety of agencies that FGV contracts with that are quite successful as well.

Vance County’s adolescent parenting program that Annie Perry oversees, for example, focuses on keeping teenage moms in school so they can graduate. Daeke said Perry, a longtime program administrator, does an excellent job and consistently has graduates go on to continue their educations at Vance-Granville Community College or four-year universities.

“The main goals are to keep them in school and to prevent a second pregnancy. The program “helps them become the parent they need to be,” Daeke said. “We’ve had a lot of success over the years.”

Other programs like Parents as Teachers is a home visitation parenting program that operates primarily in Granville County through a partnership with Granville County Public Schools. And the Incredible Years program partners with the Vance Cooperative Extension to provide several sessions each year to work directly with parents to help them “be the very best parent you can be,” Daeke said. Although only in Vance County now, Daeke said he’s looking for grant funding to expand the program to Granville County and possibly Franklin County.

And a child-care health consultant has just come on board to visit child-care programs to help providers with health concerns. FGV has contracted through the Granville-Vance Health District to provide a nurse to help child-care providers, he said.

According to the report, total FGV expenditures for FY 2021 was $3,381,751. Almost three-fourths of that funding is used to ensure the availability and accessibility of high-quality childcare for children ages 0-5 years. That is done a variety of ways, including subsidies for working families through the Department of Social Services to help pay for childcare. It also administers the NC Pre-K program in Franklin County and offers wage incentives to retain childcare workers and ensure continuity of care.

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Smart Start

FGV Smart Start Job Fair June 26 For Jobs In Child Care

The Franklin-Granville-Vance Smart Start program is hosting a job fair at its offices next weekend.

The job fair is scheduled for Saturday, June 26, from 9 a.m. to noon at the FGV location, 125 Charles Rollins Road in Henderson. Anyone interested in learning more about employment in child care can participate in person or virtually, according to information from FGV outreach coordinator Garry Daeke.

Child care providers will be on site to discuss job opportunities, and it’s possible to get hired on the spot.

Additional resources available at the job fair include:

  • VGCC enrollment and financial aid information
  • Free CPR, first aid and SIDS training for successful applicants

To join virtually, visit https://US02WEB.ZOOM.US/J/88080244935.

The meeting ID is 800 8024 4935

Contact FGV at 252.433.9110 to learn more.

Franklin-Granville-Vance Smart Start Expands Children’s Free Book Program

By: Kelly Bondurant, Freelance Writer/Editor For Hire

Franklin-Granville-Vance (FGV) Smart Start recently received funding from NC state lawmakers to expand their free reading program – Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – to children ages birth to five years old.

Children in this age range who are residents of Franklin, Granville or Vance County can receive one book a month in the mail free of charge. “If we can sign a child up at birth, that child can receive 60 books free of charge prior to the program ending,” said Garry Daeke, development coordinator for FGV Smart Start.

The first book participants receive is “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper, which, according to Daeke, plays into Parton’s theme of the fire engine. The last book in the series is “Kindergarten Here I Come” by D.J. Steinberg and teaches children ideas and concepts that will prepare them for elementary school.

According to Daeke, the goal of the program is to make books available to all children, regardless of income, and to increase their exposure to language and concepts at an early age. “Brain science says children’s brains are 85% developed by the age of five. Dolly’s program is teaching children to read and helping them understand higher concepts,” said Daeke.

The books are developmentally appropriate for children at the age of sign up and change each month as the child grows. “This program gets kids excited to run to the mailbox each month to receive a book with their own name on it,” said Daeke.

Founded by singer and entertainer Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Foundation in 1995, the Imagination Library has been a part of Vance County on a smaller scale since 2005.

“The NC legislature made more funding available to Smart Starts around the state in order to grow the program. This will allow us to enroll an additional 400-500 children in Vance County this year alone,” said Daeke.

Applications can be found at various locations around town including pediatric offices, childcare centers, the Vance County Public Health Department, the H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library and the FGV Smart Start office located at 125 Charles D. Rollins Road near Maria Parham Health in Henderson.

FGV Smart Start will also have a booth set up at the H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library in Henderson on Thursday, March 1 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children present at the sign up will be able to take a book home with them that day.

According to Daeke, the application process only takes a minute and the child should receive their first book in the mail one to two months after the application has been completed.

Those interested in the program may also contact the FGV Smart Start office at (252) 433-9110 or visit the NC Smart Start website at www.ncsmartstart.org to enroll online.

Little Free Libraries Pop Up Around Henderson

by Garry Daeke

FGV Smart Start has started the Little Free Library program as a way to promotion reading for children, literacy for adults and libraries around the community. 

It’s a “take a book, return a book” gathering place where people share their favorite literature and stories. In its most basic form, a Little Free Library is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share.

Vance County United Way, through its United We Read, United We Succeed program, granted funds to Smart Start to start this effort. Smart Start will set up four of these libraries in the community.  Smart Start has ample supplies of  children’s books for the libraries, and  local citizens, along with the Friends of the Perry Library, will be assisting with book drives and collections to assist with additional books.

The mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges, and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.

FGV Smart Start Announces New Executive Director

FGV Smart Start, Inc., has announced that Dr. Tony Cozart will be the new executive director.

Dr. Cozart is a retired educator, with over 32 years in the local public school systems. He began his career as a teacher and assistant principal in Vance County, then served in Warren County as principal at Norlina Middle, South Warren Elementary and Warren County High schools, among other administrative positions. He is the pastor of Cooks Chapel Baptist Church in Warrenton, and also serves on the Granville County Board of Commissioners.

Cozart is married to the former Jacqueline Peace. They have three daughters: Kimberly, Kristal, and Karmen. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Saint Paul’s College, Master of Arts in School Administration from North Carolina Central University, and Doctor of Education from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Cozart has been the Kindergarten Readiness coordinator at FGV Smart Start the last two years. He began his duties as the executive director on November 16.