December 7, 2008 · 1 Comment
We love Decatur. In fact, we’ve come to realize that the only thing that’s missing from Decatur is our family. And it makes the holidays a tricky time of year. For past holidays while the children were babies, I just went with the flow. Who’s coming to town? OK, great! Where are we going? Sounds fun! After all, we are constantly starved for connections with our families, especially during the holidays. So flexibility seemed to be the key ingredient to a happy holiday. However, those holiday celebrations, while enjoyable, have been rather unpredictable. Do we need a tree when we won’t be here? Oh, they’re coming to see us! We better start decorating…
I hope the snow becomes a Decatur tradition
I’m sure that we’re not the only Decatur family in this situation. But we are feeling like we are ready for a change. Our children are reaching ages where they can actually remember holidays past and therefore we would very much like to start some holiday traditions of our very own – things that we can do right here in our Decatur community that we will ALL remember and look forward to every holiday season. So, I am looking for some ideas since our plan is to stay in town all holiday season this year. Here a couple of things that I have found so far, but I would love to get more ideas so please share.
Breakfast with Santa in Decatur, GA
Holiday Bonfire and Marshmallow Roast in Decatur, GA
Happy Holidays!
Categories: Children's Classes in Decatur, GA · Events in Decatur, GA
Tagged: Events in Decatur, Holiday Traditions in Decatur
Warm your body, spirit and marshmallows at the annual City of Decatur Bonfire and Marshmallow Roast.
More info from the Decatur Business Association web site:
Holiday Bonfire & Marshmallow Roast
December 18, 2008 • 7-8 p.m.
Make plans to join the community and roast marshmallows around the popular 10′ x 10′ bonfire on the square. Enjoy special music and visit Santa in the Community Bandstand. Free.
Categories: Events in Decatur, GA
Tagged: Decatur Bonfire and Marshmallow Roast, Events in Decatur, Holiday Traditions in Decatur
Don’t miss the opportunity to have breakfast with Santa in Decatur, GA. Buy Breakfast with Santa tickets online and also see special holiday dances performed by the Decatur School of Ballet and Decatur City Dance.
Info from the Decatur Business Association web site:
Breakfast With Santa
December 20, 2008 • 8-10 a.m.
Holiday Inn Select Decatur Conference Center
Join Santa for a breakfast buffet after he rides in on a Decatur fire truck. Tickets are $12 ea. for adults, $7 ea. for children under the age of 12.
See you there!
Categories: Events in Decatur, GA
Tagged: Breafast With Santa, Events in Decatur, Holiday Traditions in Decatur
On November 24th, Our House, an organization that provides early childhood education for homeless children, received a large grant from the Goizueta Foundation. Decatur Mom reader, Mary Lyons, is the Development Director and she passed on the following press release.
Our House, Inc. is the proud recipient of grant funding in the amount of $387,197 from The Goizueta Foundation. The grant will support personnel and infrastructure which will assist with increasingly efficient agency operations, and the establishment of The Goizueta Foundation Endowed Fund. “This incredible gift will help ensure that Our House is able to sustain its accredited, award-winning early childhood learning programs for homeless children, ages six weeks to five years, and the programs and services that are helping homeless parents achieve self-sufficiency,” says Tyese Lawyer, Executive Director.
The Goizueta Foundation first partnered with Our House in 2000 to provide a bilingual position which enables the agency to incorporate Spanish into the daily instructional curriculum and increase the agency’s capacity to serve Latino constituents. The 2000 grant also supported a Parent Intern Program which provides training and practical work experience to parents interested in employment in the growing childcare sector. “The Goizueta Foundation is on the forefront of foundations which serve as a catalyst to help agencies share lessons learned, in addition to providing support which helps build more effective community programs and services. It’s akin to receiving the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. We deeply appreciate their confidence in our programming,” states Lawyer.
Our House, Inc. offers a safe, structured, educational environment for young children, aged six weeks to five years, who are from families living in area shelters or transitional housing. Currently, forty-four children a day are enrolled in Our House, which holds the most prestigious recognition available to any child care program: accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). As soon as the children are enrolled, their parents work with the agency’s Family Advocates to begin to set goals and to develop plans to transition from crisis to stability. Our House has a measurable record of helping homeless parents find jobs, secure housing and complete training that helps them break the cycles of homelessness and poverty. During the agency’s 2007-08 fiscal year, Our House held a Capital Campaign, chaired by Gayle Gellerstedt, which successfully raised more than $1.2 million to build a new 4,000 square foot addition, and to renovate the current 3,200 square foot facility. When all construction is completed, the facility will be able to serve an additional 34 homeless children daily.
For more information, visit the Our House website at www.OurHousega.org
Congratulations to Our House!
Categories: Education in Decatur, GA
Tagged: Childcare for Homeless Children in Decatur, Goizueta Foundation, Our House
