Kentucky Gives Day

Ky Gives Day 2014

BA @ Kids Matter

24 hours of online giving to nonprofits in Kentucky Gives Day beginning April 9, 2014.  Support the Child Care Council of KY!

In a little less than 24 hours, Kentuckians will have a 24-hour window on April 9 to give online to their charities of choice in the 2014 Kentucky Gives Day, sponsored by the Kentucky Nonprofit Network.

This annual fundraising event brings state residents and their organizations together for the chance to raise as much money for local causes as possible on a single online giving site in a single day and night of 24 hours.

All donations made online from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. to participating Kentucky nonprofits are tax deductible. In addition, the top five organizations in each category that raise the most are given additional bonuses of from $250 to $2,500. There will be 10 mini prizes called “Golden Tickets” awarded to organizations throughout the day ranging from $100 to $250.

The categories for nonprofits are: Animals, Arts and Culture, Children and Youth, Community and Society, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health, Humanitarian Aid, International, Religion and Science and Technology. Donors can use the search function to see organizations in their category of interest or search by a nonprofit’s name. All donations made with a credit or debit card will be counted as part of the fundraising totals.

There is no maximum donation limit, but there is a $10 minimum donation.

The website is operated by the Razoo Foundation, a public charity for online giving, which will keep a 5.9 percent fee for each donation received. Out of that, 4.9 percent will go to credit card processing, customer service and platform maintenance and 1 percent will return to the Kentucky Nonprofit Network to help cover a portion of the event management costs. For customer service, call 866-437-1952 or e-mail support@razoo.com.

The organizations each donor chooses to support will receive donor name and contact information, unless the donor chooses to make a contribution anonymously. All tax receipts are e-mailed to donors by the Razoo Foundation upon successful processing of the donation.

For more information, see Kygives.razoo.com.
From the Kentucky Non-Profit Network, KNN

It’s that time of year again!  Last year we raised almost $900.00 in 24 hours.  Not a bad days work, I might add.  I hope that we can raise that much and more this year.   What does it take?

It takes all of us to get the word out and ……………to give!

Please consider a gift and encourage others to do the same because Kids Matter - Invest Early –Invest Often!!!

Birthday Freebies

Birthday Freebies

Robin @ Kids Matter

I don’t really enjoy celebrating getting a year older; however, I do enjoy celebrating my birthday month, because of all the free stuff I get.  I like to cook, but I also like to go out and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning occasionally.  Well, in my birth month, I do very little cooking.  It’s even better when there are leftovers for lunch the next day and NO CLEANUP! (I have always hated doing dishes.)

1.     BD’s Mongolian Grill - buy one stir fry, get one free

2.     Red Robin - free sandwich plate

3.     Red Lobster - free appetizer

4.     Olive Garden - free dessert or appetizer

5.     Captain D’s - free meal

6.     Sonic - free slushie or tots

7.     I Ching - $5 off any purchase

8.     P.F. Chang’s - free dessert

9.     IHop - free fresh and fruity rooty tooty or equivalent

10. Old Chicago - free pizza

11. Denny’s - free grand slam

12. Firehouse subs - free sub

13. Starbuck’s - free drink

14. Moe’s - free burrito of your choice

15. Culver’s - free one scoop sundae

16. Baskin Robbins - free small ice cream

17. Coldstone Creamery - buy one get one free

18. Applebee’s - free dessert

19. Backyard Burger - free burger

20. Dunkin Donuts - free medium drink

21. First Watch - free meal

22. Orange Leaf - free frozen yogurt

23. Buffalo Wild Wings - free wings or dessert

24. Papa Murphy’s Pizza - free cookie dough

25. Zaxby’s - free nibbler

26. Dairy Queen - buy one blizzard, get one free

27. Schlotzky’s - free sandwich

28. Kohl’s - $10 off any purchase for MVC card holders

29. CVS - $3 extra care bucks

30. Ace Hardware - $5 off coupon

31. Fazoli’s – free entre

As an added bonus, most of these e-clubs offer a freebie when you sign up, on your birthday, and on your sign-up anniversary.  So, celebrate proudly and have a great birthday, whenever it may be.  These deals I have listed are ones that I take partake.  Are there others that you know of and would like to add to the list?  Please feel free to leave comments.  I’m always looking for more ways to celebrate!

Teaching Soft and Hard Skills

Teaching Soft and Hard Skills

Belinda @ Kids Matter

I recently read an interesting article on soft skills verses hard skills. I have to say, I’m a little disturbed by the thought that both can’t be taught simultaneously. Are we so closed minded to learning new things and new ways that we are impacting the workforce? I would like to believe that we are constantly growing and learning as a society. So, why not broaden our horizons and start teaching both soft and hard skills starting with the alphabet?

Soft skills, as defined by Investopedia are, “The character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person's relationships with other people. In the workplace, soft skills are considered a complement to hard skills, which refer to a person's knowledge and occupational skills.” Soft skills include being adaptable, business minded, confidant, dedicated, effective… etc. Do you see what I did there? A, B, C, D, E… etc! Bear with me as I explain.

Hard skills, as defined by SearchCIO are, “specific, teachable abilities that may be required in a given context, such as a job or university application.” Hard skills include profitability, quickness, reading, security, typing, utilization, volubility, writing … etc. And, there it is again… P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W.

So how does the alphabet relate to soft and hard skills that are required for employment and life in general? Easy, everything starts with the alphabet. Learning the alphabet is just opening the door to the rest of the world and our lives. That letter C is for way more than Cow! What if you were to throw in C is for Creative or Counting?

Both soft and hard skills can be taught. We aren’t born being committed and determined. We get there through lessons. Employers must understand that people need both types of skills to be successful in employment. If parents and teachers open the door to expanding lesson plans to incorporate both types of skills, it will open greater doors to success. My idea is to take current lesson plans and expand on them. Teach your children to think outside the box. You are only limited by your own imagination, and that can easily be expanded with a little creative thinking and research. Make it a challenge to find new and creative ways of teaching the alphabet. Use themes and carry them throughout the day or week. Make learning fun and exciting. Most importantly… when you point out C for Cow, remember to add more C words including those used in soft and hard skills.  Don’t be afraid to start them out with small definitions… expand their vocabulary and watch a whole new world unfold for them.

Below are a few sites with good ideas. It’s up to you to make them better and include those soft and hard skills they will need later on in life. Feel free to share your ideas with us.

Discovery Education – Unique idea of teaching the alphabet using animals.

CanTeach – Amazing ideas for using different mediums to make art while teaching the alphabet.

First-school.ws – Wonderful site for pulling alphabet themed lesson plans including free printables and activities.

Meet the Child Care Council Staff

Introducing Sharon L.

Melissa @ Kids Matter

            I am proud to introduce Sharon; Administrative Assistant in the Louisville office located in the L&N building. Sharon has been with the CCC since they began managing the CCAP contract in July 2012. She has more than twelve years of CCAP experience. To describe Sharon is easy; she’s funny, lovely, generous, and sweet. When our clients come into the office, she is one of the first people they will encounter. No client could say they had a bad experience with her. She’s always smiling and appears happy, even when she’s not. I cannot think of a person more fit for their job than she is.

            I was excited to interview Sharon because of her infectious personality and her incredible weight loss. She’s lost over 100 pounds in a little over a year. While she doesn’t know the exact amount, because she prefers not to focus on the numbers, she is proud of her success. When asked what began her weight loss journey, she replied that she was tired of being tired and tired of not being able to chase her granddaughter around. She also mentioned that previous weight loss attempts failed because she was doing it for her family rather than herself.  Now, she’s in it for herself and the better quality of life she has. She admitted that she did do it, in a small part for her husband, because she, “…didn’t want him to watch her die”.

            Sharon completely changed her lifestyle. She stopped eating things that weren’t good for her and replaced them with fruits and veggies. She traded tea and soft drink for water, which she admits, “…was extremely difficult because I do NOT like water”. She says when she first began her weight loss, her only goal was, “…not to gain any more and everything else was a bonus”. Sharon also mentioned that when the CCC gave employees Fitbits, it really changed her way of thinking. She said that the Fitbit, “brought my attention to how much I wasn’t doing,” in terms of walking. So, she got up and she got walking!  The weight started to melt away. Sharon now does three miles per day on her elliptical and averages 17,000-20,000 steps per day. What an inspiration! Watching Sharon walk around the office and get ‘steps’ in wherever she could, has been inspirational to several people in this office, including me. She said, “Walking is great and I really need it because there’s a party in my head and it relieves my stress”. Jillian Michaels, weight loss trainer, was a huge inspiration to her.

            Sharon is married with two sons and one daughter, and two granddaughters, who are her life. She’s a new ‘empty nester’, but states that, “…there was no sadness in that… well maybe for a hot minute, but not really”. She loves going to the lake in the summer with her grandchildren and just being outside. Sharon’s advice to us is, “Never look at yesterday as a failure, it is only a lesson learned for tomorrow”.

International Children’s Book Day

International Children’s Book Day

Robin @ Kids Matter

International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) has been celebrated on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, which is April 2^nd.  Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish writer from the 1800s who is best known for writing fairy tales.   Per the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the purpose is, “…to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books.” 

            Each year a different theme is chosen.  An author from a chosen country is asked to write a special letter to the children of the world and a poster is made by a prominent illustrator in that country.  International Children’s Book Day celebrations around the world focus on a new theme and culture every year.  The theme for this year is, Imagine Nations Through Story. Here is a link to the letter for 2014.   The poster, shown above, was designed by Niamh Sharkey, and the message written by Siobhan Parkinson.  The country in the spotlight is Ireland.  Past countries participating have been: USA, Mexico, Estonia, Spain, Egypt, Thailand, New Zealand, Slovakia, India, Greece, Brazil, and Austria.   The list of participating countries goes on and on. 

            ICBD is an excellent opportunity to introduce your child to other languages, cultures, and arts.  It would be great fun to make it a themed lesson and try sampling foods from the region you are studying.  If anyone in your classroom has relatives of that heritage, they would be a great guest to come in and talk about life in that country and possibly be a guest reader for of a book. 

            Due to globalization and advances in technology, the world is getting smaller and smaller.  We are able to travel around the world faster than in past years, and can communicate face to face with people on the other side of the world with the click of a button.  So, it’s very important that our children are taught skills at an early age that will help them in this new world.  Knowing how to speak a foreign language is a valuable skill to most employers.  Knowing how to treat people from other cultures without offending them due to differing values and cultural backgrounds is also vital to performing well on the job.  Exposure to different people and cultures broadens a person’s understanding of others and enriches life.  I love the experience of traveling internationally.  Meeting people from different countries, on their own turf, can be an amazing experience.  I recommend it to everyone, but, if you can’t travel in person, at least travel via book.  Happy reading!

Lasting Memories



Lasting Memories

Belinda @ Kids Matter

Thinking back to my younger years, I can’t help but to smile. Remember when you were a kid and you had those sweet little star crushes? Rick Springfield… oh, the teenage hearts he broke… Scott Baio, Leif Garrett, Andy Gibb, David and Shaun Cassidy… the list goes on and on. Are you a middle aged woman sitting there smiling from all the memories those names bring? How about the oversized posters hanging all around your room? Ahhh… the 70’s and 80’s… I remember those days fondly.

When I was a kid, we would go to the arena to see WWF wrestling on Wednesday nights. It was such a fun time. I developed a star crush on Bill Dundee. Many years later, I was working at a restaurant waiting tables. It was a Wednesday night; I was the last server standing (near closing). As I started to break things down for the night, I heard the door open. Someone pinch me… I must be dreaming. Suddenly, I was a nervous wreck and couldn’t hold onto a single thing. Everything I came near fell to the floor. Who was it that held such power over me? Yes, Bill Dundee, there he stood in the doorway with a bunch of his wrestler friends. They had stopped in to eat after that night’s event.

I went to the hostess station to get menus. I picked them up. I dropped them on the floor. I picked them up, again. I dropped them on the floor, again. Are you kidding me, was all I could think. I escorted the guys to their seats. They were all laughing, joking, and having a good time. Bill was the quietest of the group, but had the sweetest smile and oh, that Australian accent when he spoke. I took their order, brought their drinks, and best of all had a nice chat with them while they waited for their dinner. Remember Handsome Jimmy? He is quite the character and had me in stitches the whole time. I had the absolute best time at work that night, meeting guys I had thought of as superstars. I even got a proposal from Handsome Jimmy (as did probably hundreds of other waitresses back in the day).  Wednesday nights with my wrestler idols became a ritual. It was so much fun to spend time with those guys.

When I look back on those memories, I can’t help but laugh. Those stars we idolize so much are just real people like you and me. They just have a light that shines brightly on them for such a short time. They go out and do a ‘job’, just like us, but they break a lot of teenage hearts in the process. What’s important to realize is that we need those idols in our lives, no matter what age we are, because that’s what allows us to dream… to better ourselves… to excel. As adults, we need to encourage children to have those superstars, to dream of being that person one day. Of course, I never wanted to be a wrestler, but what captured my heart about Bill Dundee was how he always came to the rescue. He was always helping other wrestlers. Look at the many ways idols can influence our lives. It’s not a bad thing to see the best in people. It’s not a bad thing to want better for ourselves. Inspire children to dream big and bold while striving to become the very best they can be. Who were your idols? How did they influence your life?