Mar 20, 2009 -
Nassau County Bar Association Supports Long Island Children’s MuseumThe charitable arm of the Nassau County Bar Association is reaching out to help children and families served by the County’s social service agencies. The WE CARE Fund has presented the Long Island Children’s Museum (LICM) with a $13,300 grant to support LICM’s Be Together, Learn Together program. Be Together, Learn Together addresses the needs of three family audience groups: parents in Family Court, families in foster care and families utilizing the Nassau County Health & Human Services Welcome Center.
“Economic concerns and resulting pressures on families have made the Museum’s Be Together, Learn Together program more valued than ever,” notes LICM Executive Director Suzanne LeBlanc. “The financial support from the WE CARE fund will assist the Museum serve audiences we both serve.”
The WE CARE grant will assist the Museum fund:
• Renovations and furniture for two supervised visitation rooms at the Health and Human Services Welcome Center in Uniondale; design enhancements created by the Museum’s exhibit design team help promote communication and engagement between adult and child.
• Supplies for weekly hands-on activities to Welcome Center to ease pre-appointment stress for families waiting for services; more than 2,000 individuals benefited from such programs in the first year of the program.
• Materials for parenting workshops to promote positive parenting strategies for families receiving social services. Offered in English and Spanish, workshops focus on childhood development, the importance of play, and support pre- and early literacy skills.
Launched in 2007, the Be Together, Learn Together program utilizes the Museum’s expertise in providing high-quality educational experiences for families. Through this program, the Museum offers a “new world” to parents where they can gather information through observation, forge new relationships with other parents and learn to play with their children.
About WE CARE Fund
Founded in 1988 by NCBA Past President Stephen Gassman, WE CARE fund are raised by the legal profession and the community at large. The money is distributed through charitable grants to improve the quality of life for childen, the elderly and others in need throughout Nassau County. Nurtured by the tireless efforts of lawyers and judges, the WE CARE program has matured into a nationally recognized model for similar programs instituted by other bar groups. Since its inception, WE CARE has raised more than $1.7 million that has one directly to assist more than 100 area charities.
About Long Island Children’s Museum
Long Island Children’s Museum (LICM) invites visitors of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to explore freely, discover their passions, and appreciate the communities and world we share. Through interdisciplinary activities, children and adults can share in the excitement of the learning process. The museum is designed for infants through 12 and their grown-ups. LICM is a private, not-for-profit institution chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.
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Photo Caption/Photo Link: NCBA Officers and We Care Fund Members visited the Long Island Children’s Museum to announce funding support for Be Together, Learn Together, a collaborative initiative to support children and families served by Nassau County Health and Human Services and Family Court. We Care funding will provide support for materials and supplies (including books and toys) for the redesign of Supervised Visitation Rooms and outreach activities at the Nassau County Welcome Center, as well as materials for Parenting workshop kits.
Be Together, Learn Together National Advisory Committee members, program staff members and LICM Executive Director and Board Co-Chairman accept donation from NCBA Officers & members of the We Care Fund.
Back Row – Left to Right: Jeanmarie Walsh, LICM Board Co-Chairman Robert S. Lemle, Maria Martinez, Judge Hope Zimmerman, Jeri Robinson, Peter Levy and Erik Schurink.
Front Row – Left to Right: Andrea Hoffman Jelin, LICM Executive Director Suzanne LeBlanc, Judge Elaine Jackson Stack, Emily Franchina, Heidi Brinig and Cheryl Kessler.
http://www.licm.org/images/Nassau County Bar Association Supports LICM.JPG
Press Release: Nassau County Bar Association Supports Long Island Children’s Museum
