Annually, McNeilly Center for Children reaches out to our friends, donors, and those in the community who are committed to making a difference for children in need, and asks for their support of a McNeilly child. The work of McNeilly Center for Children is critical. Currently in its 95th year, McNeilly Center for Children is one the largest providers of quality, affordable early education for low-income children in Middle Tennessee, serving almost 600 children each year. At McNeilly, we know that all children, regardless of family income, deserve quality early education. Affordable child care is a barrier that McNeilly Center removes for low income parents seeking employment. For the children, McNeilly provides the foundation they need to become lifelong learners and contributors. It is a challenge, though, to continue to provide financial assistance to the 100% of children who qualify at McNeilly. After we receive revenue for each child from parent fees, the Department of Human Services, United Way, and grants from community and corporate foundations, there is still a $250 balance per year for each child.
We invite you to join with us to Support a Child, for one year. Your gift will help provide safe and affordable care to an impoverished child. Thanks to you, a child in need will have exceptional early education opportunities, will have hot meals, supervised, safe and developmentally appropriate play time, will have the chance to read stories, to laugh and learn, and will be ready for school and life. We hope you will choose to make a profound difference in the life of a child, a family, and our community by clicking here to make a secure online donation.
Please visit http://www.razoo.com/story/Mcneillycenter to become a fan!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Giving Through Guidestar
Your end-of-year gift could help us win $5,000!
Planning on making a donation to us before the end of the year? Want to help us win $5,000? You can, just by making your donation through our profile on GuideStar: http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/a/62-0479366/mcneilly-center-children.aspx.
The nonprofit that receives the greatest number of donations through GuideStar between November 1 and December 31, 2011, will win $5,000 in the GuideStar-KIMBIA 2011 Giving Season Giveaway.
We’re always grateful for your support. To make a contribution that will count for the giveaway, please click on http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/a/62-0479366/mcneilly-center-children.aspx.
Planning on making a donation to us before the end of the year? Want to help us win $5,000? You can, just by making your donation through our profile on GuideStar: http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/a/62-0479366/mcneilly-center-children.aspx.
The nonprofit that receives the greatest number of donations through GuideStar between November 1 and December 31, 2011, will win $5,000 in the GuideStar-KIMBIA 2011 Giving Season Giveaway.
We’re always grateful for your support. To make a contribution that will count for the giveaway, please click on http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/a/62-0479366/mcneilly-center-children.aspx.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Investments in Early Childhood Education
A couple of days ago an interesting New York Times op-ed article entitled Occupy the Classroom, was featured online. The opinion of the author, Nicholas D. Kristof, that "the single step that would do the most to reduce inequality has nothing to do with finance at all. It’s an expansion of early childhood education," is very intriguing. Check it out to read why he sums up the article by saying, "the question isn’t whether we can afford early childhood education, but whether we can afford not to provide it."
Speaking of investments in early childhood education - McNeilly is very grateful for the support of Humana Communities Benefit who awarded McNeilly Center a grant as a finalist in their 2011 grant competition. We were proud to be one of three finalists out of almost 70 applicants, and extend a big thank you to Humana for investing in our programs.
Speaking of investments in early childhood education - McNeilly is very grateful for the support of Humana Communities Benefit who awarded McNeilly Center a grant as a finalist in their 2011 grant competition. We were proud to be one of three finalists out of almost 70 applicants, and extend a big thank you to Humana for investing in our programs.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Good Search
Free and Easy way to raise funds for McNeilly Center for Children! Support us when you search or shop online! Download the new GoodSearch/GoodShop toolbar at http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/mcneilly-center-for-children. By signing up with GoodSearch.com, every time you shop online or search the internet, a donation will be made to McNeilly Center for Children
Here’s how:
GoodShop.com works with more than 2,500 stores (including Target, Apple, Petsmart, and Amazon) and every time you purchase something, a percentage will be donated to us! And, even more exciting, GoodShop also offers over 100,000 of the most up-to-date coupons and free shipping offers so you can save money at the same time. It’s a win win!
GoodSearch is a Yahoo powered search engine that makes a donation to us each time you do a search. Join us in using these sites to help us easily raise money for our mission. Get started by clicking the “Become a Supporter” button on our profile page here or please download the toolbar - it is an easy way to raise money for us doing the things you typically do on your computer!
Here’s how:
GoodShop.com works with more than 2,500 stores (including Target, Apple, Petsmart, and Amazon) and every time you purchase something, a percentage will be donated to us! And, even more exciting, GoodShop also offers over 100,000 of the most up-to-date coupons and free shipping offers so you can save money at the same time. It’s a win win!
GoodSearch is a Yahoo powered search engine that makes a donation to us each time you do a search. Join us in using these sites to help us easily raise money for our mission. Get started by clicking the “Become a Supporter” button on our profile page here or please download the toolbar - it is an easy way to raise money for us doing the things you typically do on your computer!
YOU SEARCH OR SHOP... WE GIVE!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Quality Programs
The McNeilly Center for Children main site recently received confirmation that we are again a 3 STAR program! This distinction recognizes child care agencies who exceed minimum licensing standards. All six of our locations have earned a 3 STAR rating from the Tennessee Department of Human Services, which is the highest possible rating. Our 3 STAR certification, as well as our national accreditation by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), are just two examples of our commitment to offering high quality programs.
It is the mission of McNeilly to provide affordable, safe, quality programs for children in need. Some, may not know, though, what distinguishes a program as high quality. The licensing and accreditation standards from DHS and NAEYC measure the qualifications of the Director as well as the teaching staff of the agency. They assess the program and developmental learning that takes place in the classrooms, and they look at parent/family involvement, the physical environment and the teacher/student ratio in each group. The criteria used to assess agencies ensures that children's daily experiences in early childhood programs are beneficial and that they promote positive child outcomes. More information is available at preknow.org.
We are proud that our sites continue to offer high quality programming for children who otherwise may not have quality care options. The Tennessee Star-Quality program explains that a provider can receive one, two, or three stars to place on its license and display in its center. Each star shows that the provider meets increasingly higher standards. In other words, the more stars a program has, the better the quality of care it offers to children. Our children deserve the three star care that we provide, and our teachers and staff deserve many accolades for their hard work to make sure that children enjoy a early education experience that truly makes a difference in their lives.
It is the mission of McNeilly to provide affordable, safe, quality programs for children in need. Some, may not know, though, what distinguishes a program as high quality. The licensing and accreditation standards from DHS and NAEYC measure the qualifications of the Director as well as the teaching staff of the agency. They assess the program and developmental learning that takes place in the classrooms, and they look at parent/family involvement, the physical environment and the teacher/student ratio in each group. The criteria used to assess agencies ensures that children's daily experiences in early childhood programs are beneficial and that they promote positive child outcomes. More information is available at preknow.org.
We are proud that our sites continue to offer high quality programming for children who otherwise may not have quality care options. The Tennessee Star-Quality program explains that a provider can receive one, two, or three stars to place on its license and display in its center. Each star shows that the provider meets increasingly higher standards. In other words, the more stars a program has, the better the quality of care it offers to children. Our children deserve the three star care that we provide, and our teachers and staff deserve many accolades for their hard work to make sure that children enjoy a early education experience that truly makes a difference in their lives.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wish List
As school begins, and we look forward to changing seasons many of us are doing some Back to School shopping, or Fall cleaning. We hope you will remember McNeilly as you clean out the garage, organize the closets, or when you pick up any school necessities like binders, pens and crayons. In-kind contributions are a big help, and much appreciated! Some items currently on the McNeilly wish list for our main site, Nashville Child Center and Infant/Toddler site are:
Compact Dorm Refrigerators (2)
Bibs with plastic backing
Manual Food Choppers (2)
Bumbo Infant Seats (2)
Manual Carpet Sweepers (2)
Fitted twin bed sheets (2)
Small totes w/ lids for toys
Storage totes w/lids
Walmart gift cards
Laminating Machine (2)
Sheets and Blankets (Mat Size)
10 Folding Chairs
Ink Pens
Kitchen Towels
Binders - 3 Ring
Arts & Crafts Supplies
Toddler Changing Table (commerical grade)
Books, puzzles, lacing cards
Laptop computer
If you would like to donate any of the above items, or have other goods or services to contribute please contact Shellie Fossick at (615) 255-2549 or via email at shellie.fossick@mcneillycenter.org.
Compact Dorm Refrigerators (2)
Bibs with plastic backing
Manual Food Choppers (2)
Bumbo Infant Seats (2)
Manual Carpet Sweepers (2)
Fitted twin bed sheets (2)
Small totes w/ lids for toys
Storage totes w/lids
Walmart gift cards
Laminating Machine (2)
Sheets and Blankets (Mat Size)
10 Folding Chairs
Ink Pens
Kitchen Towels
Binders - 3 Ring
Arts & Crafts Supplies
Toddler Changing Table (commerical grade)
Books, puzzles, lacing cards
Laptop computer
If you would like to donate any of the above items, or have other goods or services to contribute please contact Shellie Fossick at (615) 255-2549 or via email at shellie.fossick@mcneillycenter.org.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Back to School!
As hard as it may be to believe, it's time for kids in Middle Tennessee to go back to school! McNeilly Center for Children operates in six locations, three of which are on-site at neighborhood elementary schools. During the school year we provide before and after care, and all day care when school is not in session at Caldwell, Glenn, and Warner Enhanced Option Schools. Students who attend these schools will head back next week, and thanks to a fantastic group of employees at Quorum Health Resources the children enrolled in our McNeilly at Glenn program will start school with a brand new backpack full of supplies!
It is transition time for more than just our school age children, though! The McNeilly main site and McNeilly at NCC (Nashville Child Center) both have PK classrooms and many of those students are entering Kindergarten this year! We are sad to see them go, but are proud that they are better prepared for school thanks to all that they have learned and experienced at McNeilly. That also means that there are now spots available in our older classrooms and a new group of PK children are just beginning their final year in our preschool programs. Younger children at our preschool sites and the Infant/Toddler center are also moving into age and curriculum appropriate "big kid" classrooms, and our Infant/Toddler site and youngest classrooms at the McNeilly main site are filling up with new children for whom this is often their first experience with quality early education. All of this change can understandably be scary for little ones, and thankfully McNeilly's professional and highly trained teachers and staff are helping kids at all stages make a smooth transition to days filled with fun, and exceptional learning experiences!
Luckily, for our children at the Infant/Toddler site, back to school for them doesn't mean the end of this super fun way to beat the heat!
McNeilly strives to create nurturing, well-rounded classroom and outdoor play environments which means plenty of books, activities, puzzles and games. On our back to school wish list are arts and crafts supplies, tools for dramatic and active play, a laminating machine ($1,700), and a toddler changing table ($600). If you would like to make a donation to help us purchase much needed classroom supplies and equipment please CLICK HERE!
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