Imprints Cares Cover Story
The most vulnerable population in our community is our children. The very adult issues that have paralyzed our way of life are not easily understood by these little ones. While we adults are stressed to find toilet paper and hand sanitizer, our young children are struggling to get through the alphabet with no mess-ups. They are children 0-5 in low-income families and there is a great struggle to be prepared for kindergarten.
Before they take that big step, their parents are their first teachers, but sometimes that teacher role can be hard. Some say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, in Forsyth County the village has risen to the challenge. Imprints Cares offers a Parents as Teachers home visiting program that helps prepare children for school.
Imprints Cares from the late 1960’s, has seen the needs of these parents and has stepped in to help. The start was a babysitting service, then a full-time day-care center and now they are a nonprofit focused on early childhood education. The family educators that work for Imprints Cares know how crucial the early years of brain development are in preparing for school readiness.
It is their vision to unlock the full potential of children and their families for success in school and in life. The organization’s mission is to enrich children’s development while supporting their families on the journey of parenthood. Play time is serious business for these professionals.
Imprints Cares has a brand that has grown in strength through the COVID 19 pandemic because they did not stop when the world essentially shut down. A brand is not a logo or a catchy phrase that rhymes. A brand is a set of values and what an organization is known for based on the evidence they exhibit. The leadership team of Imprints Cares, led by Claudia Barrett, rolled up their sleeves and made some tough decisions to serve the community despite the coronavirus.
Who cares if the schools and many daycares are closed and the children have nowhere to go? Who cares if the essential workers have no one to care for their children so they can do the important jobs needed to keep the community safe? Who cares? Imprints Cares!
The work of Imprints Cares in Forsyth County during such a turbulent and uncertain time has given the community the support they need to face a new year. 2021 has no certain course and there are no answers for the return to normalcy. Children still face challenges and parents even more than before. Yet, Imprints Cares in their fiscal year 2020 has served thousands through their service to families of young children in their Ready for School led by Berta Andrade (Parents as Teachers, Reach Out & Read and Pediatric Holistic Health Initiative).
Imprints Cares went from being a day care center to now supporting in-home childcare providers through a program called Family, Friends and Neighbors. This pilot program reaches the providers that touch the lives of children that would not be helped otherwise by Imprints Cares. Family Educator, Angela Hunt shared the following, “I often tell them [grandmothers that cannot read] they have such a huge impactful role, I love helping them see their value.”
One of the newest programs in the Imprints Cares offerings of service is the program Book Babies that enrolls babies in the earliest stages of life, led by Erika Stewart. A parent can begin a partnership with Imprints Cares at the birth of their child and stay connected through elementary school to encourage a literacy rich home environment.
Imprints Cares does not offer charity to low-income families, they offer authentic relationships. Partnership with dignity and respect is the brand that has led other organizations to support them. Their work through the pandemic sparked the support of World in Winston who rallied much needed financial help. The Expanded Learning staff, led by Betty West, moved from a before and after school program to remote learning sites. The branded partnership continued as churches opened their doors to allow Imprints Cares to assist neighborhood children and helped them thrive in a learning environment foreign to all.
Several churches not only opened their doors but gave money to assist the families that would attend their remote learning site. One such church, among others, was Elevation. Their support of $60,000 granted scholarships to 47 children who worked with Remote Learning Specialists and their teachers. The Assistant Director of Expanded Learning, Ashley Long, recounted memorable milestones at the remote learning site when she stated a first grader wrote their name for the first time. The workers of Imprints Cares have done a wonderful job. One parent said it best, “Managing the isolation caused by the cancelation of school has been difficult for a 6 year-old. Imprints Cares is providing healthy interaction and learning.”
Considering social distancing and mask wearing regulations, who better to partner with during the holidays than Paw Patrol and Santa. On December 5th, the Family Educators of Imprints Cares hosted a holiday drive thru event that provided toys, crafted projects, stockings, treats and food boxes weighing nearly 40 pounds to low-income families. The successful event occurred with the help of two very generous organizations, choreographed by Shannon Heck, Director of Development.
The first was the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department, led by Sheriff Kimbrough, whose deputies gave funds through Do It Again December so that the families could receive presents. Second were food boxes provided by Crisis Control Ministry, filled with all the fix’ns needed to make great holiday meals. Abbey McCall, Director of Community & Volunteer Relations at Crisis Control Ministry said, “We are excited to partner with Imprints Cares and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office to provide a holiday meal for families in need this holiday season.”
We have learned through the 2019-2020 pandemic that partnerships and working together is necessary for success. Truly the brand of this organization is their mission to enrich children’s development while supporting their families on the journey of parenthood. The evidence is clear, and the children are the proof.
As I was sending this story to my editor, I received news that just could not be omitted. One of the churches that opened their doors for a remote leaning site, Knollwood Baptist, referred Imprints Cares to Toys for Tots to be a recipient of toys that exceeded their expectations; 3 semi-tractor trailers full of bicycles and toys. The portion that went to Imprints Cares was 37 bicycles and 15 boxes of toys.
There is so much to tell about this wonderful organization as the great news continues. In the year 2021 we will truly see Imprints Cares moving forward . . . Achieving Excellence!!!
