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Partner Spotlight: Changing Children's Worlds Foundation

Through our Focused Funding initiatives, Bright Promises directs resources to innovative programs that address the critical emerging issues faced by at-risk children. We provide capacity-building tools throughout a multi-year funding cycle while also striving to increase awareness and resources to address these issues.

In recent years, there’s been a lot of progress in understanding the importance of social and emotional learning — not just the academic learning we hear so much about — to kids’ life success. But its impact on the realities of all kids’ lives has been inconsistent.

We want to help more kids by engaging some of the most involved, most effective, and most interested parties in helping them develop and thrive – their parents and caregivers. This is why we began a multi-year partnership with Changing Children's World Foundation to support the expansion of their Social Emotional Learning parent engagement program.

With Bright Promises support, Changing Children's World Foundation will provide peer-facilitated, community-based programs that encourage Social Emotional Learning competencies in parents so that they support children's learning, self-regulation and value development. This program will occur at 5 sites serving 300 low-income children living in South Chicago, Englewood, South Shore, Auburn Gresham and Austin.

During a recent interview, South Shore resident and grandparent and primary caregiver of 3 boys under the age of six, Marjorie McGuire, shared that what she has learned by participating in this program. Ms. McGuire says that participating in this program has helped her approach communicating and interacting with her grandchildren differently by allowing them to express themselves and encouraging healthy relationship skills:

"I don’t want them to be in an environment where they feel scared for their life when they walk out the door, we’re already in a bad environment, but I have to keep them close to me... I’m learning more about them and they’re learning more about me and they are beginning to be good kids. They used to do a lot of thing, bad things, burning stuff, and I had to get them out of that. And so I did and they’re doing a lot better than what they were.

This is a very good program. It teaches you a lot of things to teach your children too. And I have been through a whole lot with them. [You need to] sit down, listen to your children, talk to your children in a sensible tone, do not scream and holler at them. That way they can get more communication with you and you can learn more from them as you go along."

On November 5th, 2016, Changing Children's World Foundation will hold their Fifth Anniversary CCWF Celebration & Fundraiser and there is much to celebrate.  Changing Children's World Foundation has provided programming supporting nearly 300 parents & caregivers, and over 500 of their children, in addition to training nearly 100 professionals working with thousands of children on empathy-based parenting & family relationships throughout Kane through Cook Counties.

During this anniversary event, Changing Children's World Foundation will share their Five-Year Accomplishments and Next Five-Year Goals along with some very special moments from their history of supporting families. To learn more about Changing Children's World Foundation and purchase tickets to the anniversary celebration, visit http://www.changingchildrensworlds.org/fundraising-events.