LAKEPORT, Calif. – At the end of each quarter during 2018, the First 5 Lake Commission honored local Children’s Champions who went above and beyond to make sure that the community’s youngest citizens were protected, nurtured and prioritized.
What happens in the first five years lays the foundation for the rest of a child’s life. It is a time period when experiences can irreversibly affect how the brain develops – for better or for worse.
Nurturing care and attention from a loving parent or caregiver are critical, and this year’s Children’s Champions are all people who, in a variety of ways, stepped up to make sure that parents and caregivers had everything they needed to nurture their young children well.
The First 5 Lake Children’s Champion for the fourth quarter of 2018 is Dr. Barbara Gardner. Dr. Gardner is a local pediatrician who embraces the importance of early literacy and because of this, she reached out to the (former) Adventist Health Ukiah Valley president, Gwen Matthews, asking for support in launching the Reach Out and Read program.
Matthews agreed, and AH-Ukiah Valley now invests $20,000 per year to sponsor the participation of each of their five pediatricians in the program.
With 91 percent of children under age 6 attending routine pediatric visits at least once a year, pediatricians, family medicine doctors and nurse practitioners have consistent, repeat access to families with children in the early years, when it counts.
With this in mind, through Reach Out and Read, Dr. Gardner introduces a beautiful new book at the beginning of each well-child visit in her Lakeport office – engaging and calming the child and parent, providing positive literacy messages, and building stronger connections with the family.
She encourages parents to read aloud daily to their infants, toddlers and preschoolers, as a simple and effective way of fostering nurturing, language-rich family interactions that support brain development and provide a foundation for success.
At the end of the program, every child has a home-library of books, each given with Dr. Gardner’s advice to parents that they are their child's first and most important teacher.
Dr. Gardner has also been a consistent advocate in registering children for Imagination Library and Bloom, both free programs provided by Lake County Office of Education and partially funded by a grant from First 5 Lake.
The First 5 Lake Commissioners are honored to have brought the 2018 Children’s Champions and their efforts to the attention of our Lake County friends and neighbors.
The full list of 2018 Children’s Champions is:
– Christopher Veach and Barbara Green, Lake County Libraries;
– Jeff Smith, former District 2 Supervisor;
– Kari Donley, Adventist Health Clear Lake;
– The QRIS Team at Lake County Office of Education (Angel Coppa, April Straight and Angela Cuellar-Marroquin);
– Ana Santana, Wendy Gattoni, and Tanya Biassoti, LCOE’s Healthy Start Program;
– Mary Prather, Easter Seals Bay Area;
– Brandy Perry, North Coast Opportunities Inc.;
– David and Denice Solgat, foster and adoptive parents;
– Sarah Fuchs and Pam Inman, Lower Lake High School;
– Jacqui Joyce, child care provider;
– Natalie Baker, community volunteer;
– Jordan O’Halloran, Lake Family Resource Center;
– Dr. Barbara Gardner, Adventist Health Ukiah Valley, Lakeport Office.
Members of the community are encouraged to nominate worthy 2019 Champions for Children in Lake County by filling out a nomination form at www.firstfivelake.org/childrens-champions.php . New champions will continue to be selected and honored each quarter.
Using funds derived from CA Proposition 10’s voter-mandated tax on tobacco products, the First 5 Lake County Commission funds programs and services that benefit the health and development of young children and educate parents, grandparents, caregivers and teachers about the critical role they play during a child’s first five years.
Since its inception in 2000, First 5 Lake has supported thousands of families with programs and services designed to help Lake County children grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school and life.
Current First 5 Lake Commissioners are Pam Klier, Denise Pomeroy, Brock Falkenberg, Tina Scott, Crystal Markytan, Susan Jen, Carly Swatosh and Allison Panella.
First 5 honors final Lake County Children’s Champion of 2018
- Lake County News reports
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