BY KEITH LACEY
Sudbury's United Way is spearheading a new initiative to try and ensure every child in this community will be given the opportunity to develop into successful, healthy, productive adults.
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Those involved are very excited about the new Success by 6 program. Details about the child development program were unveiled last week. Those looking forward to the program's success are board chair Scott Overton, parent educator Barbara Burrows, Sudbury United Way executive director Linda Roseneck, program co-ordinator Laura Sedore and Gary Spergel, managing agency director of Heritage Education Funds. |
Success by 6 focuses on the well-being of young children and is based on the old belief it takes a village to raise a child and everyone in the community must take responsibility for the health and well-being of their community's youngest members.
The purpose of Success by 6 is to bring the community together to support its youngest members and is based on research, best expressed by the Ontario government's Early Years Study of 1999, indicating the effects of experiences in the first six years of life last a lifetime, said Scott Overton, local DJ and chair of the Success by 6 committee.
As part of the launch of the new program, the United Way invited renowned parent educator Barbara Burrows to Sudbury this past weekend.
Burrows spoke Friday evening at Sudbury Secondary School at a seminar she called Raising Kids Without Raising the Roof.
Burrows then led a follow-up workshop at the high school to give parents an opportunity to explore how her ideas can be applied specifically to their own unique circumstances.
The federal government's Heritage Education Funds provided the funding to bring Burrows to town for the weekend seminar and workshop.
Linda Roseneck, executive director of the Greater Sudbury United Way, said bringing Burrows to town as part of the launch of Success by 6 is very exciting.
?We're very fortunate to have Barbara come to Sudbury...it's a real coup for this community,? she said.
Programs similar to Success by 6 have been adopted in numerous American states and has now being adopted across Canada in numerous cities, including Ottawa and Kingston, said Roseneck.
Success by 6 has three goals. They include helping everyone understand the pivotal importance of early years, to identify gaps in existing services and facilitate co-operative action to get them filled and raising funds to help strengthen existing organizations that deal with young children, said Overton.
?This program will be big and it will be influential, but it's going to take some time to put together,? said Overton.
But the good news is many prominent citizens have committed to the new board and will provide quality direction and leadership, said Overton.
Board members include Police Chief Ian Davidson, Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the Medical Officer of Health, Vicki Kaminski, CEO of the Sudbury Regional Hospital, and management from Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Ltd.
Research over the past 20 years has shown how crucial the first six years are in developing a happy, inquisitive, intelligent young person, said Overton.
?We want to ensure every child in this community has the best start we can possibly give them,? he said.
Bringing experts like Burrows to town on a regular basis will be part of the Success by 6 agenda, he said.
Agencies and organizations that already provide services and programs for children will be directly involved in the program, said Overton.
?If there's a gap in service, then we will encourage someone to step up and develop programs,? he said.
The Trillium Foundation has provided funding for the United Way to hire Laura Sedore as the Success by 6 co-ordinator.
The official launch of Success by 6, complete with official programs and services, will be announced a few months down the road, said Overton.
For more information, phone the United Way at 560-3330.
