the Nursery Rhyme - Day Nursery of Abilene

Sum m er
Iss ue
2014
the Nursery Rhyme
Mission State men t: to provide affordable quality child care for a diverse community
this issue
Investing in Our Children P.1
Summer Program P.2
School-Ready Celebrations P.3
Fundraiser Success P.4
Child Care
Centers:
Cedar Street
Center
650 Cedar Street
Abilene, TX 79601
(325) 670-0002
Vine Street
Center
1442 Vine Street
Abilene, TX 79605
(325) 672-7351
Sherry Lane
Center
3434 Sherry Lane
Putt “Fore” Children Flyer
Community Support Makes a Difference One Child at a Time
Friends of the Day Nursery of Abilene
heartedness, children at Day Nursery of
help to sustain its mission to provide afAbilene continue to benefit from abunfordable quality child care for a diverse
dant opportunities to grow, learn, develcommunity. Donations provide provision
op and even excel! Research demonto care for 500 children each month in
strates that investing in quality early
three agency-owned and
childhood education makes
licensed child care facilities.
a positive difference now in
Parents are at ease when Invest in the future the lives of children and prothey leave their children in
vides an important support
by investing in
the hands of the staff at the
service to their parents,
Day Nursery so their focus
businesses and community.
the children of
can be directed towards
Thank you for partnering
their work to support their
with Day Nursery of Abilene
our community
families, school or job trainto address the community’s
ing programs which better
need for quality child care
the future of their family. Donors make
services, assisting the children, their parthe difference in the lives of the children
ents, and the staff who work in the cenwho attend the Day Nursery of Abilene
ters to deliver these critical child care
child care program through their generservices to children and families. We
ous giving.
Because of your bigcouldn’t do it without you!
Abilene, TX 79601
(325) 673-1781
Administration
Office
500 CHILDREN SERVED BY DAY NURSERY EACH MONTH
702 Cedar Street
Abilene, TX 79601
(325) 673-1110
d a yn u r se r ya b i l e n e . o rg
72% low-income/subsidized
Top employers represented by families
 28% private pay
whose children attend DNA
22% infants
Abilene ISD
24% toddlers
Abilene State Supported Living Ctr.
39% preschool
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
15% school-age
City of Abilene
A message from
Cynthia Pearson,
President/CEO
Without your help many
young children might be
home alone this summer
We do a lot
of celebrating at Day
Nursery of
Abilene; it’s
one of
those things
we enjoy
the most!
Daily we celebrate children
who achieve developmental
milestones in spite of those
from unfortunate circumstances. And recently celebrated preschool children
who are “ready to learn” and
will enter kindergarten this
fall.
We celebrate staff who give
of themselves daily no matter
what job they hold at the Day
Nursery; each contributing to
making a difference in the
lives of young children and
their families. They are
“difference makers”.
We celebrate community collaborations through United
Way, AISD, and others who
facilitate program successes.
We celebrate the work of volunteers, volunteer programs
and their contributions including the board of directors who
lead, guide and govern by
lending their own time, talent
and treasures.
And we celebrate, you our
donors, those who generously release funds to us because you believe in what we
do and the outcomes produced by the Day Nursery
program. You are committed
to excellence and your generous support is critical to building and advancing a great
early childhood program to
meet the needs of the community. It’s because of you
and your generosity that we
celebrate achievements at
the Day Nursery of Abilene.
Thank you for contributing
and making the provisions to
celebrate, one child at a time!
Thanks to donors like you and other
community support, Day Nursery is
able to provide a fun, enriching summer
program in a safe learning environment
Day Nursery provides
exceptional summertime
care to school age children thanks to a generous community. Scholarships and affordable child
care options offered by
our child care program
allow many parents a
A-Town Pest Control
Teresa and Gray Bridwell
Linda and Ed Buckner
Roy Chapman
Community Foundation of Abilene
Mary and Alan Davis
Taylor Davis
Laura and Duane Donaway
First Financial Bank, N.A.
Bea and Brady Ganson
in memory of Ernestine Ashford
Libby and Ryan Gibson
Janice and Jim Gobin
in memory of Bryan Grow
Dr. and Mrs. Gary Goodnight
Greater Abilene Kiwanis Club
Wanda and Toney Gutierrez
Dr. and Mrs. Lanny Hall
choice for supervised
quality child care experiences in a safe and
healthy environment. Because child care fees are
all-inclusive, parents are
not charged extra for
their children to attend
field trips.
SUMMER PROGRAM
Kaye and Joe Hawkins
Leah and Johnny Herron
Brad and Whitney Hill
Christy and John Macon
Dr. and Mrs. Gary D. McCaleb
Susan and Russell McKeever
Elizabeth and Aaron Miller
Papa John's Pizza
Cynthia Pearson
in memory of Harwell Barber
in memory of Tomasa Sigala
in memory of J.R. Black, Jr.
in memory of Gladys Abor
in memory of Ernestine Ashford
in memory of Hugh B Tighe, Jr.
in memory of Walter King
in memory of Ann Parmelly
in memory of Bryan Grow
Cooking  Library Visits
Zoo Trips  Movies
Splash Days  Board Games
Field Trips  Themed Weeks
Becky and Jack Rentz
Sharon and Tom Riley
Rotary Club of Abilene
Faye and Dale Smith
St. Paul Methodist Church
Beverly and Danny Stevens
Fran Stone
Theresa Szemcsak
Susan and Paul Watts
Hayley and Clinton Wilson
Funds held at CFA
Lee and Callie Hampton
Donor Advised Fund
Morgan and Jesse Jones
Designated Fund
Mrs. J Neil (Weeze) Daniel
Donor Advised Fund
STAFF
RECOGNITIONS
Employees of the
1st Quarter 2014
The employees of the quarter
are Crisi Burch, Tina Mayse and
Candy Swanner.
Popping on to Kindergarten
Each of the Day Nursery
centers honored children
who completed the schoolreadiness program during
fun-themed celebrations in
May. The children preformed songs before chang-
ing into their caps and
gowns to receive their official ”ticket to kindergarten”.
Day Nursery of Abilene participates with the Abilene
Independent School District
(AISD) in a School Readiness Integration (SRI) partnership, which focuses on
preparation, readiness and
school success for preschool children entering kindergarten. An AISD certified
teacher spends time daily in
each Day Nursery SRI
classrooms
providing instruction and mentoring using state-adopted instructional materials and assessment tools used to prepare
and measure learning success. Children participants
show improvement in the
areas that are most likely to
predict reading success.
Long-term outcomes of the
partnership include:
 Preparation for reading
success, school and
beyond
 Potentially fewer referrals to special education
 School-readiness directly impacts the preparation of a future workforce
 Parents are better consumers in choosing early childhood programs
Ways to Give
 Sponsor-a-Child for as little
as $40 per month
 Mail your contribution to




Day Nursery’s administration office.
Set up a one-time or recurring donation at
www.daynurseryabilene.org
Annual Mexican Dinner
Fundraiser
Annual Putt “Fore” Children
Fundraiser
Spirit of Christmas year-end
campaign
scan code to visit
our website
What our parents have to say
“I am a single mother to my
so
much
with
their
10 month old son. He is in
scholarship they have for
Room 2 at Day
mothers in my
Nursery on Sherry
situation. I could
“I could not have
Lane. I work full
not have made it
time and go to
without their help.
made it without
school as a full
The ladies are so
their help”
time student and
sweet and caring!
can barely make
It makes me so
ends meet each month. Day
happy knowing my son is so
Nursery has helped me out
happy and safe here!”
Burch, who has
worked for Day
Nursery for one
year, works at the
Cedar Street Center.
Mayse, who worked
for Day Nursery from
2003 through 2010
and has been back
for nine months,
works at the Sherry Lane Center.
Swanner, who has
worked for Day
Nursery since 1995,
works at the Vine
Street Center.
Employees
of the Year
The employees of the year are
Natasha Thomas, Erika Avalos
and Leigh Ann Drane.
Thomas, who has
worked for Day
Nursery for three
years, works at the
Cedar Street
Center.
Avalos, who has
worked for Day
Nursery since 2008,
works at the Sherry
Lane Center.
Drane, who has
worked for Day
Nursery for six
years, works at the
Vine Street Center.
CONGRATULATIONS!
2014 Board
of Directors
Board Chair
Faye Smith
Past Chair
Duane Donaway
Vice Chair
Cindy Cook
Treasurer
Ryan Gibson
Secretary
Wanda Gutierrez
Jill Antilley
Vicki Arthur
Tancy Baldwin
Leigh Black
Gray Bridwell
Michelle Davis
Eric Emerson
Ben Grant
Vicki Hayhurst
Dena Heaton
Brad Hill
CaSaundra Johnson
Patty Knight
Rosemary Lara
Susan McKeever
Jon Moody
Michelle Stevens
Fran Stone
Dason Williams
Panissa Williams
Clinton Wilson
21st Annual Mexican Dinner
Most Successful to Date
The Day Nursery of Abilene
held its 21st Annual Mexican Dinner Fundraiser on
March 29, 2014 in the West
Cafeteria at Abilene High
School the proceeds of
which support the agency’s
nonprofit child care program. Event volunteers
served enchilada plates to
attendees who were entertained by the Ballet Folklorico. Thank you to all participants; this dinner produced the best results yet!
Proceeds from the event
support several program
areas for the Day Nursery
and promote community
awareness. On behalf of
the Day Nursery of Abilene
and those it serves, thank
you for making this noteworthy event a success!
If you prefer to get an email version of the Nursery Rhyme, please email scory@daynurseryabilene.org.
Prefer Emails?
Help DNA save money on printing and postage!
Administration Office
702 Cedar Street
Abilene, TX 79601
Ph: (325) 673-1110
Fax: (325) 677-0235
Non-Profit Org,
US Postage
PAID
Abilene, TX
Permit 2401