October 2007
Success by 6 Impact Area

Mark your calendars for the 7th Annual Reading Festival, Yahoo for Book-A-Roos!  This year's event will take place on October 20th and is FREE.  Families are invited to attend, there will be activities for the kids, appearances by local sports players and the Vikings cheerleaders, and all children will receive a free book. For more information, contact Kristi at 336-2095.

Augustana Reads started the school year on September 17th with 72 students enrolled. The children enrolled in the program come from Somalia, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Sudan, Bosnia, Russia, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. 17 Augustana work study students tutor the students, helping them with their reading skills by spending the afternoons reading to one another.  Recent guest readers include Nathan Grave with the Air Force, Dr. Amy Nelson, a family practice physician, and Officer Denny Pottebaum of the Sioux Falls Police Department. 

Last month, Bright Start nurses made 174 home visits.  The program also admitted 9 new mothers and 11 new babies.  The program participants are given the support and education they need to provide their babies with a comforting, nurturing environment.

Last month over 6000 parenting guides were mailed to parents.  The guides have age specific topics, from birth to 1 year.  Each month parents receive the appropriate guide.  To view these guides, click here.  Also, over 100 parents completed the temperament questionnaire at their local hospitals.  Learning about their baby's temperament can help with discipline issues, behavior concerns, and social development. Individual temperament consultations are also available.

8600 children are receiving a free book in the mail each month through the Imagination Library.  This program mails a free book to children under the age of 5 each month within Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha and Turner Counties.

*To learn more about the impact Sioux Empire United Way Partner Programs are having, please click here.

What Matters

“I was clueless about motherhood,” says Danae, a bright young woman who is participating in the Bright Start program. “I had no idea how to raise my daughter, but my nurse Brenda provided me with so many resources to help prepare myself.”

Danae was a single mother who moved to Sioux Falls to be closer to family when her daughter, Angelina, was six weeks old. Through the Department of Social Services, she learned of the Bright Start program and was soon matched with Brenda, her home visitation nurse.

“Danae took the initiative to learn about what to expect,” said Brenda.  “She knew where she wanted to go and what she wanted her goals to be. I just watched in amazement at the mother she was becoming.”

When Danae began with Bright Start, her daughter was crying through the night because of acid reflux. This meant that neither mom nor baby could get much sleep. With her nurse’s help and encouragement, Danae was able to get Angelina on a regular eating and sleeping schedule which helped Angelina’s acid reflux.

Because of Brenda’s help, Danae’s goals for herself and her daughter are being achieved. She has made new friends, taken on a healthy lifestyle, and is providing her daughter with a healthy, positive future.

Thanks to Sioux Empire United Way, Bright Start is providing moms like Danae the resources and support they need to become better educated, more aware parents. Through the visits, nurses help the women achieve the program goals of having healthy babies, promoting child health and development, and strengthening family self-sufficiency.

Because we know what matters.

And what matters to Danae…“I know that I’m doing what’s best for my daughter. I have two angels in my life; my daughter Angelina and my Bright Start nurse Brenda.”