A Message from the Director
Champions of Child Care Turns 15!
In 2003, the Child Care Council of Dutchess, Inc. decided to honor child care providers with a Champions of Child Care celebration. We thought it would be good to “give it a try” and now the celebration is in its 15th year! Prior to 2003, we had presented awards to child care providers at our Annual Meeting, but with speakers, lunch and a packed agenda, there wasn’t enough time to appropriately recognize child care providers. So the Champions of Child Care event was the inspiration to publicly honor the hard-working and little recognized child care providers. Nearly 100 people attended Champions in 2003 and we received nominations from peers of child care providers for the special awards. At the conclusion of the celebration, a Family Day Care provider told me, “I was ready to close my doors, but now I feel appreciated for what I do and will keep going.” That one comment made the difference – we needed to make this an annual event.
We’ve come a long way in 15 years with nearly 300 attending and promise to host a fun, exciting celebration on May 10, 2018! This year’s theme is a Luau, so plan to dress accordingly, if you wish. There will again be a delicious dinner, a photo booth, and a raffle of special items and baskets full of goodies. However, this year there will be an additional “special” raffle of Disney theme park tickets! The winner of this raffle will receive four One-Day Park Hopper tickets, valued at $648.00, for admission to a magical one-day experience at designated Disney theme parks. Tickets for this are only $5.00 and may be purchased in advance in person or online at our website or at the Champions of Child Care celebration!
But the main focus of the Champions of Child Care is the celebration of child care providers. We will be honoring people for years of service, recognizing educational achievements, and giving special awards to child care providers or programs who have gone above and beyond the expectations of caring for children. Unlike the special awards that were given in 2003, the majority of nominations we have received in the past several years have been submitted by parents of children in care.
Child care providers, this is your chance to let parents know they can easily submit a nomination by going to our website www.childcaredutchess.org. Often parents welcome the opportunity to share their child’s experience or their gratitude for all you do for them, but aren’t aware of the nomination process. The Child Care Council of Dutchess and Putnam, Inc. will be mailing child care programs a form to submit information on years of service and educational achievement along with flyers that you may post. The nominations page on our website opened on Tuesday, February 20th and the deadline for submissions is Monday, April 2nd.
Some of the most impressive nominations have been from parents, directors and owners of child care programs, staff, and employers. Please take this opportunity to help us celebrate you and all that you do every day for the children and families in Dutchess and Putnam Counties.
