Help Me Grow - Allegan

Help Me Grow works to connect families, who are expecting or who have children through age five, to local resources to help children stay developmentally on track and healthy through school entry.

If you would like to join our work, either as an organization or as a family member, please contact the Great Start Collaborative Coordinator, Becky Huberty, rebecca.huberty2@alleganaesa.org or 269-512-7738.

Some of the ways Help Me Grow can support your family:

• Sharing information on local child care, preschool and kindergarten options (including low and no-cost!)

• Linking families to local playgroups, story times and other events to increase time spent as a family and early literacy skills

• Answering questions about pregnancy and child development, as well as, sharing access to the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: a free developmental assessment that is a quick and easy to use to determine if your child is on track (available in English and Spanish)

• Providing access to a wide variety of local resources through a
  one-stop website/phone number; saving families time and energy!

Contact us for more information or to get involved!

Allegan Great Start Collaborative

The Michigan Office of Great Start established the Great Start Collaboratives in each county to build a stronger early childhood system.  Michigan has four early childhood outcomes:

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• Children are born healthy

• Children are healthy, thriving and developmentally on track from birth to third grade

• Children are developmentally ready to succeed in school at time of school entry

• Children are prepared to succeed in fourth grade and beyond by reading proficiently by the end of third grade

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In order to do this, the Allegan Great Start Collaborative has created a partnership between community organizations and families to help guide our work.

Our Purpose: To align programs, so parents have knowledge and access to resources and services they need, resulting in their children being ready for kindergarten and eager to learn. 

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Our Mission: To ensure a coordinated system of community supports so that all Allegan County children have a great start from prenatal to age five.

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Our Vision: A great start for every child in Allegan County: Safe, healthy and eager to succeed.

We can’t do this work without our dedicated partnerships and partners

• Kid's Food Basket

• Michigan State Police Department

• The Linking Center

• Little Vikings Preschool

• Local Libraries

• Love, INC

• Mary Whiteford – State Representative

• Mediation Services

• Michigan State University Extension

• Muskegon Ottawa Kent Allegan (MOKA)

• Perrigo Company

• Positive Options of Allegan

• Renewed Hope

• Resilience

• Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center

• Southwest Regional Resource Center

• Sylvia’s Place

• Women Infants & Children (WIC)

• 20 Hands

• Allegan Area Educational Services Agency

• Allegan Community Foundation

• Allegan County Community Mental Health

• Allegan County Courts

• Allegan County Health Department

• Allegan County United Way

• Allegan Department of Health and Human Services

• Allegan Medical Clinic Pediatric Unit

• Allegan, Fennville, Hopkins, Martin, Plainwell & Wayland School Districts

• Allegan/Ottawa/Barry Migrant Resource Council

• Arbor Circle

• Bridges of Hope

• Child Care Resource Center of Southwest Michigan

• Community Action of Allegan County

• Gryphon Place 211

• Intercare WIC

If you would like to join our work either as an organization or a family member, please contact the Great Start Collaborative Coordinator, Becky Huberty, rebecca.huberty2@alleganaesa.org or 269-512-7738.

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These materials were developed under a grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Education.