FAMILIES CONNECTED | HelpMeGrowAllegan

FAMILIES CONNECTED!

Free Groups for Parents/Caregivers

Parent Cafés - Coffee Chats

Coffee Chats are a great place for parents/caregivers to socialize with other parents/caregivers, to talk about their struggles, and to get support in a safe environment. It's a chance to create meaningful friendships while building resilience and confidence in a parenting role. The first 15 minutes will focus on a new parenting topic at each gathering that is chosen by attendees.

Connected Meetings

Connected Meetings give parents/caregivers the chance to be a leader and a voice in their community by contributing to the work of the Great Start Collaborative (GSC). The GSC's vision is to ensure every child in Allegan County is healthy, developmentally on track, and ready to succeed in school. Meetings also provide community resources, parenting education, and child development topics to caregivers chosen by attendees.

Great Start Families Connected (GSFC)

Parents/caregivers will have the opportunity to be as active as they would like to be at all Families Connected groups. There are no required memberships and everyone is welcome to come to as many or as little gatherings as they like.

We encourage caregivers who are grandparents, foster parents, or other relatives to come to our groups because we believe is takes a village to raise a child.

Great Start Families Connected serves to:

Strengthen the voice of parents/caregivers in the community for young children.
Assist in building public support for early childhood education.
Assist in the Great Start Collaborative work.
Provide a place for caregivers to connect with other caregivers.

We provide support to parents/caregivers who care for children ages prenatal - 12.

Join Us in Being a Family Connected!

Join our private Facebook Group:

Allegan County Great Start Families Group.

Contact Our Parent Liaison:

Stormie Drake

Great Start Parent Liaison

Stormie.Drake@alleganaesa.org

(269) 512-7747

For more information, including schedules and locations, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Upcoming Families Connected Events!

We provide free snacks at in-person gatherings and free giveaways!

December

Holiday Gift Bag Night - Wednesday, December 1 at 5pm to 7pm:

Receive a FREE Holiday Gift Bag filled with fun for the whole family!

Fennville District Library, Allegan District Library, Henika District Library, Ransom District Library, Otsego District Library

Coffee Chat - Wednesday, December 8 at 10:30am to 11:30am:

Ransom District Library in Plainwell

Topic: Early Literacy Resources

January

Coffee Chat - Thursday, January 20 at 10:45am to 11:30am:

Ransom District Library

Topic: Mental Health Resources for Children Under 12

Connected Meeting - Thursday, January 27 at 5:30pm to 6:30pm:

Virtual, Join via Zoom: https://bit.ly/allegancafe

Topic: Community Action of Allegan County: Head Start - Early Childhood Education Information

February

Coffee Chat - Wednesday, February 9 at 5:30pm to 6:30pm:

Virtual, Join via Zoom: https://bit.ly/allegancafe

Topic: Mental Health Resources for Parents/Caregivers

Connected Meeting - TBD: Check back in February!

Allegan OR Fennville

Newsletters for Families Connected

Every month we email and post a newsletter specifically for Families Connected! Our newsletter includes families connected meetings, local family events, playgroup events, parent workshops, educational activities, community information, and more! You can view the current and all past issues of our newsletters below:

All Newsletter Issues for Families Connected