Books For Christmas
December 1, 2015
This Christmas, the staff at OUR PLACE would like to give the gift of reading. You can help. Many of the young parents at OUR PLACE don’t have books for their children. Reading to children as newborns through pre-K is known to improve a child’s success in school by giving them much needed exposure to letters, numbers, colors and sounds. Reading to newborns engages multi-sensory creative development, improves memory and language skills and gives important bonding time between parents and child.
One of the many ways OUR PLACE supports new mothers is through their annual Christmas party. At this festive gathering, gifts of new books and other needed items are distributed among OUR PLACE clients as they mingle with guests that include Santa Claus and Rudolph. The babies love Rudolph’s blinking nose! Pictures are taken with Santa, and all enjoy cookies and punch.
OUR PLACE is greatly in need of new board books for babies, beginner stories for ages 2-3 and stories for older children ages 4-5. The OUR PLACE Christmas party will take place on December 16thand 17th at the Manchester and Nashua locations. Donations are gratefully accepted at any time, but hugely appreciated by December 11th. Last year’s donations brought joy to so many.
OUR PLACE, a service of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, focuses on the health, well-being and creating positive parenting for new parents and their child. Pregnant with their first child, participants in the program learn prenatal care, how to prepare for their baby, child development, parenting skills, and how to navigate the often frustrating times of teething, temper tantrums, and sleep challenges. During this time, clients are mentored to increase their education and job and life skills so they can better provide for their child.
OUR PLACE participants are part of a unique family. Although parent and child complete the program when the child reaches the age of three, many mothers form social groups and get together to support each other and allow children to play and socialize. Long term friendships are made. Graduates of OUR PLACE very often give back, donating clothing, coupons, toys and books.
It’s easy to see why many support OUR PLACE. Their care, support, and service directly impacts the way in which mothers and fathers nurture and raise their children. When graduates give back, it impacts the next group of first time parents. OUR PLACE is a warm, welcoming environment conducive to growth, sharing, comfort and support, strengthening families and building self-sufficiency through guidance and education.
Recently, Kathi Lewis, the founder of the Stork Project, a.k.a. the Pajama Fairy, stopped by OUR PLACE, with a generous gift of pajamas donated by the Carters Company. Additionally, volunteer Nicole Faxon, collects new pajamas from parishioners at St. Elizabeth Seton church in Bedford and donates the remainder of the pajamas needed so each child gets a pair for Christmas along with the donated books. This much needed gift was immensely appreciated and will surely warm the hearts and toes of the OUR PLACE babies and children. Other items that are always in need are diapers and wipes.
Kathi Lewis a.k.a the Pajama Fairy brings pajamas to OUR PLACE
Please help us to make this year’s celebration a success. Book donations can be delivered directly to OUR PLACE located at 16 Oak Street, Manchester or the main office of Catholic Charities at 215 Myrtle Street, Manchester. Give the gift of reading. Open a book, open imagination.
OUR PLACE offers pregnancy and parenting education, mentoring, guidance and support, from pregnancy to the child’s first three years. To learn more about the wonderful work of OUR PLACE visit: http://www.nh-cc.org/ourplace