Whole Child Leon - A Communitywide Effort
Whole Child Leon is a communitywide effort to get our children off to the best start in life by ensuring they have everything they need to thrive. Families with young children often need help: some lack
education, information or economic stability, or they may not know where to go for help. Even busy,
two-parent, working families may struggle due to a lack of time, information or adequate child care.
Other families are strained by the many demands of caring for young children or dealing with a child
with special physical or emotional needs.
We cannot leave it to government or human service agencies alone to meet the needs of families.
Whole Child Leon seeks to engage the entire community in a commitment to our youngest
residents because we recognize their future – and ours – hinges on ensuring the best start for every child.
A growing body of research shows that the first five years of life are crucial to brain development, to
acquiring social skills necessary to grow into good citizens, and to developing emotional strength and
physical and mental health.
Individually, many agencies and organizations serve one dimension of children’s wellbeing, from
immunizations to early learning programs. Embracing the idea that we must nurture the Whole Child,
requires the entire community working together. A child who is fully immunized but spends the day
without stimulating educational experiences will not realize his full potential. Similarly, a child who has
quality child care, but an unsafe home environment may never become all she could be. Ultimately, our
community will pay the price for failing to fully nurture the treasure that is our children.
A Whole Child - A Definition
One who attains physical, intellectual and spiritual well being;
experiences strong, positive family attachment; interacts constructively
in a social context; has a sense of hope; and lives in an environment
that encourages him or her to succeed.
Whole Child Leon is working on addressing challenges and opportunities that affect children 0-5 and their
families. Action Teams made up of community volunteers implement activities to address these
challenges and opportunities that relate to the six dimensions of a Whole Child. Some
accomplishments include:
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What's New!
The For Families Section includes many new and exciting resources for parents.
The Social Development Action Team recently
added a coloring book for children.
The Spiritual Action Team has prepared many new resources to assist families in nurturing their children
as they develop from pre-birth to 5 years of age.
There are comprehensive reading tips, book lists, adventuring in the arts, and more to help you foster your child's spiritual development.
You can find the materials here.
The Catching Smiles CD developed by the Spiritual Action Team and local artists is also
available.
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- Developing a Quality Rating System in partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend;
- Developing resources for nurturing a child’s spirit including a spirituality book list, activities, and places to experience;
- Expanding access to dental care for pregnant women and infants;
- Providing financial education, literacy and a benefits package for families in conjunction with United Way of the Big Bend’s Believe, Earn, Save, Thrive (BEST) initiative; and
- Developing a safe and nurturing environment (neighborhood) policy.
A Whole Child Community
One that provides all children with the opportunity to be healthy,
contributing members of society, based on the belief that parents have
primary responsibility for raising their children, and the community is
a partner in this endeavor.
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