By By Adrienne McKenzie
As a part of National Head Start Awareness Day, Freemanville Head Start opened its doors Oct. 30 to parents and interested community members to inform them of the activities and programs the facility provides.
According to a letter written by center director Hazel Bright, the Freemanville Head Start is a place to prepare children for the future.
"The future of the Freemanville Head Start is unknown, but we know that with parent and community involvement the Freemanville Head Start will be here to educate even the future children of the children that attend our program now," Bright's letter states.
The Freemanville Head Start Center opened its doors first on the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Reservation in 1967 before it moved to the current facility in 1992.
"I have been with the agency for 19 years and have seen the children that came to Head Start graduate high school," Bright's said in her letter. "Needless to say the Freemanville Head Start has helped many low income families and children in the community by providing free education, health prevention and referrals to families in need."
Presently there are 86 children housed at the Freemanville Head Start Center. There are 68 children and 18 pre-k students.
"This is the first year for pre-k at our center and we are honored to be able to provide this service for the children of our community," Bright said.
There are 15 staff members at the Freemanville Head Start Center that are qualified with CDA's, teaching certificates, associates degrees and bachelor degrees.
"We are proud to have such a qualified group of men and women that are able and willing to teach the children in the community," Bright said.
The Freemanville Head Start Center is a part of the National Head Start Association, which is a private not-for-profit membership organization that is committed to meeting needs of Head Start children and families.
The national program has 1 million children, 200,000 on staff and there are 2,700 Head Start programs nationally. It began in 1965 and it offers comprehensive education, health, nutrition and parental involvement assistance to families that have low-incomes.
"Head Start is funded 80 percent by a federal grant," Bright said. "Twenty percent is given to the organization through donations which is matched by the government. Head Start is a non-profit organization. If you are interested in donating your time or services to the Freemanville Head Start Center or if you have any questions please feel free to call the Freemanville Head Start Center at 251-368-3996."
Those at the Awareness Day at the Freemanville Head Start Center received a booklet with a variety of information provided, including a "Mealtime Memo for Child Care" handout.
The memo provided information about the health benefits of broccoli and different ways to cook the fresh vegetable. It also provided a variety of breakfast, lunch and snack ideas for Monday through Friday.
Linda Pruitt with the Daphne Community Action Agency was the guest speaker at the Freemanville Head Start Center's Head Start Awareness Day last Tuesday.
"We are a family-oriented program, so we want to make sure moms are happy, dads are happy and the children are happy," Pruitt said. "So anytime you have any questions or need assistance feel free to ask."
For more information, call 368-3996.