December...cold weather, snow, time with family and friends, and generosity! And we have so many generous people in our community that make this holiday season so special. Our wonderful Reenie Hale came to decorate and then spent the day shopping for coats. (Please take a look at the pictures below for the full story!) We have Christmas Parties for foster parents and Young Parent participants coming up, news about CKF, and a sneak peak at the possibility of an Education Coordinator for our program participants. So much to share with generous you!

Pajama Party

	PJ Party at the Partnership

Last month we had a delightful party for Capable Kids and Families. Children, parents, staff, and volunteers came to The Partnership dressed in pajamas - ready to celebrate. This included a chance to listen to story time, goof off, and to eat cookies and drink milk. Families also got to go home with beautiful child-sized quilts, pillow cases, and books. The quilts and pillow cases were gifted to us from a group of wonderfully talented quilters. Volunteers included Susie and Katie Baldwin, Abbie Darnell, and Ginny Graham!

We are so thankful for your generous support of this wonderful program. CKF is only available here in Missouri because Jean Darnell had the vision and the will to create this amazing program. Because of CKF there have been great gains in childrens developmental progress and parents are growing in their confidence and have reduced stress because they have the support and equipment they need to help their children thrive.

Special thanks to The Phelps County Board for the Developmentally Disabled - their support allows us to serve many families in Phelps County; provide Friendship Circles at Phelps County elementary schools; and PEAK (Physical Education for All Kids) services to almost all children in Phelps County.

We need all of you and we are so very grateful for your support! You are the reason CKF is available in our region.

Gifts of the Season

	Reenie to the Rescue

We are bustling around getting ready for the Holiday Season and fortunately we have some amazing helpers! Reenie Hale is just one such generous helper. Reenie came in last week and decorated our office for Christmas - this is a job Reenie does professionally but every year she finds the time to gift us with decorations. After getting us in a festive mood she then spent an entire day shopping for warm coats for youth in our area who are in out-of-home care (foster care). We are able to supply coats because of another generous donation. As an FYI - foster parents receive a very small clothing allowance when they accept children into their home - so this gift of a winter coat is very appreciated. 

We are also getting ready to celebrate a Christmas party with foster parents and participants in our young parents program. We can still use help with these two parties so if you have some time to share please contact Barb our wonderful Volunteer Coordinator. (You can email her by clicking on her name or by calling our office (573.368.2849) - thank you!)

While this might not seem like a holiday story it could be a real gift for youth who participate in our programs. We submitted an application for an Education Coordinator for youth who participate in our programs. Youth in foster care and young parents do not often have the opportunity to attend post-secondary education. If we receive this grant from the Missouri Department of Higher Education we hope to support more of our young participants in their ability to plan for and attend post-secondary education. We should know by next month if we were awarded this grant and if we are our holiday celebration will be continuing long beyond the usual festive month of December!

Here is another way you can support us (or other charities) this holiday season. If you are a Yahoo searcher or shop the internet you can download this toolbar that will earn us money every time you use it. Or you can go to the Good Search or Good Shop site on the web and enter our name or the name of any of your favorite charities (in the search for charity section). When you use this site we earn money because companies give a percentage of your purchase - no additional cost to you just a gift to your chosen charity. Thank you again for your generous support and may your holiday season be filled with joy!