The Best Start Network will be hosting a Parent and Community Information Fair at the Syl Apps Community Centre in Paris on Thursday, October 3, 2024.
Barb Vanry, Manager of EarlyON Child and Family Centres for Community Living and co-chair of the Best Start Network’s Family Engagement Committee, said that the network itself is made up of a group of community partners that support children and families in the City of Brantford and the County of Brant.
“It’s a committee made up of like-minded people and experienced service providers that work together to achieve our Best Start goals,” she said. “We have a wide range of partners who work in education with the school boards, the Brant County Health Unit, recreation teams, libraries, early learning and childcare, and special needs, all working together to provide support.”
Vanry said the goal of the Parent and Community Information Fair is to help families connect with the valuable services that exist within the region.
“The overall goal of this event is to ensure that children get the best start in terms of being ready for school, in terms of ensuring healthy child development and learning, as well as just helping families connect to those really valuable services that help them be a better parent,” she said.
Theresa Vidal, the EDI (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) and Engagement Coordinator for Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services, and co-chair of the Best Start Network’s Family Engagement Committee, said that while they typically host the event in Brantford, this year they decided to host their second Parent and Community Information Fair of 2024 in the county.
“We decided to host this second event in Paris because we know that a lot of families who live in the county often access services with Brantford as well,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that we are meeting families where they are so we can give them that information. Our committee, like the community in general, has continued to develop, and so we wanted to try to be ahead of the trends and look for ways that families can get involved.”
Vidal added that a large focus of the event is informing people, especially newcomers, what they have access to in the region.
“The last few years, we’ve been really focusing on newcomers within the community and ensuring that they are getting the information,” she said. “We know that when it comes to being new in the community, it can be very hard to kind of know what services are available to you and what they are. When big transitions happen, it can be hard to feel engaged, so that’s a big part of what we’re doing, is bringing that engagement and showing them that sense of belonging in this area.”
The event, which runs from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., will feature over 18 service providers such as Child and Family Services of Grand Erie, the Brant County Health Unit, Arnold Anderson Sports Fund, Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB), Grand Erie District School Board, Brantford Sports Council, Contact Brant, Kids Can Fly and more.
“We’ll have many different service providers that will be there and will be available to talk about what they do, how they can support families, answer questions and help parents connect with them through referrals and contact information,” said Vanry. “We know that can be a bit overwhelming so we will also have an overall summary resource sheet for our guests to take home as well. All the tables will also be offering an interactive and engaging activity for the kids so that while the service providers are talking with the families and parents, the kids will be doing something fun for them.
The fair will include door prizes, balloon animals from Marco the Clown, face painting, author readings, school board musicians, and different sports on the community centre’s indoor turf.
“The whole idea of this is to let parents know what activities are available for their families, right? So that’s not only for the educational piece, but also for those active pieces as well,” said Vidal. “We’ll have youth volunteers playing things like soccer and cricket, and the families will be learning all about recreation programs that are happening in the area as well. We’re going into the winter season now and this is around the time when you start signing up for those indoor activities so it’s a great chance to let people know they should look out for those sign up times.”
As the event draws closer Vanry and Vidal said that it’s not too late to get involved and that if they missed any service providers in either the city or the county, the committee will be accepting applications until September 26. As well, various volunteers for things like language translation.
“At our February event, we did have translators available and we’re hoping to have some again for this one because it was really beneficial for families that did not speak the language,” said Vidal. “We’re not sure we’re going to have that again this time around because of funding constraints, but if there is anyone that would be willing to come and help translate on the day of, or even for certain documents before hand, that would be amazing and we would be happy to have them.”
For those looking to attend the event, organizers are asking for residents to consider bringing a non-perishable food donation for the food banks.
As well, for those who do not have access to a vehicle and would like to attend, Vidal noted that they can email her at email tvidal@woodview.ca with the subject line “TRANSPORTATION: Parent and Community information Fair.”
“We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone out on the day and so for anyone who doesn’t have easy access to a vehicle, we will be utilizing Brant Transit to support this so if anyone does need it, please email me and we can look into subsidizing that for you,” she said.
