September 9th has been proclaimed to be Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Prevention Day by the Governor.  –We are proud to be educating students about these dangers here in Saginaw County as “we are building a community where children are free from abuse and neglect”!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Vera Harrision our Education Coordinator or Ellen Hatcher our Child Abuse Prevention Education Director at 752-7226.

Saginaw, Mich. - In 1979, a group of caring individuals got together and decided that something should be done to protect our children. That was the beginning of a series of events that has culminated in the development of the programs and services of the Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) Council of Saginaw County of today. On September 30th at Saginaw’s stunning Temple Theatre, these founding members will be honored during the 30th

Anniversary Celebration beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person and include hearty hors d’oeuvres, entertainment, and an awards presentation. Guests will also be given the opportunity to pay tribute to individuals by making a donation to the CAN Council in the honoree’s name. To purchase your ticket, or if you need more information, or know a founding member who has not yet received their invitation, please contact Delores at 989-752-7226 or dgale@cancouncil.org . 

United Way of Saginaw County is in search of 20 AmeriCorps* members to work in the field of substance use and abuse prevention. Saginaw County AmeriCorps Collaborative Agencies:

♦ Boys & Girls Club of Saginaw
♦ Child Abuse & Neglect (CAN) Council
♦ Lake Huron Area Council Boy Scouts of America
♦ United Way of Saginaw County
♦ Youth Protection Council - Prevention and Youth Services Drug Education Center

Members will work 20 hours a week and earn an annual living allowance of $6,245 - after completion of the 900 hours the member will receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $2,362.

Location Information - AmeriCorps members will work in various locations throughout Saginaw County. Members will be placed with one of the partnering nonprofit organizations and location information will be based on specific program needs.

TO APPLY - PLEASE SEND A RESUME

ALONG WITH 3 REFERENCES TO:

United Way of Saginaw County

Attn: AmeriCorps Member

100 S. Jefferson Ave., 3rd Floor

Saginaw, MI 48607

Eligibility:

♦ AmeriCorps members must be at least 18 years of age, must be a U.S. citizen, national, or legal permanent resident alien and 
must have a high school diploma or its equivalent

♦ AmeriCorps members will be serving vulnerable populations such as youth or seniors and must be able to pass local, state and
national background, driving record and sex offender registry checklists

♦ Two year college experience is preferred, with one year experience required

♦ Members must have an interest working in the human services field, relevant experience working with diverse populations
and desire to make a positive change with youth and the community

♦ Must be available on average schedule of 20 hours per week over a period of 12 months - with the goal of accumulating 900
hours between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011

Benefits:

♦ AmeriCorps members will receive a living allowance/stipend of $6,245

♦ Members who successfully complete a term of service are eligible to receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $2,362

♦ For Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients - you will receive a living allowance/stipend of $6,245, which will not be
considered income and will not risk loss of SSI benefits or eligibility

♦ Members may hold another job - as long as it does not conflict with program hours

♦ Members may attend school during their service - as long as it does not conflict with program hours

♦ AmeriCorps is a national service program designed to strengthen citizenship and the ethic of service by engaging thousands of Americans on a full-time or part-time basis to help communities to address their toughest challenges

*AmeriCorps is a national service program designed to strengthen citizenship and the ethic of service by engaging thousands of Americans on a full-time or part-time basis to help communities to address their toughest challenges

Among the many supporters of the event, Clor Cycle added a little fun by having a dunk tank at their store and hosted a drawing for a bike cover.  Additionally, these supporter’s held their own events to raise additional dollars and sold ‘Put the Brakes on Child Abuse’ wall buttons:  Coty’s Old Tyme Roadhouse, Drake’s Bar, Joe’s Bar, Flannigan’s Pub, Green Parrot, Bulldog Bar & Grill, Woody’s, Cody’s Landing, Joe’s Bar, Hill’s and the Backwoods Bar & Grill.  In addition to several businesses who donated door prizes, Martin Chevrolet, Tom & Rayleen Lawler, and the Fordney Club made cash donations.  Our lucky 50-50 winner promptly donated back all his winnings-thank you Tony Hupfer.  Special thanks to Sam M. for getting together a grab bag for each biker and making collections on her own.  Committee members Jennifer, Chris, Ken, Amy, Cathy, Catherine and Delores and all the event-day volunteers worked hard to make the event so much fun.

As a way to thank our amazing CASA volunteers, our annual CASA picnic was held on Thursday July 15, 2010 with 50 people attending.   Not even an afternoon thunderstorm could put a damper on the festivities, and thanks to the use of the Saginaw Fraternal Order of Police building, everyone stayed relatively dry.  Delicious food and good conversation was shared, along with “washer fishing” for the kids.

Winners of the gas cards in CASA Poker were Davona Carathers and Teresa Reed.   Board Member Gail Shnurstein joined us for the evening and got to know a lot more about the CASA program.  Thanks again for all of the hard work, hours of dedication, and for being there for the kids. We certainly appreciate all that you do!     

Learn More
*This is not insurance

SAVE

The free CAN Council Rx card* gives you discounts on prescription drugs at more than 58,000 participating pharmacies, immediately saving you up to 85% on the cost of both brand-name and generic drugs.

HELP

Each time you use the CAN Council RX card, a donation will be made to help support the CAN Council and its programs. Start saving and helping today. Print a free CAN Council RX card for you or another person. Questions Call (989) 752-7226

The Baby Think It Over (BTIO) program had a very successful school year.   The infant simulators were in ten schools and 789 students had the RealCare Baby experience.  The majority of time, fifty to sixty babies were distributed weekly to schools across Saginaw County. Our volunteers played a vital role in the success of this program.

On Fridays the infant simulators were delivered to the classroom.  Getting sixty plus babies assigned to sixty plus students before the bell rang was a hair-raising process.  Andra Stackhouse came in every Friday at different times depending on the school scheduled and helped load the babies into the van.  Andra learned the distribution process quickly. This made the process less time consuming and hectic for the teachers, students and Vera.

First thing every Monday morning at or before seven A.M. the babies must be picked up.  No matter how early we had to leave the CAN Council Michelle Wright would come along to assist. Michelle was a great asset to the BTIO team.  She even suggested and helped implement a new process to make pick up day a lot easier.

Once the infants are returned they have to be undressed, washed, all the clothes must be laundered and then re-dressed before Friday’s drop off.  In addition, EVERY baby must go through a detailed diagnostic test to ensure that it is working properly for the next class.  Preparing the sixty three infant simulators for a new class every week is very labor intensive and time consuming. There were two teams of ladies that became pros at the procedure.

Monday’s team, Kim Sujkowski and Wendy Rhodes conducted the tedious diagnostic testing and washed every baby that went out the previous weekend.  On Tuesday’s CAN Board member Gail Schnarstein and active volunteer Jan Dise would dress the babies and make sure all the proper materials were in the box and ready to go before Friday.

Another amazing improvement that was made to the program was a custom shelving system for the infant simulators designed and built by Vic Davila.  The simulators have to be plugged into outlets to be recharged for several days.  Vic designed custom storing and charging system for the sixty-three infant simulators.  This shelving system allowed the babies charging cords to be positioned directly in front of the babies.   This eliminated the nightmare of untangling numerous cords for more than sixty simulators every week.

With their generous gift of time and talent, the BTIO volunteers improved the Baby Think It Over program and made it more  successful and allowed us to reach even more students in Saginaw County. If you would like more information about this program please contact Vera Harrison at 989.752.7226.

Picture: Randy Roberts with Ryan Fewins-Bliss, Interim State of Michigan CASA Director

Thanks to our sponsors, golfers and donors, the 12^th Annual Golf Scramble has set both a new attendance and gross proceeds record!  This year 120 golfers enjoyed great golf, great food, and great fellowship at Swan Valley Golf Club resulting in over $28,000 being raised to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center.

Join us in thanking our sponsors:  Walmart on Brockway, Hilliard Lyons-LeRoy Bartnikowski Group, Merrill Lynch-The Iles Group, Davidson, Breen & Doud, FOP Lodge #105, Garber Buick, Wildfire Credit Union, the Foresters, Covenant ER Physicians, Buffalo Wild Wings, Duperon Corporation, Police Officers Association of Saginaw, Michigan Sugar, Police Officers Association of Michigan, Blue Diamond, Fabiano Brothers, First Bank Alma, 10^th District Court-Family Division, Currie & Currie, Auction Brio, Community State Bank, Judge Janet Boes, Saginaw County Sheriff’s Deputies, Valley Cardiology, Committee to Elect Jim Borchard, Tri-Star Trust Bank, Saginaw Spirit Hockey Club, Webster, Looby & Baumgarten, and ADS US, Inc.

The first order of business is to hire a full-time CASA Volunteer Supervisor. If you are you have a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Criminal Justice or related studies and/or have a minimum of 3 years of work related experience.  If you are knowledgeable about our child welfare system and believe that you can make a difference in their lives, read on! After you review the job description, please send your resume to 1311 N. Michigan Saginaw, MI 48602 or email it to rroberts@cancouncil.org The deadline for submission is June 21st at 4pm.