April 26, 2007- “It takes a whole village to raise a child”…That’s the proverb that inspired dedicated people in Thunder Bay to help raise 10,000 children in the last 10 years. This unique program has brought together school boards, children's agencies, the health unit, businesses and volunteers in the entire Thunder Bay district -- essentially the whole village.
On Thursday, April 26 at 10:00 am Fair Start will be celebrating with the children at the West Thunder Community Centre with a “fair” of activities throughout the morning. Media are invited to attend the celebration with presentations and photo opportunities at 10:30 am.
Fair Start is a program that screens the motor, speech and language skills, as well as social development of young children as early as 18 months of age. “Fair Start believes the first five years of a child’s life is a time of enormous growth and change,” says Don Parson, Chair of Fair Start. “Identifying problems early has helped thousands of children in our city get the support they need so they can have a fair start.”
“It is a community effort with so many organizations contributing their staff and resources to do the screening,” says Cathy Farrell, Manager of Healthy Families at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and former Fair Start Coordinator. “The contribution of our community partners is unprecedented. We’re a model for the province.” In 2005, Fair Start was sited as a Best Practice in the Ministry of Education’s “Transition to School” document.
Children such as 22 month old Nathaniel Malench have been helped through Fair Start. “Although my first son didn’t start speaking until approximately 21 months of age, and currently doesn’t have any problems, I still felt I should have my younger son checked when he wasn’t saying many words at 18 months of age. I had heard information about how children should be saying approximately 20 words at 18 months of age and how a delay in speaking at this young age could be a predictor of future problems, so I decided to take him to a Fair Start screening. Not only did I receive a referral for his speech, but also was provided with some information about children’s development and speech that has been quite helpful,” stated Karen Malench, mother of Nathan.
Free screenings are offered at over 100 daycares and community sites in the Thunder Bay district. Fair Start screening is also part of registration for JK in all schools. Parents or families are encouraged to call 625-8817 or visit www.fairstart.ca for more information.
Fair Start has brought together many groups including the following organizations: Children’s Centre Thunder Bay, Communities Together for Children, Lakehead Public Schools, Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, George Jeffrey Children’s Centre, Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boreales, Dilico-Ojibway Child & Family Services, Ontario Early Years Centre-District of Thunder Bay, and Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
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For more information,
Laura J. Craig,
Coordinator, Marketing and Communications
(807) 625-5900