{"id":868,"date":"2019-02-04T07:30:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T12:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/?p=868"},"modified":"2024-08-26T03:09:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T07:09:18","slug":"building-generation-educates-families-provide-nurturing-environments-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/building-generation-educates-families-provide-nurturing-environments-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Building A Generation Educates Families to Provide Nurturing Environments for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building A Generation<\/a> (BAG) is helping to level the playing field so that children from low-income families have a fighting chance at getting an education, and growing up healthy in mind and body. BAG not only focuses on the children, but on their families, because that is the background for a child\u2019s mental and physical growth, his success or lack of same. If the family is strong and functioning as it should, so too, the child will be strong, resilient, and successful.<\/p>\n

We liked the idea of giving children a nurturing environment by working not just with the children, but with their families. So we gave Building A Generation a small grant<\/a> to show our support and help them, in a modest way, in their work. We spoke with Building A Generation Executive Director Katie Ear, to learn more about this work:<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: Building A Generation educates families to help them become self-sufficient and provide nurturing environments for children. Can you tell us a bit about the population you serve? Why are your services necessary?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Katie Ear: Building A Generation is a flourishing nonprofit with qualified staff offering free programs and services to low-income elementary school children and their families, serving more than 1700 individuals, including over 900 elementary-aged children each year. BAG provides services and programs for all ages and ethnicities, with the majority of participants being between 6-9yrs, parents of this age group, who are primarily of Hispanic descent. BAG serves communities in the San Bernardino County area, including Redlands, San Bernardino, Mentone, and Oak Glen, where over 5% of child abuse and neglect referrals occur each year. Many more children experience repetitive burdensome lifestyles that take a toll on their physical and mental health, including unstable parenting, financial burdens, and threatening social environments. Thus, BAG\u2019s goal is to promote nurturing environments for children and their families to thrive, encouraging the well-being of the child, leading to BAG\u2019s motto \u201cKids First.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: BAG operates four <\/strong>Family Resource Centers<\/strong><\/a> (FRCs) on elementary school campuses. What makes an elementary school campus the right location for these centers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Katie Ear: Currently, the Redlands Unified School District (RUSD) does not have the resources to provide comprehensive behavioral health services and programs aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of elementary school children. Furthermore, detrimental characteristics amongst members within the support system of elementary aged children are not being addressed. Therefore, BAG has partnered with RUSD to fill in the behavioral health services gap by providing programs and services on elementary school campuses for children and their parents. BAG functions as an extension of RUSD to fully integrate behavioral health services for children and their families into the school system.<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: What services and <\/strong>programs<\/strong><\/a> do these Family Resource Centers offer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Katie Ear: \u00a0Our Family Resource Centers offer the following programs and services:<\/p>\n