Terra receives provincial child care awardThe Government of Alberta honoured ten organizations for their work surrounding early childhood development with their 2015 Child Development Professional Awards of Excellence. Our Child and Family Support Centre at Braemar School was one of the awardees.

Terra is excited to share that our Child and Family Support Centre was selected to receive an award of excellence under the Early Childhood Program category. This made Terra one of three to be selected, out of a total of 47 nominees!

The awards recognizes professionals who work with children in programs licensed or approved by Alberta Human Services or Alberta Education. Eligible programs include: parent link centres, early childhood development programs, day care programs, out-of-school care programs, family day home agencies/approved day home providers, preschool programs and approved early childhood services programs.

This year, there were nine awards to celebrate child development professionals in the following three categories:

1. Individual (3 Awards): One child development professional working with children 2. Team (3 Awards): A team of two or more child development professionals working with children 3. Program (3 Awards): An entire program

We would like to thank the Terra Board and Aleese Schapansky, a parent from our program, for putting forward the nomination for Terra Child & Family Support Centre.

Nominations for this award must provide evidence to support programs having

November 2015

What’sInsideReaching out to past participantsPage 2

2015 Scholarship WinnersPage 2

Letter from LeadershipPage 3

Chicks with Cheques Donate $10,000 to TerraPage 4

EMPOWERING TEEN PARENTS TO SUCCEED

@TerraCentre

Terra Centre for Teen Parents

TerraCentre

9930 - 106 StreetEdmonton, Alberta T5K 1C7Tel. 780.428.3772 | Fax 780.425.5160Email: terra@terracentre.cawww.terracentre.ca

demonstrated professional excellence in at least one of the following areas: Innovative Programming, Inclusionary Practices, Collaborative Partnerships, Leadership, Promising Practices, Family/Parent Support, Community Building, and Continuous Improvement.

To honor award recipients from across Alberta an awards luncheon was held November 9 at the beautiful Government House, located at 12845 102 Avenue, on the same grounds as the Royal Alberta Museum.CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

2

Terra is developing new strategy to connect with alumni

2015 Scholarship Winners

At Terra, we are always delighted to hear from young parents with a former connection to our work. As an organization that has been providing support and services to young parents for 45 years, we are often surprised by just how far the reach of our work extends.Many of our alumni have gone on to accomplish personal goals, find professional success, and participate in meaningful ways of giving back to their communities. Some Terra alumni are now grandparents. Some have watched their children graduate from University. Some have graduated from post secondary themselves. It would be impossible to count all of the milestones that have been reached by Terra participants since we first set out on our mission of empowering teen parents to succeed, but one thing is certain: every milestone is a triumph.

That is why we enjoy staying connected with alumni. Their life stories are proof that our vision of promising futures with new possibilities for all young parents is not just a worthwhile goal, but also a tangible reality. Young parents can, and do, go on to be responsible, capable, and engaged role models in the lives of their children.

Recently, Terra has begun to further develop our alumni engagement strategy which will focus on providing meaningful opportunities for our Alumni to be involved in the work that we are doing.

As we move into the New Year, we plan to continue in this area with increased momentum and implement the strategy we have been busy building. Our Alumni can look forward to new volunteer opportunities, new events where they can interact with one another, and new ways to take part in shaping the future of Terra.

The 2015 Terra Scholarships were awarded to Terra alumni currently enrolled in post-secondary at our Deep Roots, New Heights event on November 5th. These scholarships help young parents fulfill their promising futures and procure careers in their fields of choice. This year’s winners were:

If you are a Terra alumnus or know someone who is, we encourage you to join the Terra Alumni Facebook Group. This is a Facebook page dedicated entirely to alumni and is a place for past participants to share photos and updates, provide feedback, and learn about events and opportunities at Terra.

At present, the group has 220 members of all ages who love sharing their memories, thoughts, and stories.

One Terra alumnus, Carrie, shared her favorite memory of Terra in a comment that read:

“My favorite thing about Terra was the support the staff gave me. Without them I wouldn’t have gone on to college, I wouldn’t have a successful business, and most importantly, I wouldn’t have my two beautiful granddaughters!”

We hope to see your comments soon!

If you do not have Facebook, we welcome you to contact us at 780-428-3772. We can add you to our communications list and send news and updates straight to your email inbox!

Michael Blair - $1,000 Maureen Barnes and Joe Dolan Scholarship Samantha Wipf - $1,000 Reaching Upwards Scholarship

Justin Graham - $1,000Sylvia Nasseri Education Scholarship

Caussandra Sale - $1,000Jac’y Hayter Achieving Dreams Together Scholarship Megan Lindstrom-Hollohan Toby Levy Scholarship Maria Guerrero & Mario Castillo Picon - $2,000 Brentwood Family Housing Society Scholarship

Maria Guerrero and Mario Costillo Picon accept their scholarship cheques with son Mario Jr.

One of our Alumni shared this before and after photo of her son, who is now 21 years old and studying Kinesiology

LETTER FROM LEADERSHIP

UPDATES

3

Terra EvolvesOver the past several years new challenges have emerged for Terra. Our strong history and experience serving young families has attracted other organizations to our agency creating new opportunities for engagement. These partnerships require time and participation. Funders have greater expectations on data collection and evaluation. The capital campaign we are embarking on is well into

its planning stages. All of which are of utmost importance and contribute to improving the community for our young parents but it has become increasingly challenging to balance and respond to it all.

Over last winter we spent time assessing these challenges, exploring future needs and our strengths. This reflection resulted in reorganization which has been rolled out over the summer and fall.

To best position Terra for the future, a number of position and program adjustments were made -one being a new position dedicated to knowledge, learning & evaluation. As a result we will strengthen our focus on evidence based practices, data collection, analysis and maintain our commitment to being a learning organization that promotes professional development and keeps abreast of research and policy that impacts our mission.

To support integrating the new provincial early learning and childcare curriculum into our day to day work, we developed two new positions; Curriculum Mentors. These positons have deep knowledge of the curriculum and will support their colleagues in its implementation including program planning, documentation, research and professional development.

When we look to the future we know the agency will be expanding services related to early child development. Another new position, Manager of Early Child Development Services also emerged from the re organization. This position will take the lead in developing our new early child development services and will act as a resource to strengthen our current early child development services.

There were numerous modifications to other positons to align the organization to our current and future demands. Our reorg drew on our strengths and provided new leadership opportunities. Most importantly our new structure will provide increased support to our valued staff who are greatly dedicated to the Terra mission. Every day they make a difference in helping to build more promising futures for the young families we serve. We are excited with what the future holds for Terra and look forward to sharing more of that with you in the future.

Karen Mottershead Executive Director

NEW WEBSITETerra launched our completely redesigned website on October 1st, 2015. With our supporters, participants, and the general public in mind, we have improved functionality and navigation on the site to provide a more seamless experience for those who visit it. One of the major updates to the site is a design that is built for mobile first, meaning that

2016 TERRA TOURSTerra will continue offering tours of our facilities on site at Braemar School in 2016. These tours are a great way to learn more about the programs and services we offer for pregnant and parenting teens. Highlights of our guided tours include: a teen parent sharing their parenthood story and the difference Terra has made in their life and a visit to Terra’s award winning Child and Family Support Centre where children receive a quality learning experience while their mom attends classes to complete her high school education. Our 2016 Tour Dates are:

January 28February 25March 24April 28May 26

June 23September 22October 27November 24

All tours are one hour in length and begin at 10:30 am on site at Braemar School.

accessing the site from a cell phone or tablet is now quick and easy. Users can call, fill out contact forms, book Terra Tours, and access all the same information directly from their mobile device!Some other improvements include a live Instagram wall on our main page, social media integration, a video gallery, and even more information about Terra and the work we are doing.The new website is a part of Terra’s efforts to continue evolving and growing to better meet the needs of our young parents while also developing new ways to interact with our network of funders, supporters, donors and alumni. As we move forward, we plan to utilize our website and online social media accounts to create more opportunities for the public to learn about our work and increased opportunities to get involved. We encourage you to visit at:

www.terracentre.ca

PHILANTHROPY DAY

4

Celebrating the spirit of giving

2015 Mardi Gras Recap

“Philanthropy is “the love of humankind,” and National Philanthropy Day® (NPD)—November 15—is the day that thousands of people around the world came together to both (1) put that word into action and (2) recognize the change that word has brought to our communities.”

Terra was pleased to have nominated Edmonton Rotary South for an award at the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Edmonton and Area Chapter’s Annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon on November 11 at the Shaw Conference Centre. Over 800 guests attended the event which honours and recognizes those who contribute their time, talents, financial support and other resources to Edmonton’s philanthropic organizations.

Rotary South has been good friends of Terra for many years. They have coordinated clothing, toiletry items and diaper drives for our infants, provided financial resources for the annual Christmas dinner for Terra families and volunteered at these same events. They played a major support role volunteering at our 40th Anniversary event in 2010. Over the past 3 years Rotary South has invited Terra to partner with them in executing a major fundraising event. The funds raised from the Mardi Gras auction, dinner and dance have been essential to sustaining our housing support services.

Terra is very fortunate to have many good friends, donors and supporters. On Philanthropy Day we reflect on the positive impact of these relationships and contributions, all of which are highly valued and appreciated.

Terra partnered with Edmonton Rotary South to host The Return to the Mardi Gras Masquerade Dinner and Auction on October 3rd. The event was a success, with approximately 250 people in attendance, resulting in $70,000 being donated in the past two years.

It was an evening enjoyed by all, with auctioneer Danny Hooper leading the auction portion of the evening, “Hardly a Band” providing lively entertainment, and a spectacular meal provided by the Cateau Lacombe.

Perhaps the most special part of the evening for those of us at Terra was when 5 young moms watched as their artwork sold for a grand total of $2,500.

The young moms had a blast dressing up and enjoying the evening together, as you can see in the photo to the left.

We thank all those who attended and made our Mardi Gras night one to remember!

The young families we serve express how grateful they are for these gestures of support. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who help build more promising futures for teen parents and their children.

To learn more about Philanthropy Day, visit:www.afpnet.org

CHILD CARE AWARD

UPDATES

5

Child care award (continued)Terra Child and Family Support Centre recognized for its unique approach to childcare

#IAMDAD CAMPAIGNDid you know that the use of the word babysitting instead of parenting in relation to fatherhood can increase stigma for fathers of all ages?

Word choice is very important. The words we use convey meaning and are interpreted by those we use those words with. When we tell

UPCOMING EVENTS & IMPORTANT DATES March 23, 2015 Terra Annual General Meeting

February 15, 2015National Family Day

April 13, 2015Promising Futures Fundraising Breakfast

dads they are babysitting instead of parenting, we exacerbate gender stereotypes of parenting, prevent fathers from actively developing positive parenting skills, dismiss healthy father role models, isolate men from parenting roles and deter father-involvement.

Research shows that children with involved fathers benefit from increased social functioning, positive emotional development and increased cognitive growth. At Terra, we believe that’s worth promoting and supporting. That’s why during the month of January 2016, we will be running a social media campaign to promote fathers and the important roles they have as parents, NOT babysitters. We encourage you to follow our social media accounts and take part in the conversation!

Four representatives from Terra had the good fortune to attend the awards ceremony, Erik Holmlund (Board member), Barb Pietrzkiewicz (Early Childhood Educator), Aleese Schapansky (Parent) and Carol Sullivan (Program Manager).

The luncheon was a small, personal affair with each recipient and an invited guest, representatives from the Alberta Government Early Childhood Development Branch and other special guests. Human Services Minister Irfan Sabir personally distributed the awards to each recipient graciously acknowledging that the focus for the day’s event was to honor the work of Early Childhood professionals in the Province of Alberta.

Government House provided a truly special setting with its distinctive architecture, white table cloths, china and silverware, the special meal and attentive waiters. That attention to detail and the intimacy of the event contributed to a feeling of specialness and of being valued, a fitting tribute to the important work of early childhood professionals across the Province of Alberta.

A tour through the Terra Child and Family Support Centre provides ample evidence that Terra Early Childhood Educators are masters at creating environments that embrace children and families, with each room representing a unique sense of who shares that space, who plays, who participates, who belongs. Terra Early Childhood Educators understand that it is the quality of those relationships they build with each child and their family that can create memories that last a lifetime. Nominating Parent Aleese Schapansky described the event as magical, a gift to those who had made such a difference in her and her children’s lives.

For Barb, a Terra Early Childhood Educator for many years, the award represents what seems like long overdue recognition of the significant contribution early childhood professionals make to the health and well-being of Alberta’s youngest citizens and their families.

6

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Chicks with Cheques donate $10,000A group of local women who network together to donate to a selected charity voted and selected Terra as their agency of choice, gifting $10,000 to support Terra programming.

Out of three organizations that presented to receive the funds, 100 women voted to decide where the money would go.

Our employees were thrilled that Terra was chosen by the kind women of Chicks with Cheques, as was our board member (and Terra alumni) Laura Haynes and current Terra mom Kaylin Smith, who spoke at the Chicks for Cheques meeting on September 22nd and played key roles in securing us the votes!

Terra plans to use the donated funds to strengthen the resources for housing supports. Out of all the phone calls we receive each month from parents seeking support, housing and education continue

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DEANN HUNTER CHAIR

ERIK HOLMLUND VICE CHAIR

EDWIN RADKE TREASURER

MARK ALEXANDER

LAURA HAYNES

RONDA WHITE

MARY MARSHALL

LYNDA PHILLIPS

FRAN ROSS

ANNE SMITH

WENDY YEWMAN

9930 106 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5K 1C7Tel. 780.428.3772 | Fax 780.425.5160Email: terra@terracentre.ca | www.terracentre.ca

to be the most common reasons for contact. Terra currently has 23 families and 31 children living in subsidized housing through our partnership with Brentwood Family Housing Society and we plan to increase these numbers in the near future. The contribution by Chicks with Cheques will help ensure we reach our goal!