CIS serves as a broker of services to local public schools. We assist with identifying the needs of individual schools and locate existing community resources to help address those needs. Funds raised by the board are used to sponsor some of these services: Early Literacy, Counseling, Parent Outreach & Education, Pre-school Readiness, Health and Wellness, and Family Resource Centers.
Tempe Coalition applied for and received a five year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA). This grant will support the work of the coalition whose mission is to reduce underage drinking and drug use in Tempe.
The annual CIS Breakfast featured a moving speech from the National Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year, Mona Dixon. Two CIS VIPs, Kay Cosner and Normalicia Blanco, were recognized for their long time support of CIS in the community.
Getting ready for our Sept. Board meeting.
The panel will include representatives from the nonprofits Community Bridges and Not My Kid, Assistant Chief from the Tempe Police Department, a prevention counselor from Tempe Union High School District and a member of Tempe’s Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking and Drug Use. Topics will range from alcohol facts and trends and current legal challenges to a discussion of why children start drinking and some personal stories of the potentially tragic consequences of underage drinking.
Underage drinking has been the focus of Tempe’s Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking and Drug Use because of the startling facts surrounding the issue. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 2003 National Survey on Drug Use & Health reported that persons reporting first use of alcohol before age 15 were more than five times as likely to report past year alcohol dependence or abuse than persons who first used alcohol at age 21 or older (16% vs. 3%). http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. On the local level, the average age of one’s first use of alcohol in Tempe is 12.5 years of age. This is younger than the state average of 12.8 years of age.
Registration for the Tempe Town Hall begins at 6:30pm on October 4. The program and Q&A session will begin at 7:00pm. Validated parking is available in the City Hall Garage on 5th St and Forest. Due to limited space, RSVP’s are encouraged. Please call 480-858-2305 or email bobbie_cassano@tempe.gov to reserve your spot and learn more.
For more information:
The Teen Resource Center located inside the Evan-Compadre Academy will re-open August 10, 2010. The center, a project of Communities In Schools of Tempe and Kyrene, is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00-4:00 PM. Students from any Tempe Union High School can visit the center once per month to select clothing, shoes, school supplies, and personal items they need (limits apply). Middle school students in seventh or eighth grade from any Tempe Elementary or Kyrene Elementary school may also use the center. Students should bring their school ID with them.
The center is run by volunteers and there is still a need for additional help. For more information or to volunteer, please call 480.858.2316.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:
June 23, 2010 Emma Gully 480.858.2307
First Things First to Fund Tempe & Kyrene Family Resource Centers
Tempe, AZ – Communities in Schools of Tempe and Kyrene (CIS), a program of Tempe Community Council, has been awarded a one year grant in the amount of $447,865 from First Things First. The grant will support Family Resource Centers on school campuses in the Tempe Elementary and Kyrene Elementary School Districts. The Resource Centers are community hubs where families can receive the information and services they need to ensure that their school-aged children come to school ready to learn. Seven of the current resource centers, including the ones located at Aguilar Elementary, Frank Elementary, Fuller Elementary, Holdeman Elementary, Hudson Elementary, Wood Elementary, and the Kyrene Family Resource Center on the campus of Kyrene de los Ninos will expand services to families with children ages 0-5. In addition, a new satellite of the Kyrene Family Resource Center will open on the campus of Kyrene Del Milenio to serve families in the Ahwatukee area.
CIS received the First Things First grant to provide a full range of educational workshops, parenting classes, and other opportunities free of charge. Beginning this fall, families with young children can register for nutrition, early literacy, child development, and other classes, all offered in both English and Spanish. A bilingual family counselor will be hired to work with families that need one-on-one support. It is estimated that more than 1,000 families will be served in the first year, including teen parents at teen parents at Compadre High School. The goal of the Family Resource Centers is to support families with young children during the critical first years so that children will be healthy and enter kindergarten ready to learn.
A portion of the funds will be used to increase the hours of the parent liaisons that staff the Resource Centers. New materials such as books and videos on early childhood topics will be available for parents to borrow, and childcare and bus passes will be made available to those families who need them to attend a workshop or class.
First Things First was created in 2006, when Arizona voters – through the Proposition 203 ballot initiative– decided to set aside 80 cents from each pack of cigarettes sold in order to fund the expansion of education and health programs for children from birth through age five. Under the terms of the proposition, decisions about how to best use the funds are made on a per-region basis by 31 councils made up of local leaders. The statewide board – which has final approval of the councils’ recommendations – is responsible for ensuring that the funds are used on programs proven to work at improving outcomes for children. www.azftf.gov
About Tempe Community Council
Tempe Community Council (TCC) is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is connecting those in need with those who care. TCC works in partnership with the City of Tempe and community organizations to serve as a planner, advocate, and resource to improve the funding and policies impacting human services in Tempe and surrounding communities. Contact: 34 East 7th Street, Building A ▪ Tempe, AZ 85281 ▪ (480) 858-2300 ▪ www.tempe.gov/tcc
