The Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre (CFEC) in 100 Mile House has been chosen as one of the 12 community organization in British Columbia to have a BC Early Years Centre (BCEYC) that will help support families with children six years and under.
The new mobile BCEYC will give parents of young children in the South Cariboo access to a wide range of early learning, health and family services.
"In the South Cariboo, we will be bringing services to the communities surrounding 100 Mile House, including Lac la Hache, Bridge Lake, Lone Butte, 108 Mile Ranch and Forest Grove," says CFEC executive director Lisa De Paoli.
These are services that families in those communities had to travel to 100 Mile House prior to the new program being put in place.
“The Early Years Centre will bring together service providers, organizations, businesses and communities to support the needs of our young children to achieve life-long success,” De Paoli adds.
Hosted by the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre Society, the mobile BCEYC will travel to communities throughout the region and offer programs, including the popular drop-in playgroup Wiggle and Shake.
This program is a parent-participation play group with special focus on physical, social and emotional development.
During these playgroups, the BCEYC will find out what programs and services would best meet the needs of that community's families.
This information will then be used to develop services needed within the South Cariboo. Continuing into the new year, the BCEYC will host outreach events that are focused on each community’s needs.
The BCEYC will also develop an early years app that will provide early childhood development information for parents, including when the Wiggle and Shake playgroup is coming to their community and how they can access it, De Paoli explains.
“We will be developing the "app" to provide information and support for parents to make their lives easier while caring for their children.
"Our long-term goal is to reduce the number of children in the South Cariboo who are physically, emotionally and socially vulnerable entering kindergarten from more than 100 children a year to zero.”
The South Cariboo Early Years Centre will receive $52,000 from the Provincial Office for the Early Years for this fiscal year as part of a $5.5-million investment over three years.