What's the most welcome two-word sentence in the English language?  Some of you might say, it's "We won!" Others would vote for, "Here's money!"  But I think the most welcome two-word sentence is "Thank you."  It isn't used as often as it should be.  How often do you use it?  And how often do you say to your friends or even strangers when they do something for you? 

It's so easy to forget, especially if the Good Turn is done by somebody in your family.  Too often we take for granted the many things our family and friends do for us.

Here's a challenge for you.  Between now and next week, see if you can find some reason to say thank you ever day to some member of your family.  You may be surprised how they will react.  A simple thank you costs nothing, but it means so much to those who matter most to you.  And remember, manners make the person and can be the difference between you being just another face in the crowd and one who earns themselves respect from those around them.

 

Introduced by Nate V.

Chris Kivett-Berry, Community Project Director from Linn County Community Services

 

Chris has been in her role for 19 years and her team supports Early Childhood Iowa (ECI) and decategorization annual grant allocations from state and federal sources, and related programming for the county.  The focus is on promoting quality early childhood services, family stability, child abuse prevention, and juvenile delinquency prevention.  This effort is complemented by completion of community needs assessments, strategic planning collaboration with local partners and advocates.  Every county in Iowa is served by one of 38 ECI Boards.

 

Chris provided alarming statistics on the child care crisis and the impact on workforce development. Over 75% of households in Iowa with kids under the age of 6 have both parents in the workforce.  Almost 18,000 Iowans quit their jobs or didn't accept a job offer due to child care issues. A third of working parents have difficulty finding care.

 

In Linn County alone, there is an identified gap of 17,115 slots. In the past five years, we have lost 43% of child care businesses.  Cost of quality child care can be prohibitive as well.  The average annual cost for infant care is $10,743.

 

Ways you can become involved:

www.linncounty.org/981/Early-Childhood-Iowa

 

Jeremy Meyer from Cickstop will be speaking to us about their focus on engagement.