We brought the Gift of Music and Nutrition Expedition to Stepping Stones in Holland!

Miss Chantal heads to Stepping Stones Daycare for Gift of Music classes for the next three consecutive weeks! 

STEPPING STONES IN HOLLAND, MI

The Joyful Noise C-Fund is so excited to be working again this year with Stepping Stones Daycare of Holland, Michigan! Stepping Stones is a very special school that provides daycare for homeless and transient children who are currently residing at Holland Rescue Mission's homeless shelter.

Here is a little bit more about Stepping Stones from their website: 

"Stepping Stones Daycare provides childcare for residents with children. This area of ministry affords parents the assurance of knowing that their children are being well cared for while they actively seek employment or continue to work at their current job.Stepping Stones is more than a daycare, it is a program designed to ease the impact of homelessness on the lives of children residing at the Mission. This ministry provides after-school tutoring, Bible story time, playtime, and field trips.It is difficult for a child to understand why their family could not stay in their home any longer. It is our desire to make the Mission feel like home while it is necessary for their families to stay here. The Family Hope Ministry Center accommodates the needs of this ministry by allowing space for a nursery, two all-purpose rooms, and a youth activity room equipped with computers and games for the older children.The Stepping Stones Daycare represents stability not only for the children, but for the entire family. The staff at Holland Rescue Mission knows that many who enter our doors lack a good foundation for practical living. If we can provide a stable environment for these little ones, we can help build a foundation for their future."

Miss Kelli Brunette of Joyful Noise Christian Childcare's "Nutrition Expedition" program also prepared a wonderful lesson plan and fresh fruit and vegetable box for children to explore and eat. The lesson was based on Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a 16th century Italian artist who loved to create artistic portraits with fruits and vegetables! The children looked at some of his work and had fun recreating their very own fruit and vegetable portraits. They also tried some of the delicious items from the box--even the limes. =)

Miss Chantal, program coordinator and teacher for The Joyful Noise C-Fund's Gift of Music Class, brought lots of fun items for music class, including this butterfly wand! The children enjoyed singing songs about transportation and colors with the ukulele, and each child received a slide whistle and companion brochure to be used for next three weeks of class. The slide whistles are gifts to be kept by the children once classes have ended!

Check back with us soon--there is more in store for the C-Fund this summer, from continued music classes to parenting seminars!

Spring Updates--Feeling Fresh!

Spring Updates--Feeling Fresh!

We have been so pleased with the accomplishments from Joyful Noise's C-Fund so far in the new year. Here are some highlights!

Click here to see the entire photo album on Facebook!

Loutit Library Pizza+ Books

What an absolute success our early childhood literacy event was! Thank you so much to all who attended. We were so thrilled to successfully serve children from infancy to eight years of age with free quality reading materials and a yummy pizza dinner.

One million thanks to the support we recieved from:

Loutit District Library, Grand Haven Area Community Foundation,Domino's Pizza, Brilliance Audio, School Zone Publishing Company and all of the wonderful volunteers from Joyful Noise Childcare

Check out the Youtube video of special musical guest Brian Vander Ark (formerly of The Verve Pipe) performing at this awesome and free literary event!

With the hundreds of high quality books we had left over after the event, we were able to donate to other great programs such as Grand Haven Head Start and Holland Rescue Mission.

The Gift of Music Continues!

Our high quality, free early childhood music classes are continuing this year as planned! "Sing and Slide" (a fun multi-class session that includes a free gift of a slide whistle and companion materials) has been traveling to Grand Haven Head Start to target the students who attend there. The children are enjoying every moment of the fun singing, dancing and movement that is included for them in each week's lesson! This summer Miss Chantal will also be traveling back to Stepping Stones daycare in Holland to teach free classes. Stepping Stones is program of the Holland Rescue Mission, and a childcare center supporting the homeless and transient of Holland, Michigan.

Stay updated via our blog and Facebook page! Please don't forget to support our program with your generous donations. Options for giving are located at your left!

For the Love of Literacy Book Drive!

FOR THE LOVE OF LITERACY BOOK DRIVE!

Official Press Release

C-Fund Seeks Support For Literacy Event At Loutit District Library

The Joyful Noise C-Fund is seeking make-believe fairytales and real life heroes.

GRAND HAVEN, Michigan (February 2^nd, 2015)-Joyful Noise Christian Childcare’s C-Fund, which benefits young children and families in Ottawa County, is seeking new books to be donated for an upcoming and free “For the Love of Literacy” event in March. The book fair, which will offer books to undeserved children from infancy up through eight years of age, will also provide families with a free pizza dinner from Domino’s of Grand Haven and access to services such as consultation with speech therapists and early childhood professionals, among other activities. Individuals who are interested in supporting the event are encouraged to donate new, age-appropriate books to Joyful Noise, located in Grand Haven’s First Presbyterian Church at 508 Franklin St, where a drop-box for the event can be found. Donations are also accepted through the C-Fund’s website.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Loutit District Library for the event,” said Chantal McDaniel, public relations counsel for Joyful Noise and the C-fund. “They are providing the event location, but there is still a great need for book donations to be made. We want to be sure that we have plenty of books to give to all the children who come for the event, and we need the community’s help.”

Literacy and the development of reading skills begin at birth. For some families who struggle with financial burden, it can be difficult to gain access to quality reading materials for children. Parents who have difficulty with literacy themselves may find reading to their children a daunting task. The first step to developing a love for reading is access to books. The C-Fund’s book fair will not only provide children and families with reading material but also encourage a relationship with Loutit District Library, where a variety of great books are available for families to borrow for free. It is the first of a series of “For the Love of Literacy” events that the C-Fund has planned for the future. With the help of the Mary Anne Sherwood Families and Children Field of Interest Fund and the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation,  the Joyful Noise C-Fund plans to offer many more services to children and families in need, including free music classes and support for parents.

WHAT TO DONATE: New, appropriate books for children ages infant through 8 years.

WHERE TO DONATE: First Presbyterian Church (Joyful Noise Christian Childcare)

508 Franklin St., Grand Haven, MI 49417

QUESTIONS? Email Office@JoyfulNoiseKids.com or call (616) 847-6600

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OFFICIAL FACEBOOK EVENT

Our Goals for 2015

2014 was a great year for the 

Joyful Noise C-Fund!

We offered free Gift of Music classes over the summer that traveled all over Ottawa County libraries for young children and also offered a free family Easter Egg Coloring and Dinner event in April of 2014! 

Thanks to a grant from the Mary Anne Sherwood Families and Children Field of Interest Fund, the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation and the generosity of individual donors in 2014, we were able to invest in the futures of children and families all around us in an educational and meaningful way.

So what's in store for 2015?

The Joyful Noise C-Fund hopes to achieve more of the same success in 2015 that we enjoyed in the previous year! We also have plans in the works for several new events and services to young children and families in our community with the following programs:

• A continuation of free Gift of Music classes
• A celebration of literacy event with book reading and free children's book giveaway
• A nutrition and physical education event for young children that utilizes local experts.

Please follow along with the blog to receive updates and news on the Joyful Noise C-Fund! As always, your continued support and donations are very appreciated!

There's Still Time to Donate to the C-Fund in 2014!

Thank you so much to all of our generous donors this year! We are especially grateful to the wonderful memorial fund donations we received honoring the lives of John Sturgill and Carol Kasmauski. We have been blessed!

It's not too late to send a donation for the 2014 tax year! When you donate to the Joyful Noise C-Fund, you are supporting the needs of not only young children in our care, but also those in the community that benefit from our free services such as early childhood music classes and community events.

Together, we can "C" the possibilities! Don't forget you can donate via credit card or paypal right here at the website, to your left!

Our Joyful Noise Scholarship Fund Needs Your Help!

Everybody needs a hand sometimes.

That’s why Joyful Noise Christian Childcare, a 501(c)3 nonprofit under the umbrella of First Presbyterian Church, started the Joyful Noise Scholarship Fund. Exclusively supported through financial donations from generous individuals, this reserve of money is intended to help families in attendance at the childcare center when an unexpected financial burden or crisis occurs.

For some, that might mean a medical emergency, or a loss of employment. No matter the reason, when a family is in need, the Scholarship Fund helps to offset tuition costs. Through the confidential application and screening process, a family’s needs are assessed and temporary assistance is provided as necessary.

What happens when the well runs dry?

When the Scholarship Fund is empty, Joyful Noise depends on the assistance of caring donors in the community to replenish it. Until new funds are created, the childcare center is unable to assist those who are in need.

 Can you help us to help others?

Make a tax-deductible donation today, in any amount, to the Joyful Noise Christian Childcare Scholarship Fund, and make a tremendous difference in a family’s life!

Gift of Music Classes June/July 2013

Click here to visit the official Facebook Event page, 

or visit our website here!

Summertime is here! That means a brand new round of A Gift of Music Classes. This year we've cooked up something so beneficial and fun for children in our community! Sing & Slide, for ages 2-5, is a free music class offering an instrument and take home materials for kids! Read all the details about the program in our Program Backrounder, here! Also check out the official press release.

That's not all we're doing for our early childhood community this year! Our instructor Chantal McDaniel is also traveling to Stepping Stones daycare (a service to the homeless and transient community and a part of Holland Rescue Mission) in Holland, Michigan! For three consecutive weeks, children will recieve on site early childhood music classes: fun songs, movement, and instrument exposure, along with send-home materials for parents and extenders for teachers at the daycare.

Check out the awesome instrument donation we were able to pass along to Stepping Stones due to a generous instrument donation from Kathleen McDonald, retired music and special education teacher from Mason, Michigan!