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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Sponsor a Smile at Stepping Stones!


Could you put a price on the smiles and cheers of twenty children?

The Joyful Noise C-Fund can!

For just $100 a week, the Joyful Noise C-Fund will be bringing Gift of Music classes and Nutrition Expedition lesson plans to the children of Stepping Stones Daycare for homeless and transient children in Holland, Michigan. The program, which lasts three consecutive weeks in August, will deliver the following activities and materials to twenty Stepping Stones students:

  • A free tambourine plus care and activity materials for each child
  • 30-45 weekly minutes of age-appropriate, engaging early childhood music instruction
  • Nutrition Expedition learning materials which include science projects, books and even fresh vegetables and fruits to promote the learning of healthy eating habits and physical education

Can you sponsor our program?

We need caring, generous individuals like you to help us bring these wonderful learning opportunities to students who need and deserve them. Your donations through cash or check can help us to keep delivering our program to the students who benefit so greatly from the services.

Donate today to the Joyful Noise C-Fund at www.CthePossibilities.org, or make a cash donation in person to the Joyful Noise C-Fund at 508 Franklin St, Grand Haven, MI 49417. You can also send a check!

SPONSOR OUR PROGRAM IN ANY AMOUNT, OR SPONSOR ONE FULL WEEK FOR $100 by AUGUST 12th, 2016!


(616) 847-6600 | Office@JoyfulNoiseKids.com

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Why Music in Early Childhood?


Why Music in Early Childhood?

What is the benefit of early childhood music, and why has the Joyful Noise C-Fund supported its cause with the Gift of Music Classes—a free service to children in the community?

Each year, Joyful Noise C-Fund’s non-profit program reaches children who might not otherwise be able to afford early childhood music education. From local Grand Haven Head Start students to children at Holland’s Stepping Stones daycare for the homeless and transient, kids from infancy through preschool age are receiving free instruments along with fun, age-appropriate music instruction through the C-Fund’s A Gift of Music classes.

But what is the benefit—besides being fun?

 According to Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, “music intelligence is equal in importance to logical-mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence.” The multiplicity of benefits to the mind can be seen while viewing the brain through CAT scans; many different areas of the brain are activated through music exposure. Perhaps most interestingly, chunks of information that are ready to be learned can be “bonded” together through songs and melodies. This concept is illustrated through the firm cementing of such childhood songs as the ABC’s, or months of the year—and remembering for decades later as an adult that “thirty days has September.”

The benefits of early childhood music aren’t just academic, though, according to A Gift of Music instructor Chantal Roeske. “All types of children adore music class,” she says of the many students seen each year ranging from infancy through school age. “It brings joy to children with different personality types, ages, and learning capabilities. It is especially therapeutic for children who may struggle with socio-emotional or behavioral issues.” Roeske points out, however, that music class is a luxury for some. “Classes like Kindermusik are very expensive, and music is not often incorporated into preschool programs for cost reasons.”

This year, the Joyful Noise C-Fund has targeted approximately 50 young children in the Grand Haven and Holland area with the Gift of Music Program. Each child receives a free instrument coupled with three consecutive classes that explore everything from culture to music theory. The 2016 instrument theme is tambourines, and students learn how to use and care for their instruments as part of the course, before taking them home at completion. The C-Fund relies on donations from the community to fund their programs each year. Information on the program can be found at here www.CThePossibilities.org.

Are you interested in incorporating music into your young child’s life to reap the developmental benefits? Here are some quick and easy suggestions:

  • Let your child choose the soundtrack. Put on the radio in the car, and let them decide on their favorite station. Ask them what they like about the music—point out what you hear, and ask them to do the same.
  • Take turns making up rhymes.
  • Ask your child to repeat patterns—rhythmic clapping, words or different sounds and pitches.
  • Experiment with home-made instruments (like paper plate tambourines or water bottle shakers.)
  • Talk to your children about your music preferences—play music for them, and ask for their feedback.


Sources

Gardner, H. Frames of Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1983.


Harman, M. “Music and Movement - Instrumental in Language Development.” Early Childhood News. 2008.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Sponsor a Local Child for $4!



Sponsor a local child in the C-Fund's Gift of Music Classes for only $4!

You can make a big difference in a local child's life for only $4 by sponsoring a C-Fund Gift of Music student! Four dollars will purchase one tambourine--the instrument of choice this year. Children enjoy using this instrument in class and taking it home to share with their families at the end of the session! To find out who the C-Fund's Gift of Music class serves, watch the video above. 

Sponsoring a child is easy--just stop in to the JN office and let us know how many students you'd like to support! (Currently, we expect about 40 students over the summer.) Or, you can donate quickly online by using the Paypal icons to your left!

Thank you so much for supporting our program and enriching the lives of children all around us!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Can you help the Joyful Noise C-Fund with a Book Donation?


The Bookman Collects New Books for the C-Fund’s Free Literacy Event

A local book store is ditching the fiction for a true story that is bound to enrich the lives of local Ottawa County children.

GRAND HAVEN, Michigan (February 5th, 2016)-The Bookman, Grand Haven’s local bookstore, is collecting new books from now until Wednesday, March 9th for the Joyful Noise C-Fund as they prepare for this year’s Love of Literacy Pizza Plus Books give-a-way. The event, which will take place at Loutit Library on March 16th, gifted 2,000 books last year to children in need. Participants also enjoyed a free pizza dinner.

This year, more of the same fun activities are planned, but the event’s organizers are reaching out to the community for help in collecting new, age-appropriate books for children ages 0-8. “We were so grateful last year for the help we received from our sponsors, School Zone and Brilliance Audio,” said Chantal Roeske, public relations counsel for Joyful Noise Childcare and the C-Fund, “But we still found that we fell short in some areas—especially chapter books for older school children. The Junie B. Jones books went like lightning!”

This year, event organizers hope to fill in those gaps and reach more children and families in need than ever before. To support the book drive, customers can either purchase books at the Bookman (located at 715 Washington Ave.) for children up to age 8, or bring their own new books to be deposited in a marked donation box inside. The Wednesday before the literacy event, the books will be collected in time to organize them by age and genre for the event’s attending families.


Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The 2016 Love of Literacy Event is Coming!


____________________________________________________________

The next chapter of the C-Fund storybook is a tale with a happy ending!

Joyful Noise Christian Childcare’s C-Fund, which benefits young children and families in Ottawa County, is preparing for thousands of new books to be given away at the upcoming and free “For the Love of Literacy Pizza Plus Books” event on March 16th from 4:30-6:30 p.m., in program rooms A & B at Loutit District Library in Grand Haven. 

The book fair, which will offer books to underserved children from infancy up through eight years of age, will also provide families with a free pizza dinner from Domino’s as well as access to other early childhood resources and professionals. Special guest Brian Vander Ark from the American rock band The Verve Pipe will perform his original children’s music written for School Zone®, a sponsor of the literacy program. No registration is necessary!

Details Below:

·        WHEN:  Wednesday, March 16th from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

·        WHERE: Loutit District Library, Program Rooms A & B, 407 Columbus Ave., Grand Haven, MI 49417

·        WHO: Children and families in need of books (specifically targeting the underserved population). No registration is necessary, all families are welcome.

·        WHAT: “Free Pizza + Books” will offer the community free books for children from infancy through eight years of age, as well as a fun reading event and free pizza dinner from Domino’s Pizza of Grand Haven.

·        WHY: The Joyful Noise C-Fund’s mission is to provide high quality services to young children in the community using resources generated through their non-profit fundraising programs.

·        CONTACT INFORMATION:                  
 
Joyful Noise Christian Childcare and C-Fund Director: 
Sally Segers   Office@JoyfulNoiseKids.com   (616) 847-6600

Joyful Noise Public Relations & Webmastering:  
Chantal McDaniel  JoyfulNoiseCfund@gmail.com   (616) 847-6600