Building Bridges IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER: JANUARY Bring in a family portrait to add to the board of families!

Transcription

1 IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER: January 1 & 18 The Center will be closed January 4 Human Trafficking Workshop January 5 & 19 Men Matter Jan 6, 13, 20, 27 New Years Resolutions January 7 & 21 Family Dinner Night Jan 8, 15, 22, 29 Social Media Workshops January 12 Movies in PJ s January 13 Homemade Candles January 19 Youth Night January 21 Community Advisory Board Meeting January 26 Credit Counseling Building Bridges A newsletter to bring neighbors together JANUARY 2015 Bring in a family portrait to add to the board of families!

2 During this past holiday season there were many opportunities to make home made holiday gifts at Building Bridges Family Success Center. Displayed on the front page are the wood block art masterpieces. These can be used as stocking holders by creating letters with the string. Supplies needed: 4X4 wood post cut into 6 inch blocks, small nails, a hammer, and yarn or string. Once decided what shape or letter you would like on your wood art, hammer nails into place to create desired shape. Tie the end of your string to one nail and then loop string around, across, or which ever way you would like to decorate your art. We also made necklaces this season. At the local craft store we purchased string, beads, nail polish; and at the hardware store a box of washers. If you would like you can paint the washers with the nail polish or leave them silver; tie them at the center of your string, and place beads on each side. Pictures of this are in the December newsletter. The home made candles was a first for everyone! At the local craft store we purchased a large brick of candle wax, a roll of candle wicks, wick holders; and at Goodwill we purchased teacups. In a double boiler we melted the wax while putting in crayons to color it to our liking. While the wax melted we measured the wick length to be able to be taped to the bottom and wrap around a pencil above the top of the cup. Tie a knot at one end of your wick and string on the wick holder so it sits snuggly on top of the knot. Tape or glue the wick holder at the bottom of your cup in the center. On the top end of the wick, wrap it around a pen or pencil and tape it so it stays tight. This will help keep the wick centered and so it doesn't fall into the wax. When the wax is fully melted and a color that you like, carefully spoon the wax into your cup to just about the top. Leave the candle over night to fully settle. All of these recipes and instructions can be found online. Have fun!

3 PAGE 3 To help get into the holiday spirit we gathered members of the community and made homemade ornaments. The ornaments were made from homemade clay and painted by families. Once the paint was dried we hung the ornaments up on our tree. It was a beautiful sight to see the work our participants did shine from the lights on the tree. This was a fun activity that can be conducted by anyone. The recipe for Homemade Clay is: 2 cups baking soda 1 cup cornstarch (corn flour) 1 1/2 cups cold water (makes about 2 pounds - the recipe can be halved). Place ingredients in a pan over medium heat and stir until smooth. Continue to stir till it gains the consistency of mashed potatoes. Place in a bowl under a damp towel to cool. This play clay can be kept to use as playdough in an airtight container, or can be baked at 350 degrees to become a hardened clay. To make the ornaments we chose to keep the clay white and bake it in small circle shapes. Baking soda and cornstarch make a smooth, pliable play clay that can be colored with everyday food coloring - or left white and painted once it hardens.

4 Building Bridges Resources PAGE 4 Career Cafe Utilities Assistance New Year Resolutions Quote of the Month: Happiness is a decision we Looking for a comfortable environment to enjoy a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper classified ads, viewing employment websites, and looking for other employment opportunities? The FSC computer lab is always open, resume assistance and interview attire is available. Come in and ask any staff member for help. Building Bridges Family Success Center will assist you in the process of applying for Utility Assistance. If you are at least 45 days past due, have a shut off notice, or service has already been shut off, you may be eligible to receive assistance. Every Wednesday there will be a support group to help you be the new you this year! We all know how hard it is to stick to our new year resolutions, so there will be weekly meetings where we can all help each other! It will be every Wednesday from 3:30-5:00PM make everyday rather than something to be obtained. ~ Tracy Costa Call for more info This Month at Building Bridges Ladies Lounge Promise Neighborhood Resources ShopRite Homework help Call for more info Call for info on how to register The Puerto Rican Unity for Progress Once a month Keyanna Orange will be team comes to the Center once a week leading the Ladies Lounge. A chance Culinary Arts Class to assist children with their for it to be all about the ladies, lessons homework. We Center understand For Family that Services it can Cook Me sa on eye Brown make has up, offered nail polish tutorials, be a difficult time has partnered for families, with we her time proper and knowledge hygiene and to a chance for open want to be here ShopRite in your to support. bring your Come PNFSC. conversation. With her degree Join in us January 20th in to the Center groceries to make to homework you! This Culinary from Arts 3:30pm-5:00pm. she will be easier for the Neighborhood whole family. Grocery Program will assist families leading the class on August in buying groceries online 12th and 26th from 2:00 to and picking them up from 3:30pm. ShopRite The class will have a the PNFSC or the Isabel health and wellness focus, Miller Community Center. preparing meals that are Youth Night Need help registering or Men Matter attainable with a tight budget. ordering online? Stop by We will be using recipes in our Calling all youth the to Promise join our Neighborhood Youth Night, We understand that it is just as staff made cookbook from the to share ideas, Family concerns, Success and let Center us and important for men to receive support in ShopRite Food Access know what we use can our do to FREE better computer serve lab. life as it is for women. So every other program. Everyone will be the youth of our community. There will week there is the Men s Group, where Call for provided with a sample of the be games and snacks provided. The next men support men. Frank Ingram gathering will be January more 19th info from meal and facilitates a copy of the the group recipe. with different 5:00pm-6:00pm. topics each night. Don t be afraid to lift Call the weight off your for shoulders and vent it out. more info

5 PAGE 5 Last month for Ladies Lounge we made facial wipes! It is a simple process, very cost effective, and much healthier for your skin! Here is what you need to make up a small, 4 ounce jar similar to the one pictured above. Ingredients: 1/4 cup warm water 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon liquid castile soap (We used Dr. Bronner s Rose) 1/2 tablespoon fractionated (liquid) coconut oil 4 drops essential oils of choice (this is optional, we chose not to use this) Round cotton pads Airtight container, such as a mason jar Directions: Mix all of the ingredients except for the cotton pads in measuring cup. Set the cup aside. Take a stack of cotton pads and put them in the jar. Fill the jar to the top then scrunch them down and add a few more. Pour the wet ingredients over the cotton pads then put a lid on your container. It takes a few minutes but they will soak up the liquid. To ensure that all of the pads are evenly soaked, let them sit for 30 minutes then turn your tightly capped container upside down for 30 minutes. That s it. When you are ready to take off makeup (or wipe down a sweaty, grimy face), remove a pad and use it to clean things up. The coconut oil ensures that you face stays nice and moist. The essential oils add skin healing properties plus fragrance. I like making this up in small batches because the small jars fit nicely in a drawer but this DIY can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled..

6 January Family Easy Skillet Cordon Bleu What you do: What You need: 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcumbs 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken, sliced into tender size pieces 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 8 Canadian bacon slices, cut into thin strips 4 swiss cheese slices, halved 1 large Ziploc bag 1 ovenproof skillet Combine breadcrumbs, pepper, and salt in a large Ziploc bag. Rinse chicken, cut into tender size pieces and add to Ziploc bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat. Melt butter with oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken 3 1/2 to 4 minutes on each side or until done. Arrange Canadian bacon strips over chicken in skillet, and top each with 1 cheese slice. Broil 5 1/2 inches from heat 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: makes 4-6 servings Time: 25 minutes Entire meal cost under $15.00 The finished product! Take pictures of yours and share them with us. Bring them into the BBFSC or share them on or. See back cover for our social information!

7 What has Building Bridges been up to? PAGE ~ Career Café Assisting families in career development through lessons like applying for higher education, obtaining a small business loan and establishing/maintaining credit ~ New Year Resolution Weekly support groups to help stay on track with the healthy rsuolutions ~ Family Dinner Night - serving dinner to the community as a family. ~ Culinary Arts Class - teaching healthy and budget friendly recipes ~ ESL Classes - helping our English as a Second Language speakers learn to speak and write in English ~ Community Café - bringing residents together to discuss issues facing the community ~ Men Matter - support group for men, open discussion, communications skills, and a chance to vent ~ Financial Literacy Classes - providing our families with money management and budgeting skills ~ Home made gifts giving families and children the opportunity to put some love into their gifts this holiday season ~ Ladies Lounge support group for women, tutorials on beauty tips, conversational opportunity This month s BB events! Join us! 7

8 The Building Bridges Family Success Center Contact us or stop by today! Building Bridges Family Success Center The Building Bridges Family Success Center is a project of the Camden County Covenant for Children, Youth and Families funded by the Community Planning and Advocacy Council through a grant from the NJ Department of Children and Families. Phone: Hours of Operation: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9am-5pm Tuesday and Thursday 11am-7pm Visit us on the web at: Building Bridges Family Success Center is a community-based, familycentered neighborhood gathering place where community residents can go for family support, information, and services. Building Bridges serves families in a safe and supportive home-like environment designed to strengthen the family unit, build relationships, enrich the lives of community members, and make families and neighborhoods stronger. A variety of family friendly events take place each month. We offer fun and educational workshops and activities, connection to resources, and volunteer opportunities. All services are free and open to all families in the community. Facebook.com/centerffs Your BBFSC Team Twitter.com/centerffs Merilee Rutolo COO Nicole Sheppard Associate Vice President Samantha Stoneback Program Director Rochelle Daniels Family Partner Patrick Andrews Volunteer & Community Partnerships Coordinator Family Partner