BY DEBBIE PAGE
The Iredell County Partnership for Young Children (ICPYC) celebrated the opening of its new Mooresville location at The Christian Mission (TCM) facility in Mooresville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday morning.
Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce President Kirk Ballard welcomed the standing room only crowd of dignitaries and community members, noting that TCM is a trusted resource for food, clothing, shelter, and assistance.
“The Christian Mission shows up — because that is their mission,” he said.
ICPYP joins NCWorks as a partner in the TCM facility, which now provides birth to senior age services.
TCM Executive Director Amy LaCount said that “this building is a dream that came true, a place where we wanted the community to feel warm and welcome whether you’re a family in crisis or a volunteer or a donor. We want this to be a safe place to be where you feel like you belong.
“We are so grateful to the Marions for making this happen. They were our first big investor. Welcome to the Betty and Randy Marion Center,” she added.
Volunteers and donors are the backbone of the nonprofit, LaCount said, and nearly 90 percent of the money raised is invested in community programs.
“This truly is a giant collaborative effort. We do help with basic needs — food, clothing, and the prevention of homelessness through our rental assistance program,” she explained. “We prevented over 800 individuals from becoming unhoused last year, so that’s huge if you can imagine Mooresville with that many families on the streets. That’s a big deal.”
She also touted the organization’s substance misuse program, which is led by a certified staff peer support specialist and is available to all county residents regardless of income. TCM also has funding for treatment and mental health services and connection to resources as it relates to substance abuse.
LaCount noted that TCM collaborates with other nonprofits to wrap all the needed services around the families who come in. “We are grateful for the Partnership for Young Children and what they do and for NC Works,” she said.
Davis Hollars, executive director of the Centralina Workforce Development Board (WDB) which is responsible for oversight and operations of NCWorks career centers in a seven-county region that includes Iredell, thanked TCM for its vision to expand its services with these nonprofit partnerships.
NCWorks helps clients find employment, training, and workshops to help with their employment journey.
“We have great staff here willing to help individuals, whether to find new employment, transitioning employment, or want to look for other options for their careers,” Hollars said. “It’s all here at the NCWorks Center.
“We are her to help people find jobs, find their careers, and be successful citizens in Mooresville-South Iredell,” he added.
ICPYP Executive Director Lisa Familo said the nonprofit, which serves children up to age 5, seeks to lift up children by focusing on four core areas: family support, early care and education, early literacy, and child health.
“We cannot do this alone. You hear that it takes a village to raise children, and that is so true. I am a product of the Smart Start program, and I received parenting education and support when I had my first child,” she said. “I stand before you as a success story and as proof of what these programs can do.”
There are 2,000 days from when a child is born to when that child enters kindergarten,” Familo said. “It’s a very small window of opportunity we have to create a very strong foundation for which all learning and healthy development occurs.”
Familo said that the TCM facility partners now act as a hub for families.
“If families need support beyond what we can offer, we can literally walk them across the hall and help get them get the support they need,” sh explained. “This is changing the way that nonprofits provide services in this community.
“I really think it is going to transform lives, and that is what it is all about,” Familo added.
The ICPYC area includes an early learning resource center with a wealth of materials and activities that can be borrowed by early learning teachers, parents, and other caregivers. Membership to the center is only $10 per year to have access to all these themed activity tubs, complete with teaching and play ideas.
The organization also offers training with continuing education credits for early childhood educators, including CPR, SIDs, behavior management, and other topics.
The playspace, used as a parent-led learning area with their children, is modeled on the Reggio Emilia model, which treasures the many ways children explore their worlds and express themselves through art, language, physicality, experimentation, relationships, and so many other avenues as forms of communication and expression.
The classroom has a calming natural environment.
The play-based program offers a sensory, science, construction, kitchen, and other themed play spaces. The reading “tree” with books, reading buddy stuffies, and bench seating is the room’s centerpiece.
ICPYC hosts its six Kaleidoscope Play and Learn Play Groups in the playspace each week. The parent-engaged learning group, led by carefully trained early childhood education specialists, offers parenting education as well as child development. The 37-week program is open to any parent with children birth to age 5, regardless of income.