Celebration provides recreation for families
USU’s Aggie CARE program held their third annual Celebration of Children and Families Sept. 10. The celebration was held on the quad, where families of all sizes came to enjoy food, music and activities sponsored by each of the colleges.
Since its development three years ago, the Celebration of Children and Families has become an increasingly popular event among children and parents alike.
The event was sponsored by the provost’s office, whose mission, according to www.usu.edu/provost/about, is to “provide academic vision and leadership to advance and support excellence in teaching/learning, research and engagement.”
This mission statement was present in the event of the Celebration of Children and Families as a booth from each college was present, providing the children with hands-on activities relating to that college’s subjects.
Activities included bottle rockets from the Space Dynamics Laboratory, spinning wool bracelets with the agriculture department and creating sculptures and playing with instruments from the arts college.
“The children really enjoy this,” said Ann Austin, child development professor.
“We do this event to show that the university wants to have a family-friendly environment,” said Aggie CARE Co-Director Leah Schilling, “and here the kids get to see what mom and dad do at work.”
Aggie CARE is an acronym for Child Care Accreditation, Recognition and Education. The program is available to faculty members and students with children, aiming to help them find quality child care,
network with other families and provide a connection between the university and the community.
According to www.usu.edu/aggiecare, the program’s purpose is to “make quality, off-campus child care available to USU employees and to raise the quality of child care throughout Cache Valley.”
“It definitely sends a message of welcome to faculty members and students,” Austin said.
She said many professors and faculty members at USU had other teaching offers, but decided to accept the job at USU because of the Aggie CARE program.
The Aggie CARE program began as a vision from the provost’s office and new women’s center. Austin said these programs did not want child-care to be a barrier to faculty and students. They also wanted to help community members not specifically associated with USU. By doing this, Aggie CARE intended to unify campus and the community, Austin said.
“We wanted to bring up the quality of childcare in the whole community,” said Cara Allen, Aggie CARE coordinator.
By using Aggie CARE, a forward thinking is presented addressing issues as to what families need, Allen said. Through the program, faculty members can concentrate on on their work and students can focus on their schooling.
Since its development, Aggie CARE has also expanded involvement with issues such as assisting pregnant faculty members and students, as well as pioneering a networking system that offers monthly faculty forums where Aggie CARE users can talk about their child care services and get to know other families.
– allie.jeppson@aggiemail.usu.edu