The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program makes homeownership affordable for eligible frontline community workers such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, child care employees, and active military or veterans.

This program provides down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time, income-qualified homebuyers so they can purchase a primary residence in the community in which they work and serve. The Florida Hometown Heroes Loan Program also offers a lower first mortgage rate and additional special benefits to those who have served and continue to serve their country. To learn more, click here.

The May 2022 edition of the Early Learning CCR&R Resources focuses on ways to enhance and support Nature Play in early learning. To download, click here.

There are two upcoming rental assistance application events hosted by Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida:

• Saturday, April 9, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fairview Shores Library, 902 Lee Road, Ste 26, Orlando, FL 32810
• Thursday, April 28, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Lila Mitchell-Ivey Lane Neighborhood Center for Families Washington Park Library, 5151 Raleigh St., Ste A, Orlando, FL 32811

No-cost legal assistance will be provided to those who qualify before receiving help with application. To pre-register, click here.

Contact CLSMF Legal Helpline to see if you qualify for legal assistance, call 800-405-1417.

For more information, click here.

Everyday life is full of challenges, big and small. But whatever the size, building resilience can help children move through those challenges and bounce back stronger. Skills like confidence, flexibility, and maintaining a positive outlook are all key, but the most important factor in resilient children is the presence of a caring adult — and that can be you! Sesame Street in Communities (SSIC) is sharing a set of resources, including an interactive course for staff in early childhood programs, to support you in helping children build resilience.

Featured Resources

Save your favorite resources, complete activities, and participate in free professional development offerings, like webinars, trainings, and courses, by registering for an SSIC account.

Roads to Resilience

Every child needs to learn important coping skills to bounce back from tough times, and there are many ways to get there! This Sesame Street in Communities course shares important strategies to help young children and families thrive. It offers customized pathways to meet the specific needs of staff in the early childhood field. To learn more, click here.

Looking for Special

Growing children’s sense of confidence and self-assurance can help them navigate difficult moments. In this storybook, follow along as Lily finds a way to stand strong, proud, and tall in herself. To learn more, click here.

Bounce Back

With the right skills and encouragement, children (and grown-ups) can bounce back from tough times. Sing along to this catchy tune with some Sesame Street friends to help children remember their strength and resilience. To learn more, click here.

Your Child’s Development: Here is a set of age-based handouts from Zero To Three that include a “what to expect” chart for each age range, frequently asked questions, a research summary, and information about common parenting challenges for each age and stage, click here.

Are you interested in free online parenting classes? Help Me Grow and the Children’s Forum have partnered with ParentEducate.com to offer free online parenting classes.

ParentEducate.com allows you to parent like a pro! With more than 100 self-paced courses, ParentEducate is a place for parents to get important information on best practices in parenting.

You’ll find courses on topics like biting, potty training, dental health, outdoor safety, how to install a car seat, and many more! Each brief course takes just 20-30 minutes to complete and can be paused and resumed at any time.

For more information, click here.

Community Coordinated Care for Children, Inc. (4C) strives to offer the highest quality services, making your feedback critically important to our quality improvement efforts. You are invited to participate in one of our Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

We’d like to ask for a couple of minutes of your time to answer a few quick questions about your recent experiences with us.

All information gathered in these surveys
is kept confidential and used for research purposes only.

Thank you very much for your time and for allowing us to serve you.

The Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County is on Open Enrollment for the School Readiness program. The program allows eligible families to offset the cost of care by paying a reduced parent fee. To register, click here.

First Lady Casey DeSantis announced that the theme for this year’s Black History Month contests will be Celebrating African-American Contributions to Florida’s History and released information regarding the student art and essay contests, as well as the Excellence in Education awards. Black History Month is celebrated each year in the month of February.

“Black History Month is an opportunity for students to learn about the contributions African-Americans have made throughout Florida’s history,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis. “Over the next month, we will be honoring these contributions and their benefits to Florida’s communities. I encourage all Florida students to join us by participating in this month’s art and essay contests.”

First Lady DeSantis is inviting students to participate in academic and creative contests throughout the month. Students in grades K-3 can participate in an art contest and students in grades 4-12 can participate in an essay contest. Additionally, students, parents, teachers and principals are invited to nominate full-time educators of all student grades for the Black History Month Excellence in Education Award.

About the Student Art Contest 
First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Black History Month Art Contest is open to all K-3 students in Florida. Each student will submit original, two-dimensional artwork based on this year’s theme. Two winners will be selected.

About the Student Essay Contest
First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Black History Month Essay Contest is open to all grade 4-12 students in Florida. Each student will submit one essay no longer than 500 words based on this year’s theme. Three winners will be selected: one elementary school student (grades 4-5), one middle school student (grades 6-8) and one high school student (grades 9-12). Each winner will receive a 4-Year Florida College Plan scholarship provided by the Florida Prepaid College Foundation.

About the Excellence in Education Award 
First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Black History Month Excellence in Education Award Contest is open to all full-time educators in an elementary, middle or high school in Florida. Three winners will be selected: one elementary school teacher (grades K-5), one middle school teacher (grades 6-8) and one high school teacher (grades 9-12). Nominations may be submitted by a principal, teacher, parent/guardian or student.

Contest Entries and Nominating Forms and Guidelines 
Student contest forms and educator nomination forms must be mailed to Volunteer Florida or submitted online at www.FloridaBlackHistory.com.

Volunteer Florida 
Black History Month Committee 
1545 Raymond Diehl Road, Suite 250 
Tallahassee, Florida 32308

All entries must be received by 5 pm (ET) on Friday, February 18, 2022.

If mailing, please consider the time necessary to ensure the submission is received by Volunteer Florida’s office no later than the aforementioned deadline.

For more information about the contests, please visit www.FloridaBlackHistory.com.