Category: Newsletter

Martha ‘Jewell’ Bartley, Head Start Quality Assurance Manager

Hal Goode, Executive Director
AUGUST 2022

The below is from the Facebook page of Michaela Ballard Grundy of Lebanon.

It takes a village to raise a child. In our case, it took a village to save our child. These men and women each played a vital role in saving our daughter’s life. Monday morning, while on our way to daycare with my two children, our two year old, Miles, started to choke on a tic tac. I immediately stopped the car, took her from her car seat, and began basic choking first aid. Two women, Ellen B Leake and Judith Moffitt who work for Central Kentucky Community Action Council had already stopped to help and dialed 911 while several members of the community came to my aid. David Alan Mattingly was able to call Jay and stood by my side to help.

Within three minutes the Lebanon police, Marion County EMS and members of the fire department had reached the scene and taken over. It was EMS director, Brian Smith, who took Miles from me and was able to dislodge the tic tac and open her airway.

In three minutes my daughter’s life flashed before my eyes. In three minutes this community came together and saved my daughter’s life. In three minutes our lives changed forever.

We cannot express in words how grateful we are for our emergency responders. We know the outcome could have been different if not for the proactive members of our community.

We will spend every day thanking God for this community, our family, and our daughter.

It does take a community as we know at CKCAC. Thanks to Judith & Ellen for assisting at the scene to what is truly a miracle. More to come……………much more………..  

Tancy Morris, Congregate Meals Director

Congregate Meals continues to serve meals in person and drive thru. From July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022, we have served 58,487 meals to 755 unduplicated clients. I have included a break down below:

• Bardstown- 15,297 meals to 205 clients
• Bradfordsville – 350 meals to 19 clients
• Grayson – 4,043 meals to 66 clients
• Griffin Manor – 6,362 meals to 62 clients
• Breckinridge – 4,924 meals to 59 clients
• Larue – 4,567 meals to 57 clients
• Loretto – 62 meals to 10 clients
• New Haven – 458 meals to 11 clients
• Radcliff – 2,688 meals to 44 clients
• Washington – 5,816 meals to 44 clients

In July of 2022 we served 443 unduplicated clients 5,768 meals.

From July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022, 6,118 vouchers were used to redeem meals at Home Plate in Brandenburg by 229 unduplicated participants.

This program continues to grow. In July we distributed 1192 vouchers to 147 participants. We meet at the library in Brandenburg on the last Thursday of every month to distribute vouchers.

Gloria Graves at the Washington County Senior Center has retired. Thank you, Gloria, for your service to Central Kentucky Community Action Council and the Washington County Senior Center. We wish you the very best!

Courtney Campbell, SCP Director

The Senior Companion Program just closed out our fiscal year June 30, 2022. SCP volunteers have served 25,533.45 hours over the last year.

Our program is actively looking for anyone who loves to help serve others and meets the standard requirements. Volunteers do receive a tax-free stipend, along with mileage and meal reimbursement.

The Senior Appreciation Luncheon will be held in October this year in honor of our volunteers who dedicate their time to not only our program, but to those that they serve. 

Melissa Bland, RSVP Director

• RSVP is a part of Senior Corps and is America’s largest volunteer network for people 55 and over, with more than 300,000 volunteers.
• RSVP serves Hardin & Nelson County.
• We currently have 107 volunteers ranging in age from 57 to 93.
• 77 volunteers serve in Hardin County & 30 in Nelson County.
• There are currently 19 work stations; 14 in Hardin County & 5 in Nelson County
• Volunteers currently receive 40 cents per mile with a maximum reimbursement of $50 per month.
• COVID has really been a challenge for the RSVP Program!

Year	Volunteers	Hours
2017	103	26,131
2018	108	30,171
2019	107	24,439
2020	74	9,284
2021	53	9,962
Jan- June 2022	53	5,182

Contact Info:   Melissa Bland at 270-737-1059 or RSVP.Director@ckcac.org

Tammy Stanley, Head Start Director

As the month turns to August, Head Start and Early Head Start prepares for a new beginning to the school year. We are renewed and refreshed from the summer and have our full attention to welcoming 494 children to our programs. Many faces will be familiar, and some will be new. Regardless, the beginning school year brings an opportunity to start anew and do all we can for our children and families.

Head Start and Early Head Start has many updates to report as we wrap up our summer planning processes. We are beginning a new initiative entitled the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP). ELP will allow Instructional Assistants the opportunity to be selected to complete advanced training and college coursework with the intention of being fully qualified Teachers within two years. These Instructional Assistants will be trained to work with our Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms and will be deployed to support classrooms across the agency throughout the year.

To help increase support for our teaching staff and enhance services to children, Head Start and Early Head Start is adding a 4^th Education Coach. We want to make sure that all staff are adequately supported and can provide the highest quality services to our children. Adding an additional Education Coach to our ranks increases Head Start and Early Head Start’s ability to do so.

Lastly, COVID-19 is still with us. Head Start and Early Head Start is working closely with the Lincoln Trail Health Department to implement pandemic safety protocols in alignment with the CDC and Ky’s Division of Regulated Childcare. We would like to encourage you and your loved ones (ages six months and older) to consider getting vaccinated. The more children and families who are vaccinated, the safer we all are and the more likely we can keep all classrooms and centers open this year.

Martha ‘Jewell’ Bartley, Head Start Quality Assurance Manager

Ellen Leake, CSBG Director

The CSBG Staff has been busy closing out one Program Year and beginning a new one. Staff members have worked diligently to enter all services that had been provided into the computer. We followed up on many clients so that we could also report the outcome of our efforts through NPI’s and services report for Regular CSBG and CARES.

The CSBG Staff have assisted:

• Regular CSBG 15,437 Individuals 7,372 Households-unduplicated count
• CARES 2,690 Individuals 1,205 Households-unduplicated count
• SPRING SUBSIDY 766 Households $133,750.00
• SPRING COOLING 1865 Households $313,250.00
• GARDENS 267 Individual gardens are planted and flourishing with the recent rains
• YOUTH PROGRAMS – The Youth Programs carried out in the Counties have been exciting. We want to provide opportunities for children who may not have them otherwise.
  • We were able to obtain a discounted family pass for one year with the Louisville Zoo. 157 families took advantage of the opportunity.
  • 3 Summer Camp
  • 2 Families Swim Passes or Lessons

Thanks to all the staff for their hard work with the various programs operated by Community Services.

Martha ‘Jewell’ Bartley, Head Start Quality Assurance Manager

As change occurs we want to make sure you know our new directors.  Join Central Kentucky Community Action in welcoming Cathy Sparrow as our new Director for the Family Child Care Homes and Unaffiliated Centers program. The Family Child Care Homes and Unaffiliated Centers program continues to impact hundreds of children every year.  Cathy was working in the Central Kentucky Community Action Finance Department and brings experience as a past Director of School Food Services for the Marion County Public School System. In that position, Cathy remarked that she had seen firsthand the need of feeding children and sometimes the whole family.   

Throughout COVID 19, it was a very trying time for childcare centers and childcare homes in Kentucky. There was a mandatory shutdown for all childcares and this shutdown not only left parents without childcare, but childcare owners without income and an emotional toll on their staff.  Since childcare centers have reopened there has been many challenges abiding by increased health and sanitation protocols.  The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) recently announced that all providers enrolled in the program with our agency would be receiving an emergency reimbursement to help reimburse providers for the payments they missed out on during the shutdown.

Cathy Sparrow will be replacing Jane Claire Hupman who has taken another position in the community and we thank her for her work here at CKCAC and wish her the best.  More to come……………much more……….