NEWS

Candy Yoder will retire from her role as Chief Program Officer at the Community Foundation of Elkhart County at the end of 2024. Candy joined CAPS in 1989 as a program coordinator and served as president and CEO beginning in 2009. She joined the Community Foundation of Elkhart County in 2018, leading the grant committees in selecting areas of emphasis for grantmaking, including early childhood development and education. Candy, with other community leaders, has been a driving force in the planning, development, and implementation of Building Strong Brains. She has shared her time, expertise, and commitment to better outcomes for children and families during her entire career. Candy’s next chapter will include a continued commitment to improving outcomes for young children and families in her new role as Senior Advisor to the Coalition. Join me in congratulating and celebrating Candy as she begins this new chapter with Building Strong Brains! Listen to the Inspiring Good podcast featuring Candy on your favorite podcast platform or at this LINK.

On November 13, the Building Strong Brains coalition convened at Goshen College to celebrate the collective progress and continue to identify ways to advance this important early childhood work. Teams shared about their current work and planning for next steps. Below are highlights shared by the teams.

Maternal and Child Health Action Team

Progress

Click here to learn more about Beyond the Blues.

Click here to learn more about Elkhart County’s Fetal-Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) being led by CAPS.

Engaging and Growing the Elkhart County Family Child Care Network

The Family Child Care Network (FCCN) is growing in Elkhart County. In November, family child care providers gathered to enjoy a meal, celebrate their work, and learn more about early childhood programs and services, including those provided by CAPS, Maple City Health Care Center, and On My Way Pre K.

Thank you to Geminus for coordinating and facilitating these opportunities for sharing, learning, and networking. Thank you early childhood professionals for the work you do each day to support young children and their families in Elkhart County!

Quality Child Care and Early Learning Environments Action Team Next Steps

• Launch survey to learn about interest of early childhood and kindergarten professionals convening.
• Connecting with parents to learn about their experiences, to inform the work of shifting the early childhood system because “It takes a village to get behind parents so they can raise their children,” according to Dr. Dana Suskind.

Community Supports for Children and Families

Next Steps

• findhelp.org will launch in 2025! Thank you to the Community Supports for Children and Families Action Team for the researching, piloting, and planning of this exciting resource.
• Exploring indoor activity spaces for young children and families located in and close to Elkhart County

The Data Support Team launched Visible Network Labs in November. With the help of Visible Network Labs, we’ll gain deeper insights into our community networks and create visual tools to better understand our partnerships, highlight strengths, and pinpoint gaps in our ecosystem. Learn more at this LINK.

The Communications Support Team engaged with the work of refreshing the Building Strong Brains website and launching social media to evolve with the coalition work. We will be adding additional content to the site to continue to make it a valuable resource for our collective work in Elkhart County.

Click on the LINK to visit the website.

Social Media:

• Follow and share the Building Strong Brains Facebook Page 
• Follow and share Building Strong Brains Instagram
• Follow and share Building Strong Brains LinkedIn

The Building Strong Brains coalition has consistently highlighted the importance of understanding all factors that influence a young child’s ability to thrive. Recognizing that Economic Self-Sufficiency plays a vital role in a family’s stability and a child’s success, the coalition acknowledges the need for ongoing evolution in its work. The model below reflects input from coalition partners and teams, demonstrating alignment with our shared vision. By valuing and elevating collective feedback, we remain focused on our goal: Improving Kindergarten Readiness in Elkhart County!

Building Strong Brains convened 40 Community Resource Navigators from eight community organizations in October to listen to community resource navigators who are experts in the experiences of families with young children in Elkhart County. Jeanette Harder, PhD, MSW, LSW, MSW Program Director, and Professor of Social Work at Goshen College, led the gathering. Community Resource Navigators identified successes, barriers, and potential solutions to challenges to inform the work of the developing place-based pilot project and provide contextual information for work across the coalition. Thank you for all your contributions!

Liz Weaver retired from Tamarack Institute at the end of November. Liz served in leadership roles at the Tamarack Institute for 15 years, with her most recent role serving as co-CEO. Liz has been an amazing partner in Building Strong Brains by contributing design work, offering tools to propel engagement, challenging us, and encouraging us. We extend our gratitude and best wishes to her with this new chapter. Liz has graciously agreed to continue serving as a thought partner and provider of professional development over the next year. Listen to Liz’s Podcast Episode: Reflecting on a Career Committed to Collective Change at this LINK.

Brian Replogle joined the Building Strong Brains Coalition in August as its assistant director. A retired firefighter and EMT-A from South Bend, Brian is a dedicated father to his son, Austin, and has been a passionate advocate for families and children—both with and without disabilities—for over 20 years. He has collaborated with various local, state, and national organizations to improve the lives of children.

Over the past two decades, Brian has been a public speaker, educating communities on topics such as child abuse prevention, with a focus on Shaken Baby Syndrome, parenting, and child development strategies. Born and raised in the area, he has deep roots in the community and is personally committed to supporting children and families. He is eager to contribute to the work of the Building Strong Brains Coalition, helping to lay a stronger foundation for the future of the community.

Thank you to SmartNoggin for donating over 100 Baby’s First Book of Sounds to Elkhart County partners for distribution to families. Marcia Haut, SmartNoggin Founder, lived and worked in Elkhart County for years and we are thankful for this donation to support young children and families in Elkhart County. If you haven’t heard of SmartNoggin, visit their website to learn more about the NogginStik Developmental Light-up Rattle, NogginRings Reaching and Grasping Rings, and Baby’s First Book of 44 Sounds.