NEWS
Planning Begins for Elkhart County’s Pop-Up Pregnancy & Family Village
Building Strong Brains is partnering with the University of Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health to bring a Pop-Up Pregnancy & Family Village to Elkhart County: a one-stop gathering of services and supports for families navigating pregnancy, prenatal care, and the early days of parenthood. The idea is simple and powerful. Instead of...
Countdown to Kindergarten: Free Summer Camp Enrollment Open
Starting kindergarten is a big step for any child and for any family. Countdown to Kindergarten is our tuition-free, eight-week summer camp designed to help children entering kindergarten in Fall 2026 feel confident, comfortable, and ready for that first day. Through play-based learning, classroom routines, and the steady presence of experienced...
New Resource: Tips for Kindergarten Readiness
Some of the most powerful kindergarten preparation doesn't happen in a classroom. It happens at the kitchen table, in the car, or on a walk around the block. Our Quality Childcare and Early Learning Environments Action Team spent the past year listening to Pre-K and kindergarten teachers, gathering parent input (including from our Family Voice...
March Convening Recap and Save the Date for June
More than 80 partners gathered at Goshen College Fellowship Hall on March 24 for our quarterly convening. A few of the updates worth carrying with you: Findhelp keeps growing. findhelp.buildingstrongbrains.net has now logged 7,719 searches and 3,735 visitors, with food pantries, parenting classes, and housing as the most-searched categories. A...
Building Strong Brains Coalition Quarterly Convening
Building Strong Brains partners gather each quarter to stay connected, share progress, and align on next steps that strengthen the early childhood system in Elkhart County. Join us for lunch, relationship-building, and focused updates from action teams and partners doing this work every day. Event details: Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026...
Lindsay Aguilar Is The New Building Strong Brains Coalition Director
Building Strong Brains is pleased to welcome Lindsay Aguilar as our next Coalition Director. Over the past several years, Building Strong Brains has grown into a connected, action-focused effort across Elkhart County. Partners in early learning, health care, nonprofits, business, and local government are working toward the same goal: helping...
What Does a Family-Friendly Workplace Look Like in Elkhart County?
At the Building Strong Brains summit on November 11, about 40 people crowded into a breakout room to discuss something that often remains in the background: the intersection of work and family life in Elkhart County. The “Family Friendly Workplaces” session, moderated by Brian Replogle from Building Strong Brains and the Community Foundation of...
A Deep Dive into Hope: The HOPE Framework with Jessica Herzog-Hall, MSW
A keynote from Jessica Herzog-Hall at the 2025 Building Strong Brains Summit explored how the HOPE Framework and Positive Childhood Experiences support resilience in children and families. Here’s what she shared—and how Elkhart County can apply these tools. Introducing Jessica Herzog-Hall Jessica Herzog-Hall is a trauma-informed educator focused...
Supporting Parents in Elkhart County
At the Building Strong Brains Annual Summit on November 11, eight parents took the stage and candidly discussed what it takes to raise children in Elkhart County today. Moderated by Paul Shetler Fast, executive director of Maple City Health Care Center, the parent panel brought together families with very different stories—military and...
Building a Culture of Hope: Highlights from the 2025 Building Strong Brains Summit
More than 100 educators, caregivers, health professionals, parents, policymakers, and community partners gathered at Goshen College on November 11 for the second annual Building Strong Brains Summit. After more than three years of coordinated, countywide collaboration, the coalition came together once again to learn, connect, and strengthen its...
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