Children’s Room Opens at <strong>Redwood</strong> City Homeless Shelter A children’s room designed by experts in early childhood development and dedicated to a family who lost their infant son opened at a <strong>Redwood</strong> City homeless shelter. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the Shelter Network’s <strong>Redwood</strong> Family House homeless shelter, and the shelter’s children rushed into the new room, known as Maxwell Soke Brenner Memorial Bright Space, to explore the new furniture, books, computers and toys, Shelter Network Development Manager Amy Wright said. “<strong>The</strong> whole space just looks so warm and inviting,” she said. Wright said Shelter Network runs six homeless shelters, including four family shelters, in San Mateo County. <strong>The</strong> Bright Space at the <strong>Redwood</strong> Family House is the first of four that will be opened at each of the nonprofit’s family shelters. <strong>The</strong> spaces are a project by the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children in partnership with community agencies across the county. <strong>The</strong> foundation was started in 1999 as a way for Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc., which operates hundreds of employer-sponsored child care and early education centers in the U.S., Canada and Europe, to serve communities where its employees work and live, according to spokeswoman Karin Weaver. <strong>The</strong> foundation creates Bright Spaces — comfortable, welcoming areas for at-risk kids and families to learn and play — as one of its programs, Weaver said. Shelter officials had heard of the Bright Spaces program, and the foundation was enthusiastic about Shelter Network’s work and agreed to create the rooms at its facilities. <strong>The</strong> Maxwell Soke Brenner Bright Space is part of an effort to pay tribute to the family of Susan Brenner, a senior vice president of operations for Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Weaver said. Brenner’s grandson Max was born with a medical condition that claimed his life when he was only 3 months old, Weaver said. Bright Horizons staff raised about $20,000 to open a Bright Space at the <strong>Redwood</strong> Family Home in the infant’s name, she said. Wright said the child’s parents live in the Bay Area, providing an opportunity to pay tribute to them through the Bright Space at the <strong>Redwood</strong> Family home. “It all just kind of came together for them and for us, and it was just a really great connection,” Wright said. Brenner family members traveled from across the country to attend the ribbon-cutting Wednesday morning, the culmination of an effort Weaver said has been “a healing process” for the family. <strong>The</strong> Maxwell Soke Brenner Memorial Bright Space was designed, as are other Bright Spaces, by experts to specifically meet the educational and developmental needs of children of all age groups, Wright said. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Redwood</strong> Family House, home to nine homeless families with children ranging from infants to teens, is happy to have a space specially designed for children going through stressful times, she said. Bright Horizons has also provided children at the shelter with backpacks filled with books, art supplies and other materials, according to organizers. <strong>The</strong> next three Bright Spaces at Shelter Network’s other family shelters will be completed over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Wright. Additional information about Shelter Network is available online at www.shelternetwork. org, and information about Bright Horizons for Children is available online at www. brighthorizons.com/foundation. <strong>The</strong> Diving Pelican Cafe 650 Bair Island Road . <strong>Redwood</strong> City .(650) 368-3668 . From 101 take Whipple Avenue East Hours: Tues-Sun 8 AM - 3 pm www.divingpelicancafe.com Join us for outdoor dining on our sun-kissed deck. Enjoy a peaceful waterfront view and our home-cooked dishes made from only the freshest ingre-dients! We serve breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch, espresso, beer & wine. We have plenty of free parking only 5 minutes from Downtown <strong>Redwood</strong> City! Meal Club Memberships Available Now! Purchase 10 Meals, excluding Sunday's, and recieve your next, 11th meal FREE! Minimum purchase $8.00 - Maximum free meal value $10.00 www.<strong>Spectrum</strong><strong>Magazine</strong>.net
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