Annual Report 2007-2008(color).pub - Town of South Windsor

Youth and Family Services
of the facility. In April, the group hosted a Field
Day at the Rotary Pavilion. Activities included
wiffle ball games, face painting, crafts and
temporary tattoos. Children were charged $2 to
participate in the event with all proceeds
benefiting the South Windsor Bark Park.
Deputy Mayor Cary Prague presents a
Town Council Proclamation to
Jo-Ann Ciccaglione at the Teen Center 20 th
Anniversary Celebration
PALS CARE Kids at the Connecticut Humane
Society in Newington
State Senator Gary LeBeau and
Representative Bill Aman
Congratulate the South Windsor Teen Center
PALS CARE – Positively Affecting Life in South
Windsor where our Community Accepts and
Respects Everyone
PALS CARE is a dynamic leadership group for
twenty 4 th and 5 th grade students from all five
elementary schools. The purpose of the group is
to promote acceptance, diversity and civic duty
within the South Windsor community. All projects
are designed and implemented by the students
with the guidance from the Youth and Family
Services Youth Counselor, Jennifer Anderson.
This year the group was very busy with various
community service projects. In December, the
group held a bake sale and donated all proceeds
to the “Golf Fore the Kids” fund, in honor of Jacob
Osit. In February, the group hosted a BINGO to
benefit the Newington Humane Society.
Admission to the event was a used towel or
blanket. The PALS CARE members also sold
baked goods during the BINGO and raised
additional $175 for the facility. The group then
delivered the donated items and received a tour
Youth and Family Services School Outreach
Specialist, Susan Tandy, is the liaison to Timothy
Edwards Middle School. She provides a direct
referral route to our services and she plays an
integral role in a variety of programs at TE Middle
School. Such programs include The Hartford
Choice Program, School Based Mentoring
Program, Jump Start Tutoring Program, Student
and Senior Citizen Connection Program, South
Windsor High School Gardening Project, and the
CARE Closet. Additionally, Susan coordinates
several holiday giving projects including Adopt a
South Windsor Family, Donate a Turkey and
collections for Peter’s Retreat and the Harford
House.
The “Jump Start” peer to peer tutoring program
has been tremendously successful and continues
to grow each year. This year 70 High School
students volunteered their free time each week to
tutor Timothy Edwards Middle School students.
All of the students involved are benefiting from
this experience and having a great time doing it.
The program received recognition from both the
Board of Education and the Connecticut School
Counselor’s Association. The program also
received a grant from the South Windsor
Education Fund.
The South Windsor Mentoring Program had
another very successful year. The program is a
partnership between Youth and Family Services,
Town of South Windsor: Annual Report 2007/2008 | 39