Week 4

This week will be much like the previous week as I chose the same organizations for community helpers.

3 Local or State Organizations

Bright From the Start- This is a local organization here in my home state of Georgia. It provides various services for many of the childcare facilities here in Georgia. They are responsible for things such as licensing as well as ensuring that daycare centers and early childhood programs meet the safety, educational, and nutritional needs of the young children they serve. This organization definitely sparked my interest because it teams with the government as well as our local Head Start Association that's located in Atlanta. As for jobs Pre-K consultant as well as Pre-K teacher are a couple of job openings that this organization offers. For the consultant job the responsibility of the individual hired is to oversee Pre-K centers in public schools and early childhood centers of which they have been assigned. The requirement in education is a Masters degree along with two years of early childhood experience. The pay rocks as well, anywhere from $36,000-$52,000. As for pre-k teachers, it depends on where they work. Most centers would prefer a bachelors but in some places an Associates will suffice. In public schools the teacher must have a bachelors as well as certification to be a lead pre-k teacher.  

Boys and Girls Club of America-  There are many Boy and Girls Clubs around the world. They all have the same mission, and that's to provide a safe haven for young and older children to get them off the street and focus on the positive aspects of their young lives. I have a love for this organization as it relies on the help of other organizations to stay open and operate. This program has a realm of many collaborations; so I think it's safe to say they must have great communication skills as well as other collaborative skills when trying to get support from others. Mentors director is one of the jobs that I chose for this organization. Many were listed but the one that appealed to me most was the mentor director. Boys and Girls Club America (2016) states the following about the job description, "Under the supervision of the Executive Director of the FCBGC, the Frank Callen Mentoring Program Director is responsible for oversight and ongoing development and implementation of the Frank Callen Mentoring Program. Ideally, the Mentoring Program Director is a Mental Health Professionals who will establish the Program Model by recruiting, training, and matching volunteers, as well as responsible for managing risk. They ensure uniformity of training curriculum, data collection, outcome objectives, and ongoing clinical support. The Mentoring Director serves as the clinical mind for the program and is responsible for messaging, marketing, and brokering linkages to all available resources (e.g., facilities, human resources, risk management, volunteers, etc.)" (p.1). The requirements educationally is a bachelors degree. The pay starts out at 32,000

National Head Start Association- This is an organization that will always remain near and dear to my heart because teaching children and helping families who are less fortunate is a great feeling. This organizations mission is to provide quality care to children of families with low-income. They always stand in support of the program; and they will go head first in their action plans to support the Head Start Program. When Head Start was in trouble a couple of years back they made it their mission to type up letters to members as well as current and prior Head Start parents. These letters were intended for legislative officials who felt that the program didn't work and were tying to reduce funding. Not only did the officials from the organization take the letters, but themselves as well as others who were willing to speak on behalf f the program! This is a company that I would love to have back me up in my efforts to advocate and potentially help in improving some areas of the program that needs improving. Data specialist and Early Childhood Mentor/Coach were the two available jobs closest to my location. Each job was located in Macon, Georgia which is about 30 minutes away from my home. I attempted to find out educational and other requirements for both jobs but I would have to be a member to find that information out, which I'm not! The data specialist deals with more of the "office side" of NHSA, whereas the early childhood mentor/coach deals with the educational side of NHSA. 
                                  References
www.nhsa.org
decal.ga.gov
Boys and Girls Club of America. (2016). Careers. www.bgca.org/Careers/Pages/Careers.aspx