Promotoras: Building Health Equity In Our Communities
Promotoras working together, Fall 2023
In the spring of 2023, a team of Valley Settlement volunteers called promotoras began visiting with families in neighborhoods throughout our communities. Promotoras are highly trained community health workers who volunteer their time connecting families with resources for physical and mental health, food and clothing, pregnancy and infant needs, and so much more. These trusted community leaders bring lived experience, commitment, and deep empathy to their work. They meet with families one-on-one, spending time to understand the full scope of each family’s situation. They meet outside of traditional working hours, conducting home visits and calls in the evenings or on weekends to ensure they reach families in ways and at times that work for them. This intentional approach means promotoras grow to understand all the nuances of a family’s life, and can facilitate access to many diverse resources to support their health and stability. Since the project’s inception last year, the dedicated team of ten Promotoras has worked with 135 families throughout the region.
Family, Friends, and Neighbors: Promoting Early Literacy
Family, Friends, and Neighbors, Spring 2023
Childcare providers in our Family, Friends, and Neighbors (FFN) program have been learning about the different stages of early literacy and how children learn to write. Providers have utilized fun activities while teaching children to write, such as matching letters to corresponding pictures and providing handmade booklets for children to express their creativity by writing and drawing their own stories. One FFN staff member shares, “We get to see the excitement from caregivers when they learn new ways to support the development of each of [the children in their care].”
Learning with Love: Engaging the Whole Family
Learning with Love participants, Fall 2023
Family educators in the Learning with Love program have seen more fathers accompanying their partners and children to group classes, participating in story time, music, and movement activities, and answering the “question of the day.” Program staff say that it’s heartening to see so many dads taking an active role in their children’s education and social development. Among the many benefits of attending class, dads get to bond with their children in a meaningful way, create lasting memories every week, and provide children in class with a diverse range of role models.
Meet The Valley Settlement Team
Valley Settlement early childhood staff at the Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference, Spring 2024
Our team is diverse, with staff representing eight countries and many more cultures. We are committed to our communities, living our organizational values in all we do and bringing the best of ourselves to our work and each other. Click here to meet the team!
Did You Know?
Each year, we collect information on how we’re doing through pre- and post-program surveys, assessment tools, and rapid-cycle evaluations. External consultants analyze the data collected by staff throughout the program year. Our staff then gets together for a full day in the summer to review outcomes and discuss how to modify programs to better address needs in our communities. Learn more about our program outcomes here.
Valley Settlement’s mission is to listen to Latina families, and together create opportunities for early childhood and adult education, connection, and growth, so children and families can thrive.
Did you enjoy this blog post? Sign up below for our email list to receive regular updates.