North Bay Children’s Center’s Bright Futures Makes Impact

“In 2018, Kaiser Permanente granted $150,000 to the North Bay Children’s Center’s (NBCC) Bright Futures campaign to help insure in the broadest sense a healthy path of for a successful life for all children, “said Alena Wall, Regional Community Health Manager, Kaiser Permanente. “We support the total health of the communities we serve, which includes addressing the social determinants of health and instilling healthier habits early in life.”

“Evidence demonstrates that two years of post-secondary education is a key indicator for a healthier life,” said Patricia Kendall, Medical Group Administrator, Kaiser Permanente and Member, NBCC Board of Directors. The two year post high school education is best predicted by reading at the third-grade level in the third grade. And the best indicator of the reading appropriately is attending a qualified pre-school. Kendall believes, “Health begins in pre-school and we are blessed to have the model for the nation in NBCC.”

“On May 22, we celebrated the opening of our new temporary campus that will serve as our Novato home for 125 children over the next two years while we launch the next phase of the Bright Futures construction project to rebuild our C Street Campus,“ said  Susan Gilmore, Founder and Executive Director of NBCC. “The financial support from Kaiser Permanente is helping us make our vision — of giving all children the strong start they deserve — a reality.”

According to Gilmore, NBCC’s Bright Futures campaign will rebuild, re-equip and modernize the C Street Campus in Novato expanding its capacity by 37% to serve 190 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers annually with high quality child care and early education. These efforts will also help NBCC grow innovative programs like the Garden of Eatin’® Nutrition Education program into a national model intentionally designed to facilitate education, promote engagement and build strong school and public partnerships that stimulate healthy communities.

NBCC developed the Garden of Eatin’ program 15 years ago in response to the growing childhood obesity epidemic. The program teaches garden-based nutrition and health education to children and families using evidence-based strategies with measurable outcomes. Kendall added, “The Garden of Eatin’ is an example of how to introduce local fruits and vegetables to the next generation so their ‘go-too and comfort foods’ are the healthier options and also teaching families how best to prepare the fresh foods—this will help promise a brighter future.”\

To learn more about the North Bay Children’s Center and how you can get involved, please visit the campaign web site. For more details about the Bright Futures campaign, visit https://www.nbcc.net/donate/bright-futures-campaign/ or the Garden of Eatin’, visit https://www.nbcc.net/garden-of-eatin/.