Child Care Council of Nassau (Council) and the Nassau County Association for the Education of Young Children (NCAEYC) hosted their 16th annual Stand for Children Day at Eisenhower Park on Friday, May 31.
The annual event commemorates the first Stand for Children rally in 1996 in Washington D.C., which drew over 300,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial. This year’s event attracted 250 children from 19 different child care programs across Nassau County. Legislator Dave Denenberg, Legislator Rose Marie Walker, and John Imhof, Commissioner of Nassau County Department of Social Services, all attended the event. They each presented citations to the Margo O’Connor Advocate of the Year Award recipient and planted flowers in the garden with the children.
The day began with the presentation of the Margo O’Connor Advocate of the Year Award to Rose Frazier of Hempstead, New York, in honor of her forty years of dedicated child care service. Frazier continues caring for children today; many of them being the grandkids of the children she formerly cared for.
“I get so much pleasure out of seeing my former daycare children as adults, and it’s nice to know they still trust me to take care of their children,” Frazier said. “Although I only have two biological children, I was blessed to help raise hundreds of others.”
The award presentation was followed by an interactive musical act by “Beth and Scott.” The performance got the children up on their feet to sing and dance along with the performers.
The final portion of the day involved the children planting flowers in the park’s Children’s Garden. The planting of the seedlings serves as a re-confirmation of the community’s commitment to quality child care and early education.
Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit organization that has served the community since 1972. Our vision is for all families to have access to quality child care and early learning that fosters successful growth and development for every child. The Council is located at 925 Hempstead Turnpike, Suite 400, Franklin Square, NY 11010-3626, and can be reached at (516) 358-9250, fax (516) 358-9287. The Child Care Resource and Referral line is (516) 358-9288. For more information please visit www.childcarenassau.org.
