In the first round of presentations, seven Mothers' Centers on Long Island hosted informational sessions about What Every Parent Needs to Know. With the support of the National Association of Mothers' Centers (NAMC), and funding from the Long Island Fund for Women & Girls, local Mothers' Center are proud to be part of an exciting collaboration called The Early Years Matter to bring vital information to Long Island parents. To date, seven sessions have been completed in fall '06, with more to follow. Watch this space for your chance to participate.

The goal is to present information about what simple things parents can do to impact positively on their child's development. What will help most is not expensive, time-consuming or hard. We're sure there'll be a time and place that will be convenient to your busy schedule.

The NAMC has been participating in The Early Years Matter Campaign in a number of communities throughout Nassau & Suffolk Counties in NY during the months of March and April 2006. Those session were presented by the Long Island Fund for Women and Girls, and the Long Island Women's Agenda in affiliation with the NAMC, the Child Care Councils of Nassau and Suffolk, Early Care and Education - Long Island, Parenting Matters and the Rauch Foundation.

This was a first-of-its-kind awareness campaign developed in cooperation with more than 60 of the region's premiere women's organizations. The campaign began with a series of nine free workshops for parents of children ages 0 - 5 years which were offered in both English and Spanish. Each session covered each of three topics: What Parents Need to Know; How to Speak Up for Your Child; and Accessing Resources. Parents realized they were not alone and that there are resources available to them as they do this important work.