Families Enjoy Breakfast with Santa

On December 10, children from the Center had the chance to visit with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and their elf-helper during our annual Breakfast with Santa event.  Following a hot breakfast, children worked on craft projects and each took a turn with Santa.  Each child received a book, courtesy of First Books, and a new toy to take home.

Stand Up for Kids Coming in February

Join us on February 24, 2012 for the Fifth Annual Stand Up for Kids Comedy Night and Auction!

This year’s Stand Up for Kids event promises to keep you laughing all night long, while raising money to benefit the Center’s scholarship program.  Comedian Dan Chopin is returning as our opening act, and he will also be our emcee for the evening.  Our headlining comedian is Mark Sweeney, and we’ll enjoy music by Lucky Dan and Naked Mike throughout the event.  Click here to read more about Dan Chopin and Mark Sweeney.   Your ticket to the event includes dinner, entertainment, and an open bar. Click here to purchase tickets.

The event features an expanded auction this year with terrific items including something for everyone!  Live auction items include a round of golf at TPC Sawgrass, a custom trip to California wine country, Blues hockey tickets, opening day Cardinals tickets and more.  Here’s the current list of live auction items.  Check back regularly for updates.  We especially want to thank our corporate sponsors:

Platinum Sponsor: River City Casino
Cocktail Hour Sponsor: Midwest BankCentre
Gold Level Sponsors: Mount Hope Cemetery, Ameren, St. Louis County Economic Council, and Centene
Silver Level Sponsors: Hoffmeister South County Chapel, Montgomery Bank, and Sam’s Club
Bronze Level Sponsors: Cocos Plumbing, IBEW Local 1, Cement Masons Local 527, Roofers Local #2, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local #562,

Corporate Sponsorships are still available.  Click here to sponsor the event, or contact Megan Green at 314-544-3338 for more information.

Event Details:

Children’s Trust Fund Grant Will Support Family Programs

The Center is honored to be selected as a grant recipient from the Children’s Trust Fund of Missouri for 2011-2012.  The Center will use the funds to support our programs for families, including Parent Cafes, Family Social Events, Family Field Trips, and parenting education programs.

Elaine Powers represented the Center at a grant award ceremony in September. Also pictured are CTF Executive Director Kirk Schreiber, MO State Representative Jill Schupp, and CTF Chairperson Patrice Mugg.

Summer School-Agers Enjoy Science Center Presentation

Our summer school-age program is off to a great start !  The children are having an amazing time and have been on several field trips, including fishing and roller skating.  We’ve also enjoyed special presentations, including “Grossology” with the St. Louis Science Center. The children really enjoyed the hands-on science experiments!

Making noisemakers with the Science Center

Spring Concerts Are a Big Hit!

In May, parents and grandparents packed the Center to enjoy the children’s annual spring concerts.  Coordinated by teacher Carla Goodwin, every classroom performed songs with a “rainbow” theme.

Families Enjoy Tailgate Sale

In spite of the threat of bad weather, the Center held our first Community Fair and Tailgate sale on May 21.  Several families and local businesses enjoyed great traffic at their tailgate booths, selling everything from clothing to household items and from toys to sports equipment.  Special displays included St. Louis County Health Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, antique fire engines, and a major display of model trains from the St. Louis Lionel Railroad Club.

The day included carnival games and face painting for kids; snacks and drinks; and two raffles.  Special thanks to our raffle prize donors: Barron Gymnastics, Cotton Babies, Fitwize 4 Kids, Sarah Moon, Spanky’s Custared, Swing-A-Round Fun Town, and World Martial Arts Academy.

Children Enjoy Story Telling with “Mama Katambwa”

Recently the Center enjoyed a visit from storyteller Mama Katambwa.  Everyone including infants and toddlers, preschoolers, school-agers , and teachers enjoyed her songs and stories.  It was especially fun because the kids had plenty of opportunities to dance, sing, play instruments, and act in the stories. 

St. Louis Food Factory Teaches About Nutrition

Volunteers from the St. Louis Food Factory have teamed up with Lemay Child & Family Center to support our nutrition and gardening programs.  On Martin Luther King Day, they visited the Center and helped the school-age children prepare foods using fresh fruits and vegetables.  The children had a great time learning and trying “beet smoothies” and chili.  Each child also took home the recipes so parents can try out different foods, too!

Children Learn About Emotions with their Friend “Al”

Preschoolers enjoy singing along with “Al.”

Happy? Sad? Angry? Afraid? The Center’s new social-emotional curriculum – called “Al’s Pals” is helping children learn to identify and manage a wide range of emotions, to help them develop their social skills.

Funded with a grant from the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis, the Al’s Pals program includes puppets, songs and other fun ways to help children learn.

The teachers completed an extensive curriculum training program prior to starting the new curriculum.

Holiday Party with the Cardinals

On December 10, nine preschoolers from the Center attended a holiday party hosted by Cardinals Care! The children were treated to snacks, visits with Fred Bird, and autographs from former and current Cardinals players. Many thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals for providing this opportunity for the children.

Stand Up for Kids Raises More Than $19,000!

Comedians Johnny Kavanaugh and Brian Hicks kept the crowd laughing at our Stand Up for Kids comedy event on February 11.  Through underwriting, ticket sales, an auction and other donations, the event raised more than $19,000 for the Center.

Special thanks to Royale Orleans Banquet Center for hosting the event and to all of the volunteers who helped to make the event a success.

Underwriters for the event included:

Platinum Sponsor:  River City Casino

Bar Sponsor: Midwest BankCentre

Gold Sponsor: Mount Hope Cemetery

Silver Sponsor: Centene Corp.

Bronze Sponsors: Bricklayers Local #1, Cement Masons Local #527, Heat & Frost Insulators Local #1, IBEW Local #1, Insurance Advisors, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local #562, Roofers Union Local #2, R.G. Ross Construction, Southern Commercial Bank, R.V. Wagner, and Tim Weber/Edward Jones Financial.

We were thrilled to have emcee and auctioneer Jim Holder back with us for the fourth year, and the Facts O’ Life band provided great live music during dinner. 

Many thanks to our committee members for all the hard work:  Matt Azar, Greg Hayden, Barb Hehmeyer, Dave Gruber, Dan Iadevito, Barb Rogg, Donna Schumann, and Robyn Sobo.

Check out more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.