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June 10, 2019

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Uncategorized

Honoring Board Members Peter A. Alpaugh and David T. Wallace, Esq.

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This year Peter Alpaugh and Dave Wallace, two passionate, dedicated parents will be stepping down from the Beech Acres Parenting Center Board of Directors. Combined, Peter and Dave have served Beech Acres for nearly 20 years! Each of them possesses a real passion for service and for parenting which led them to serve on the board. Their individual strengths, wisdom, and leadership provided tremendous insight and value over their years of service. Peter A. Alpaugh Peter Alpaugh has been involved with Beech Acres Parenting Center for nearly 40 years. Peter is passionate about investing in the future of our community and strongly believes that means investing in parents, families, and children. Peter and his wife Vicki raised two daughters, Abigail and Amelia together. Peter was an active father to his daughters while they were growing up. He believes engaged, knowledgeable parents and open communications are the first lines of defense to counteracting the many challenges of raising kids today. This philosophy was a perfect fit for Peter’s tenure on the Beech Acres Board. It has also been a touchstone for him as he enjoys the role of grandfather to 9-year old Dyer and 4-year old Emeret (Abigail and Drew’s daughters) and 4-month-old Finnegan (Amelia and Matt’s son). During his tenure on the board, Peter has been instrumental to the success of our organization. He has invested his valuable time, financial resources, and most importantly, his insight and leadership into making our organization stronger. Peter understands the value and importance of parenting. He envisions a better community made stronger by equipping parents with the skills they need to become the best parents they can. “Kids need good life skills and parents are an important part of that,” Alpaugh said in a 2017 interview. He views the drug epidemic and bullying as two of the biggest problems we are facing as a community. “Parents are the first line of defense when it comes to their kids turning to drugs,” said Alpaugh. Teaching parents to understand their strengths and be intentionally involved in their child’s life is our approach to improving the circumstances for families and helping them address the challenging issues they face each day. Peter Alpaugh’s generous donations of time, insight, and money have and will continue to be tremendous assets to Beech Acres Parenting Center. Despite exiting the Board of Directors, Peter Alpaugh’s legacy will be felt in the community now, and for many years to come. Thank you, Peter, for your kind and selfless generosity. You have certainly impacted many lives. David T. Wallace, Esq. After serving on the Board of Directors at Beech Acres Parenting Center for a decade Dave Wallace is stepping down to focus on family and pursue other interests. Dave was drawn to Beech Acres Parenting Center after meeting Jim Mason soon after the transition to the modern parenting center had been completed. “I already had an appreciation for the importance of parenting,” Dave said. “I had a great set of parents myself and appreciated the impact parents have on their children.” Impressed with the work Beech Acres Parenting Center was doing in the community, Dave joined the outreach committee and eventually became a board member. “One thing that grabbed me about Beech Acres was that it was an organization devoted to parenting,” Dave said. “That focus gets us upstream of many of the problems we have in society.” During his tenure as a board member at Beech Acres Parenting Center Dave was most impressed with a proactive approach championed by Jim Mason. “Social services are usually in a position where they are cleaning up a problem,” Dave observed. “One of Beech Acres goals has been to be proactive about preventing problems before they manifest.” Dave was particularly impressed with the introduction of Natural Strength Parenting™, Beech Acres Parenting Center’s unique approach to parenting. “I have been a fan and advocate of Natural Strength Parenting™,” Dave said. “strength-based approach mingled with intentionality and mindfulness strikes me as really intuitive and has really resonated with me.” Dave has high hopes for the future of the organization. “I hope the organization continues to thrive,” Dave said. “The more people we can help and educate about Natural Strength Parenting™ the better for the community.” As impressive as Dave’s impact and legacy is at Beech Acres Parenting Center, his proudest legacy is his three daughters. Dave and his wife Shelly have three daughters, Laura, Becca, and Susan. “I’m lucky to have three wonderful daughters,” Dave reflected. “Shelly is the best mother I have ever seen. We’re really fortunate.” On parenting, Dave said, “Good parenting is equal amount good luck and hard work.” His and Shelly’s hard work clearly paid off. Here is Dave’s true legacy, as told straight from his daughters. Laura Wallace: A pop culture connoisseur, my dad recommended much of the media that comprised my formative years: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, The His Dark Materials Trilogy, and Harry Potter, each of which feature a spunky, too-smart-for-her-own- good heroine. When we pointed out this “coincidence” recently, he admitted that, unbeknownst to us, he had intentionally cultivated media recommendations with strong female role models for us. Of course, he did – this is just one of the many ways my dad thoughtfully inspired us to be our best selves.   Becca Wallace: My dad is the golden example of showing your love for your family and your community through service. When we were growing up, my mom had to travel for work every once in a while, and anytime that happened, led by dad, we completed surprise home improvement projects so that my mom would return and know how much she was loved. Similarly, every time I came home from college, I would find homemade cookies and applesauce waiting for me and know how much my dad missed me and loved me. It has been truly incredible to see him show this same type of love to the Cincinnati community through his service on non-profit boards. Susan

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Parent Connext™

One Mom’s Parent Connext™ Story

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Kayla’s son Jordan* was exhibiting extremely disruptive behavior at school. His behavior had become so severe that Kayla was forced to remove him from kindergarten. Jordan was only 5-years-old at the time and his mother was desperate for improvement in his behavior and peace in their lives. “Kayla initially came in due to the disruptive and sometimes physically aggressive behavior the child had at school and was now having at home,” Shawn, Kayla’s Parent Connext™ Parenting Specialist said. Kayla was a single mom struggling with her own anxiety and depression and she and Jordan were living with her parents. Because of her busy work schedule, Jordan was spending much of his time with his grandparents whose parenting philosophies did not necessarily align with Kayla’s. She was determined to improve her family’s situation and become a better mother to her son. Kayla sought help at her pediatrician’s office. Kayla’s pediatrician completed an initial assessment and determined Parent Connext™ may be a good solution for her. Kayla was connected with Shawn that same day. “Kayla had great parenting instincts but did not trust herself,” Shawn said. Shawn first focused on identifying Kayla’s strengths. This would provide a solid foundation on which to build. “We identified her strengths of patience, fairness, bravery, prudence, judgment, love, and listening,” Shawn said. With these Natural Strength Parenting™ tools in place Kayla was equipped to begin having powerful, necessary conversations with her son, her parents, and Jordan’s school. Kayla’s primary concern at home was a lack of structure provided for Jordan by her parents while she was working. With Jordan no longer being in school, the lack of structure at home was causing him to spiral out of control. Kayla relied on her strengths of bravery and judgment to approach her parents about these issues. Once these conversations occurred, Kayla established trust and understanding with her parents and they suddenly became a team with Jordan’s best interest in focus. Together, they were able to establish a daily routine for Jordan. This had an immediate, positive effect on his behavior. With some visible progress, Kayla pushed for a more unified approach to raising Jordan. She was appreciative of her parent’s help but needed them to understand her desires for their future. “We worked toward empowering Kayla to have the difficult conversation with her parents regarding her parenting philosophy,” Shawn said. Kayla felt her parents undermined her authority which was confusing to Jordan. By having this conversation with her parents, they became closely aligned in their parenting approach. Together they began setting limits for Jordan and following through with the agreed upon consequences for negative behaviors. Jordan’s improvement and the new-found serenity at home inspired Kayla to explore self- care and address her own mental health issues. Kayla is now in individual therapy and Jordan has returned to school. Kayla established a proactive working relationship with Jordan’s teacher and they communicate regularly. Through her own desire to find effective solutions for herself and Jordan, Kayla found her strengths and set herself on the path to be the best parent she could be for Jordan. Natural Strength Parenting™ provided the tools she needed to initiate real change in her environment and strengthen her family. Jordan has returned to school and has been incident free since his return. Help moms like Kayla by supporting Beech Acres Parenting Center today!  

Photo of a mother namedTiffany and her son Trey Gruen Sands Montessori holding a Beech Acres frame around them for a photo
The Character Effect™

A Mindful Teacher and a Strong Mom, A Unique Perspective on The Character Effect™

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“The Character Effect™ has impacted me on two different levels.” Teacher and mom Tiffany Gruen is in a unique position to understand The Character Effect™, the social and emotional curriculum based on mindfulness and character strengths. The program has been implemented at the school she teaches and in the school her son attends. “I noticed my son using mindful breathing techniques that neither my husband nor I had taught him,” Tiffany said. “To see this application of self-regulation away from school was inspiring.” Tiffany and her son attended The Character Effect™ Family Bingo night at Sands Montessori soon after she began to notice her son’s mindful behavior. Tiffany was impressed. “Not only did the event bring my family together in a unique way, but it introduced me to The Character Effect™ curriculum, awakening my understanding of its impact on my child,” she said. After witnessing the positive impact The Character Effect™ had on her son, his classmates and his teachers at Sands first-hand, Tiffany was excited to see the program implemented at Miles Elementary in Erlanger, Kentucky where she is an Instructional Coach. “As an educator, I know there are a million barriers that our students can face, yet we only have so many tools in our toolkit,” she said. “The Character Effect™ curriculum and coaching provides a “how-to” to address the self- regulation needs of all students.” The Character Effect™ curriculum is designed to increase children’s social-emotional competencies, increase parent engagement in their child’s education, and improve teachers’ satisfaction by helping them get back the joy of teaching kids. The program aims to achieve these aspirations by first helping teachers, students, and parents discover and build their unique character strengths. “I’ve seen students in our pilot classes utilize the techniques and “strength spot” one another outside of their classrooms,” Tiffany observed. The Character Effect™ also models how to effectively use mindfulness in the classroom, at home, and anywhere else they may need it. “Not only do they actively engage with the mindful moments and strength-based approach, but, more importantly, they transfer those skills outside of the classroom and into their lives.” To learn more about The Character Effect™ visit https://thecharactereffect.org

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Schools

Sayler Park Food Pantry

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Stacey* is a busy mom with three busy children. Every Wednesday she and her children catch a Metro to the nearest grocery store five miles away. They shop and then wait for the bus to head back home. They then carry their six bags of groceries about half a mile to their house. This is the reality for many families in the quaint, tight-knit neighborhood of Sayler Park. Cincinnati’s western- most neighborhood, Sayler Park is a virtual food desert. The one-mile long neighborhood runs parallel to the Ohio River and is laid out in beautiful, walkable blocks about two miles wide. Its location places Sayler Park away from most of the more populous Cincinnati neighborhoods, cut off from the rest of the city by miles of river-based industry running through neighboring Riverside and Sedamsville. Be Moore, a Beech Acres Parenting Center Family Peer Support Provider, envisioned a different reality for the families of Sayler Park. In 2017, Be championed the Blessing Box, a tiny cabinet in the library that housed non-perishable food and hygiene items. While the Blessing Box was indeed a blessing for some of the families, donations were sporadic, stock levels were low, and ultimately it was an inadequate solution for the families at the school.   “I wanted to do more for the families at Sayler Park Elementary School,” Be said. The expansion of the Blessing Box began with a partnership with LaSoupe. LaSoupe is a local non-profit that bridges the gap between food waste and community hunger by reclaiming otherwise wasted food to make delicious, nutritious soup for those in need. They began providing soup and other snacks to Sayler Park. “As much as this helped, it still did not meet the needs of many families,” Be commented.    Next, Be reached out to the Freestore Foodbank. After several meetings, Sayler Park was approved to host a food pantry. “The Freestore Foodbank provided two shelving units, a deep freezer, and a monthly allocation of $750 per month,” Be said. This proved to be a game changer for the community. Since opening two months ago, the food pantry has served 39 families, many of whom are repeat customers. An added benefit from the food pantry is the trust that is built with the families. Be and the rest of the team at Sayler Park Elementary School have become a respected asset to the community. “The food pantry allows me to connect with families I would not otherwise come into contact with and address other resource needs they may be experiencing such as clothing, school supplies, rent/utility assistance, and of course mental health support,” Be observed. By connecting closely with families and providing a valuable and much-needed resource like the food pantry, Beech Acres staff members are able to focus on important behavioral and mental health needs of the students without worrying about a client’s hunger or nutrition. “Regardless of their individual circumstances, parents no longer have to struggle to feed their children, and those children are coming to school well-fed and ready to learn. Support the awesome work being done in schools with a monthly gift to Beech Acres Parenting Center. 

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Uncategorized

“I Matter” A Tribute to Sharon James

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The 2nd annual Sharon James Day of Awakening Joy will take place next week on November 18th, 2020. Sharon James was a beloved member of the Beech Acres Parenting Center staff who was instrumental in developing Natural Strength Parenting™, our unique approach to parenting and building our effective parent coaching model. We’ll be celebrating Sharon’s life as a team and will also invite you to set an intention to awaken joy in your life. Earlier this year the Beech Acres Parenting Center family was shaken by the sudden passing of Sharon James, a beloved and cherished member of our community since October 2001. Sharon James was a loving mother, sister, and aunt, a skilled and caring parent coach, respected co-worker, and a much-loved friend. Sharon dedicated her life to helping parents raise children. Whether it was through her work with divorced parents, which was her true passion, new parents, blended families, families in crisis, or parents struggling with complex emotional issues, she offered hope for a brighter future. President & CEO Jim Mason had this to say about his longtime colleague and dear friend: “Sharon personified Beech Acres Parenting Center’s core values throughout her long and prolific career here. In many ways, this work was her life’s purpose. She embraced every opportunity to learn and grow as a person and professional. She generously shared her insights with thousands of others and was humbly open to learning from them as well. She left an enormous legacy to Beech Acres’ future. I am in awe and profoundly grateful for what she has done for our mission and everyone she touched. Mine is among those lives most moved. I will miss her deeply.” In tribute to Sharon James and her legacy here a 14-year-old client wanted to share with us how Sharon taught her to know that she mattered. Though our hearts are broken, we celebrate Sharon’s life and legacy with tremendous gratitude. Her dedication to improving the world every day through her work with parents was a genuine inspiration to everyone whom she met. Her smile was authentic, her demeanor caring yet never judgmental, and her presence was powerful and uplifting. She will be missed.

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