​We are incredibly grateful to Rev. Marc J. Boswell, M.Div., Ph.D who is the Executive Director of Together for Hope, Louisiana and Managing Editor for the Progressive Southern Theologians. 

Marc donated critical supplies to Family Child Care Providers in East Carroll Parish including Mechelle Lockhart’s FCC, Ms Cookie’s Daycare, Ms. Jean’s Daycare, and Siggers Home Day Care. 

Because supplies have been low, these providers greatly appreciate the support while providing care to children of essential personnel. 

At the Children's Coalition, we encourage our employees to volunteer with other local nonprofits in the Northeast LA region. Director of Ancillary Teaching Certificates Earnestine Dunn, Childcare Connections & Lead Agency Data Manager Jennifer Calhoun, and Life Skills Coordinator Tammy Washington all participated in Go Red Day. Go Red Day occurs on the first Friday in February every year to raise awareness for about heart disease in women. Development Director Sarah Floyd and Director of Accounting Eddie Hernandez volunteered with the LCPA at the Food Bank for Northeast Louisiana. 

Stay tuned as we announce teams who will compete in the 2020 Children's Coalition Dragon Boat Festival! 

KTVE|KARD, MONROE, La. (Press Release) – (12/2/19) The Children’s Coalition of Monroe made an announcement that they are in need of items and volunteers for Giving Tuesday.

#GivingTuesday is a national day of giving celebrated after Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Give the gift of your time and volunteer with us. Volunteers will assist with tasks like sorting donated items, garden maintenance and toy cleaning.

Give the gift of basic needs by donating diapers, wipes, new or gently used children’s books or new children’s socks.

Give the gift of a monetary donation to help us continue to fill in the gaps where our community most needs.

​The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana and Lake D’Arbonne State Park are hosting the 9th Annual Dia de la Familia: Family Fun Day.  This family fun day is planned for Saturday, October 19th at Lake D’Arbonne State Park in Farmerville, LA from 3:00 PM-7:00 PM.  There will be free entrance to the park for all attendees that day.
  
What began as a fundraiser for a local Hispanic church with 150 attendees has continued to grow to 460 people in attendance in 2018.  This event promotes healthy living fitness as well as the features and activities available at the state park.  It also celebrates the growing number of Hispanic families in Union Parish and serves as a fundraiser for local Spanish speaking churches who prepare authentic Hispanic dishes on site.
 
This year’s scheduled activities include ponies, a petting zoo, clown show as well as a soccer tournament and food contests.  Attendees will have the opportunity to win door prizes throughout the event, connect with local agencies and organizations in the resource area and participate in interactive activities in Kids Area and Teen Zone. 
 
The Children’s Coalition’s Healthy Living Coordinator Mary Barrios says “We are so excited to be hosting our 9th annual event!  We have had such amazing support from our community, state park and our partners.   We invite everyone to celebrate with us at our family friendly event.”
 
Sponsors for this year’s event include title sponsor, Healthy Blue, Reeves Memorial Medical Center, Union General Hospital, Mabry Construction, CommuniHealth(Morehouse Community Medical Center), Louisiana Healthcare Connections, Origin Bank and Union Parish Sheriff Dusty Gates.
 
For additional information, please call Mary Barrios at 318-323-8775.

The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana opened its community garden to the parents and children of Monroe for a morning of cultural education and outdoor fun as they celebrated Latin heritage.

From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 21, the Children’s Coalition hosted its monthly event, Super Saturday, which is held on the third Saturday of every month.
 
September’s Super Saturday event was also the Children’s Coalition’s annual Latin heritage event. Bilingual speakers and students from West Monroe High School’s Spanish club volunteered to help set up and run the event.

Activities included a Spanish language bingo game and an interactive gardening workshop in which the children could participate in all aspects of maintaining the community garden.
 
Students from the University of Louisiana at Monroe ran a health awareness booth, preparing several posters featuring the dangers of alcohol and prescription drug abuse. In the community garden area, children played with an old-style hand operated water pump and enjoyed tacos made with vegetables grown right in the garden itself.
 
Several parents and children attended the free event to enjoy the sun, fun and culture. Many parents were excited about the idea of their children getting to participate in the community garden, and the gardening experts made the process fun and engaging, even for the smaller children.

One mother described how the community garden gives her son an experience that can be difficult to find living in a city like Monroe. “I like that the kids can get in here and get their hands dirty and learn about nature and things like that-things that he doesn’t get at my house,” she said.
 
At one activity station where the children were asked to peel the leafy coating from a batch of seeds, this volunteer watched as one girl began peeling a seed, and in just a few seconds, another girl eagerly ran up to the station and asked, “Can I peel the seeds, too?”
 
This was the atmosphere as groups of children rotated around the various activity stations in the garden. While one group fertilized soil and planted seeds in an empty plot, other groups prepared seeds or followed a guide around the garden, learning about the different plants that had already been planted.
 
The play area of the community garden also demonstrated the virtues of recycling, with shredded rubber bits cushioning the ground and old pots, pans, spoons and spatulas hanged on the fence for the children to make their own “music.”
 
If you missed this Super Saturday event and would like to know when the next one will be held, or if you’re interested in other Children’s Coalition events, you can find schedule and volunteer information at www.childrenscoalition.org/events.