Greenville First Steps, in partnership with Connect 4 Good, euphoria, Table 301, Metro by T-Mobile, and GreenvilleParents.com, hosted a virtual cook-along to celebrate community partners who have made an impact within our community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is so important for us to say thank you to these parenting specialists and childcare center directors who made such a difference during this difficult year, “says Derek Lewis, Executive Director for Greenville First Steps.
In 2020, over 180 childcare providers joined Greenville First Steps to provide essential childcare services and expand to offer school-age services to students on days when they could not attend school face to face.
Additionally, 60 Triple P practitioners were trained to provide parenting supports to help families manage stress and cope with the challenges brought on by COVID-19. Using $3.7 million in CARES ACT funding, provided through Greenville County, Greenville First Steps supported these providers and the nearly 8,500 children served in their centers.
Part of the programming also included a surprise announcement of two Triple P Partners of the Year: Anna Claire Butler, a school counselor at Taylors Elementary School, and Dr. Gayle Ford of SHARE. These two Triple P practitioners designed and delivered a series of online community sessions to help parents during the difficult summer and fall months.
“We reached out to Metro By T-Mobile, Table 301 and Connect 4 Good, and they agreed to help us celebrate this group of community leaders,” Derek shared. “The participants enjoyed an online virtual cooking demonstration, led by Soby’s Chef Rodney, and a virtual concert with the Brooks Dixon Band. Everyone really appreciated this coordinated support from our community partners.”
Table 301 designed the menu, including boiled peanut hummus, pork tenderloin, and cranberry apple crisp, and the ingredients were packed into boxes by euphoria volunteers. Euphoria, the non-profit food, wine and music festival, is using the grant money to purchase meals from local restaurants and donate them to people impacted by COVID-19 through an initiative called Connect for Good GVL.
"It's amazing to see how many people have stepped up to help our community get through this pandemic together. Euphoria is honored to partner with Greenville First Steps to provide meal boxes from Table 301 for childcare providers and parenting specialists who went above and beyond to stay open and provide reliable solutions for working parents. Supporting local restaurants and giving back to our community is what euphoria is all about."
The virtual cook-along and concert were live-streamed on the Greenville First Steps Facebook page and remain available for the public to view.
