At CentroNía, we believe that setting the stage for lifelong health and wellness is key to academic and social success. We’re all about helping kids, their families, and teachers develop healthy habits that impact them physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Early childhood education centers like ours are the perfect place to start building a culture of healthy living.
In 2022, The Washington Post highlighted our groundbreaking efforts in children’s nutrition and wellness. Our President and CEO, Myrna Peralta, noted that healthier eating habits help kids focus better, remember more, and interact more positively with each other. As the Food and Wellness Program Manager, I’m excited to say that our investment in this area continues to pay off in amazing ways.
Our mission is to educate families about healthy foods, promoting multicultural, healthy behaviors in our community. Thanks to the generous support from our donors, supporters, and community, we’ve been able to offer fun nutrition workshops, cooking classes, and affordable produce through our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and partnerships with organizations like FRESHFARM. This makes healthy living accessible and enjoyable for parents from all walks of life.
It’s incredibly rewarding to see the impact of our efforts, especially when parents and teachers tell us about their successes with new, nutritious recipes. These positive changes inspire our early learners to try different foods and build good habits. The feedback we receive validates our work and motivates us to keep finding new ways to support our families’ health.
We’re grateful to parents and educators for their dedication to promoting a healthy lifestyle for our kids. And a huge thank you to our donors and supporters—your generosity makes a real difference in the lives of the children and families we serve. In this edition of InSight and our upcoming Back-to-School Campaign, we invite you to learn more about our unique Food and Wellness Program and discover how you can invest in your own health and wellness by supporting your community!
Sincerely,
Victoria Reis
Food and Wellness Program Manager
Back to School Fundraising Event
Development & Communications Team Update: Carla Colón Departs CentroNía After 8 Years of Service
After eight years of dedicated service, Carla Colón sadly stepped down from her role as the Senior Development & Communications Officer at CentroNía. Her tenure has been marked by significant contributions to the organization, particularly in the realms of development and communications.
Carla joined CentroNía as the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO but made the transition into development and communications. Her efforts have not only strengthened the organization's government grant strategies but also significantly boosted its fundraising capabilities.
In her farewell message, Carla expressed her gratitude for the opportunities and experiences she gained at CentroNía. She acknowledged the support of her colleagues and the community, emphasizing that her journey at CentroNía has been both rewarding and fulfilling. We believe that with her expertise and passion she will undoubtedly continue to benefit whichever path she chooses to follow. CentroNía’s leadership has also expressed their appreciation for Carla's contributions and wished her success in her future endeavors.
Carla's departure marks the end of an era for CentroNía, but her legacy will undoubtedly endure. Her work has laid a strong foundation for future development endeavors in securing government grants, ensuring that CentroNía continues to thrive and serve its community effectively.
CentroNía's Community Informational Meeting
As we gear up to open the new child development center in Silver Spring, (CentroNía @ MGCDC), we started holding Community Informational/Q&A Sessions for the community to provide a progress report and answer the burning questions they have; particularly our parents and families who live around the new center.
The first of these sessions took place in June. We invited community members, business owners, and community leaders in Silver Spring to stop by to find out about the proposed center and the progress that has been made as we get closer to our grand opening.
Community Spotlight
We like to spotlight wonderful friends and organizations that have taken the time to help out CentroNía families in any way they can, whether through a generous donation or volunteering!
Recently, our friends at Small Things Matter made a donation in providing bags of fresh and healthy produce for families at our Maryland center.
Thank you to Small Things Matter and their contribution in helping the low-income, working families we serve. We love bringing fresh food and produce to our CentroNía early learners and parents!
Event Highlights
Pre-K Graduation
This past quarter we said goodbye to a few early learners as they were ready for the next big step, kindergarten!
Congratulations to all of our Pre-K students for this wonderful accomplishment. We are excited to know you all have reached school readiness and can't wait to see what you all do in the future and beyond!
Family Fun Day
A few months ago we had our annual Family Fun day event at our Maryland and Upshur centers! Thank you to our CentroNía families for stopping by and spending a wonderful afternoon with us.
Special thanks to all our partners and friends in the community for spending some time with CentroNía families and sharing their wonderful organizations and resources!
To see more pictures and for a list of organizations who participated, visit our Facebook page by clicking here!
Zumba-thon 2024
In June we held our annual Zumba-thon fundraising event for supporters to enjoy an evening filled with exciting Zumba!
We are grateful to everyone who came out and showed their support, all for early childhood education and care. We are especially thankful for Eric Ruiz who continues to donate his time and Zumba expertise, as we're always happy to have him at our center!
If you weren't able to attend but would still like to donate, click here.
Friends & Supporters
Beatriz BB Otero
Chelsey Christensen
Diane Kuhla
Lisa K Rosenstein
Patrick-Spencer Salami
Raquel Gomez
Rebecca Mimnall
Susan Trice
Foundations
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation
Gosnell Foundation
Walter A. Bloedorn Foundation