Enriching the family
By Steve Herring
Published in News on July 28, 2017 6:46 AM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
The idea behind the duck pond game was to stand outside the pool and dig through the balls in search of a rubber duck. But Yaritiz Ceranos, 3, dove into the pool to play with the ball Thursday during WAGES' first Family Enrichment Day.
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Jonah Reyes, left, and Ariel Estrada stand in the shade of the bouncy house to eat ice cream.
A'Ja Holloway let her mother, Nikki Battle, help her glue brightly colored feathers onto her cutout wings.
But when it came time to place the stickers, the 3-year-old wanted to do it all herself. She even tried to help her mother write her name on each wing.
The decorating complete, A'Ja donned her wings and headed out with her mother to enjoy the many other activities at Thursday afternoon's Family Enrichment Day on the WAGES campus on Royall Avenue.
It was WAGES' first Family Enrichment Day, but the plan is to make it an annual event, said Martha Durhal, WAGES director of children and family services.
To help beat the heat there was bottled water, flavored ice, cotton candy and ice cream.
Social worker Shurod Hieke wore a large yellow umbrella hat to help try to stay cool, and some of the children's activities were set up under trees for shade.
A bouncy house was set up. The Goldsboro Fire Department had a large ladder truck on site and firefighters were passing out red plastic fire helmets.
"We are doing it as an activity for all residents of Wayne County to kind of showcase the services that WAGES offers," Ms. Durhal said.
It also was an opportunity to showcase WAGES' partners such as the Women, Infants, and Children program, fire department, library and Partnership for Children.
"We have a lot of partners in Wayne County," Ms. Durhal said. "What we are doing is passing out information. We are doing some dental screenings, and the kids also have the opportunity to have fun.
"We have a fishing game. We have a duck pond game. There are sand tables, and we have a little planting station over there where the kids are actually getting to plant plants. So there are plenty of resources out here."
There probably are people in the county who are not aware of all of the resources and services available through WAGES, she said.
Hopefully Thursday's event will help change that, Ms. Durhal said.
The program is perhaps best known for its Meals on Wheels and Head Start programs, but other services are offered as well, she said.
One is the self-sufficiency program funded by federal Community Development Block Grant money.
"We help a lot of different people in a lot of different ways," Ms. Durhal said. "Say someone came to us and they wanted to go back to school, and they qualified for the program. We could pay that. It could be truck driving school, so many things."
It helps people earn degrees, with job searches, finding employment, obtaining a house and starting a savings account.
The idea is to help people become self-sufficient by helping them develop skills, training and support needed to remain above the state's poverty guidelines.
Ms. Battle called it an "awesome" event and a great way to get the children together to learn and have a good time as well.
A'ja is in the early Head Start program and in August will be in the Head Start program, Ms. Battle said.
"It is a good program," she said. "I wouldn't have it any other way. I just think overall it is a good place to consider as far as having your kids in a program."
For more information, call 919-734-1178.