SF Supports HIPPY’s Advocacy for Early Childhood Education
May 16, 2011
Several members of the Santa Fe College community gathered over the weekend to support the Gainesville HIPPY Program. HIPPY stands for Home Instruction for the Parents of Preschool Youngsters. The goal of the HIPPY Program is to empower parents of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds to become their child’s first teacher.
Dr. Jackson Sasser served as the keynote speaker at the HIPPY fundraising banquet held at the Paramount Plaza Hotel. In his presentation, Dr. Sasser explained how both the HIPPY Program and Santa Fe College equip members of our community for success and help the disadvantaged to overcome obstacles. During the banquet, a tribute was also paid to the late Earl R. Young. Young had been a professor at SF before founding the Gainesville HIPPY program.
The college is connected to the HIPPY program in a number of ways. Santa Fe, through the East Gainesville Initiative, is a HIPPY partner. Even more, Dr. Naima Brown is a member of the Gainesville HIPPY Board of Directors and Drs. Karen Cole-Smith and Karen Bennet both serve on the Gainesville HIPPY Advisory Committee. Finally, a significant number of Santa Fe colleagues donated funds to support the non-profit program.
They include: Karen Bennett, Naima Brown, Karen Cole-Smith, Kim Feigenbaum, Karen Fuhr, James Geason, Heather Hall, Curtis Jefferson, Tunga Lergo, Kelly Mongiovi, Elizabeth O’Reggio, Betty Reaves, Angie Siekers, Nacira Tache, Linda Tyson and David Yonutas.
The Gainesville HIPPY program is grateful for Santa Fe College’s support.
It is not too late for you to support the Gainesville HIPPY program. Tax-deductible donations are still being accepted. For more information about the program, please see the program’s website at http://www.gainesvillehippy.org/ or contact Naima Brown at 395-4477.
In the photo, left to right: Joan Campbell, Elizabeth O’Reggio, Karen Bennett, Betty Reaves, Aminah Nichols, Jackson Sasser, Angela Carter, Karen Cole-Smith, Naima Brown and Harriet Stafford.
