Presenter: Rayha Karanth

Faculty Sponsor: Ellen Correa

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Public Health and Epidemiology

Session: Poster Session 1, 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM, Auditorium, A38

ABSTRACT

Early childhood is a critical time for brain and socio-emotional development. Left untreated, challenges in this area can intensify over time, exacerbating potential academic and social difficulties. Early intervention methods such as home visiting, developmental screening, early intervention services, and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) have become a critical focus in public health and in shaping educational policy. Although early childhood mental health programs provide essential support for young children facing social, emotional, or behavioral challenges, many smaller, community-based programs undergo difficulties in sustaining their work due to struggles in obtaining sufficient larger-scale funding sources. My civic engagement project involves working with the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) to support their program, Strong Foundations for Young Children (SFYC), an early childhood mental health consultation program serving families at no cost in Hampshire and Franklin County, Massachusetts. The program works intimately with a few families each year, providing in-depth assistance and support to the families they help. This project explores how community-based fundraising strategies and implementation can be developed to help sustain these programs while strengthening local connections. Through meetings, research of the surrounding community, the development of outreach materials, and the creation of supporting resources, we will organize a fundraiser within the local community to support SFYC. Through this experience, I will engage directly with the community and learn how community-based fundraising can build both financial and social support for these essential services.