May 4, 2008

Dinner honors leaders, champions child care

By Adria Murray / Society Columnist

At the sixth annual 4Cs Leadership Awards Dinner on April 24, the evening's presenters made the message of the benefit clear: The first five years of life are of critical importance to a child's development, and we should do more to ensure all children receive the quality care they deserve.

Founded in 1972, the Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County has done just that, with its mission to create "great outcomes for children and families" through an array of early childhood education and wellness programs.

Held at Millbrae's Weston Hotel, the awards dinner honored early childhood education professional Janice Morimoto and late Congressman Tom Lantos for their contributions to child and family welfare.

Morimoto was awarded the Mary Elizabeth Griffin Award, named after the former San Mateo County supervisor (who was in attendance), and given a $2,500 grant to be used toward the development of child care programs.

Morimoto, a 20-year early childhood education professional, founded the Nesbit Puma Cubs preschool in Belmont in 2005, and said she relished the opportunity she had to create her own curriculum for the first time.

In her acceptance remarks to the crowd of 300 early childhood education peers and supporters, Morimoto said, "This award is a wonderful affirmation of what we do every day."

Lantos was honored posthumously with the Mary Petsche Visionary Leader Award and presented with two handmade quilts, containing three-dozen panels created by school-age children in Cipriani After-School Care programs, which were accepted by the late congressman's longtime friends Evelyn and Tom Szelenyi.

Also recognized that evening was corporate partner Borel Private Bank and Trust, which underwrote the event and also pledged $1,000 to the Fund-a-Need auction.

County Supervisor Jerry Hill and former supervisor Mike Nevin served as auctioneers, bantering back and forth during the live auction. There was a funny moment during the auction when Hill kept pointing to the back of the room, indicating to Nevin that there was a bidder he had missed. Nevin turned around, and upon seeing no one's bidding hand in the air, said, "There's no one behind me, Jerry. That's why I lost the election." Nevin lost his bid for the Senate to Leland Yee in 2006, but clearly hasn't lost his sense of humor.

Attendee State Assembly Member Gene Mullin won the photo shoot with Bay Area Parent magazine, which every Christmas features the winner's children (or in this case, grandchildren) on the cover. Mary Elizabeth Griffin won a paella cooking class and dinner for 16 taught by Iberia Restaurant owner and chef Jose Luis Relinque, which was donated by event chairwoman Pamela Rummage Culp.

Other supporters attending the annual dinner included presenter, County Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson, Superior Court Judge candidate Don Randal Franchi, 4Cs board member and sponsor Catherine Mone and board treasurer Rose Chen, as well as Diana Landi, Barbara Evens and Constance Katsaros of Borel Bank.

The evening's keynote speaker, Dr. Ronald Lally, co-director of the Center of Child and Family Studies at WestEd in San Francisco, said, "There is so much more we can do than keep kids out of harm's way in the first five years." From the many studies that he facilitated, Lally came to find that a child's sense of self is shaped very early on, and that by cultivating an environment in which not just intellect, but creativity, impulsiveness and curiosity is rewarded, we will truly be giving the next generation the life tools they need.

In San Mateo County, the demand for licensed child care slots far exceeds the supply, at a ratio of only 1 available slot for every 3 children, according to a 2006 Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County report. 4Cs works to provide 3,000 children annually with child care subsidies, but roughly 5,000 children wait on the organization's centralized eligibility list.

"With the money raised tonight we will be able to provide more support to those on the waiting list," said interim 4Cs executive director George Archambeau. The council helps parents on the list with its child care referral service and helps in locating child health resources.

If state and county funding are paving the way for quality child care for all, then event chair Rummage Culp may have summed it up best, saying, "4Cs fills in the cracks."


Adria Murray's society column appears every Sunday in the Daily News. Send event information to 255 Constitution Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025, or e-mail amurray@dailynews group.com or call 650-391-1340.