Rachel Gillen's Blog

For the past few weeks I have been researching The Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) website. The first section I found pertinent to my current professional development is the "Our Programs" section. This section introduces the different programs the Harlem Children's Zone provides. I think this is pertinent to my professional development currently because I am learning about programs that are effective and address current issues and trends in early childhood. There is also a "News" and "Blog" section that has different articles and posts about different aspects of HCZ. I think this is helping me learn about programs that are for families from many different backgrounds and the extra supports they may need.  In the "About Us Section" you can find a documents and publications section that provides many different resources. There are documents under a section saying "Sharing the HCZ Model" that I believe show different perspectives a

The international organization I found is CARE. CARE works to address the underlying issues of poverty and social injustice in the hopes of making change in the lives of people in poverty that has lasting affects (CARE, n.d.).  From what I have seen on the website so far, it looks like this organization works to promote Women's rights and the power of gender inequality. Due to cultural beliefs around the world, women and girls have less rights and access to education and CARE believes this is an underlying cause of poverty. Women empowerment is the basis for all of CARE's programs. CARE also works to create inclusive governments in countries and communities suffering from poverty. Inclusive government is promoted by encouraging poor people to educate themselves on what is happening and helping them use their voice to stand up for what is needed. CARE also works with politicians in making the right decisions for their community but also listening to the poor. Finally, CARE wor

As I looked through a few of the different websites. I ended up choosing the Harlem Children's Zone website as I recalled their founder from the "Waiting for Superman" documentary. This organization started out as a community program in Harlem looking to help families and children. This organization has now grown to a program that supports children, families, and the community through the entirety of childhood. It includes many different programs like "Baby College" and a Charter school.  One trend I saw on the Harlem Children's Zone website was the early childhood programs they are promoting and providing to families in the Harlem area. These programs are not only working with children, they are also working to provide education and supports for parents and guardians. This trend starts with Baby College where new parents and expecting parents can come and have free child care and take classes on parenting. This program provides education for parents whil

While looking at both websites, it was evident that "Save the Children" and "Global Fund for Children" make a great impact on children across the globe. The website I choose to look at in greater detail was the "Global Fund for Children" website. Overall, this program seemed like they have a goal of making long lasting impacts that will eventually help children get out of the challenging situations they may be in. According to the Global Fund for Children website, they are "the only global nonprofit dedicated to discovering, funding, and coaching truly grassroots organizations that empower young people worldwide" (Global Fund for Children, 2018). This really stuck out for me as I am a big believer in organizations working to build organizations that will remain when the larger organization leaves.  On the website, you can read a story about Lola who worked with Global Fund for Children to help her organization helping children with Autism Spec