Dear Friends,
At CMEE’s annual dinner where we celebrate the Museum’s biggest champions and supporters – this year, Dana Golding, Pam Henes and Alexandra Lebenthal were among the honorees – I was especially thrilled to recognize a group of moms who epitomize our community engagement and who have given back to CMEE in a very meaningful way: our Latino Parents Committee.
These moms initially came together for a bilingual music program for toddlers developed by CMEE’s community outreach director, Leah Oppenheimer. Recognizing their passion for education, Leah asked them to participate on a Committee to advise the Museum on how to better engage Latino families.
One of the Committee’s recommendations was to create an afterschool science program where parents could learn alongside their children. This idea eventually led to the incredibly popular “Ciencia en CMEE.” With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, CMEE expanded this program and created “Science Connections” which will be presented at a diverse array of locations throughout Eastern Long Island.
CMEE’s Latino Parents Committee also asked if they could “borrow” the Museum to share their culture with the greater East End community. Organized and staffed entirely by the Parents Committee, the Feria at CMEE was attended by over 400 people last year. It was one of my favorite events ever at the Museum. I hope you’ll join us on Saturday, April 30th for the 2nd Annual Feria.
Because of the incredible work the Parents Committee has done to achieve CMEE’s vision of serving all families regardless of background or ability, the Board of Trustees presented them with CMEE’s first ever Community Engagement Award. It’s a bilingual copy of Donald Crews’ “Freight Train” with a name plate in their honor which will be placed in CMEE’s Library. I hope you’ll check out the book during your next visit to CMEE.
Sincerely,
Steve