Save the Date for the 10th Annual HMG National Forum in Buffalo, New York on May 6-8, 2019.
Join us for three full days of shared expertise, best practices,
and inspiration!
The Annual Help Me Grow National Forum, hosted by the National Center, is an opportunity for affiliates and partners to network and create new partnerships.
Each year, the event provides increasing national visibility of the Network’s collective efforts and accomplishments and solicits promising ideas and innovations from across the Network. Distinguished speakers facilitate and contribute to general sessions, panel discussions, and keynote addresses, offering insight into the direction and aspirations within the field of early childhood health and system building.
10th Annual Help Me Grow Forum to be Held in Buffalo, NY
The National Center and Affiliate Network are looking forward to next year’s 10th Annual Help Me Grow National Forum to be held in Buffalo, NY and sponsored by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. Hosted by Help Me Grow Western New York, “Forum 2019 will provide a wonderful opportunity to showcase the dedication and innovation of Help Me Grow Western New York’s many partners in the medical, education, human service, and health care sectors, while inviting professionals from around the country to gather in support of young children,” said Lynn Pullano, Director, HMG WNY. “We recognize the need to give little ones the strongest foundation during their first five years of life, when 85 percent of brain and personality development occur. The Help Me Grow approach allows us to make children’s health, well-being, and school preparedness a top priority so they’re on track to stable, successful futures, which is critical for them and our communities. We look forward to sharing with the nation our pride in the Buffalo-Niagara region, one of the best places to raise children!”
What HMG Affiliates Say About the National Forum
“Every year we just come back with so many wonderful ideas, we look for the innovations that are being spread across the country. It’s really a great chance to network very authentically with people in other communities and other states. It really helps us stay abreast of what’s going on at the policy level right on down to the operations level and we find that it really bridges the gap for us in terms of then being able to create partnerships with other affiliates. We have shared challenges, shared interests and even shared advocacy points so it’s really great for us. We on a regular basis throughout the year tap into the resources that we gain here at the Forum and so it really is just a springboard. We look forward to it every year and it probably is the best Forum around for networking and establishing those really important relationships with other affiliates.”
– Lynn Pullano, Help Me Grow Western New York
“The common theme for all of the Forums is learning and growing together. With Help Me Grow, we grow together. What may work in one affiliate, it’s great to learn about that and how we can make it fit within our state or our county. And it’s the only opportunity I think Help Me Grow affiliates have to connect with one another on a face to face basis so it’s one of the highlights of my year every year.”
– Lorraine Cragan-Sullivan, Help Me Grow South Carolina
“The Forum is a huge opportunity for all of the affiliate partners to learn from each other, to reconnect and continue to build relationships that we feel really comfortable staying connected between forums. We are always really impressed with what the National Center has done between forums to present to us as tools, research, and new ways to look at things. The speakers are always phenomenal and I’m always just really inspired by the energy as well. I feel like when I’m with my group of peers, we’re all struggling with our own things but we kind of know each other those of us that have been around for a long time, are not necessarily tracking each other over time but we’re definitely aware of where we’re at and can be really supportive and really kind of get each other’s challenges and successes in a way that folks that are not doing this exact work don’t necessarily quite understand, so the support that you receive is also really cool.”
– Sharon Beaudoin, Help Me Grow Washington
Last Year’s Forum
Thank you to all who attended the 9th Annual Help Me Grow National Forum in Seattle, Washington on April 4-6, 2018, with a special appreciation for the contributions of our host affiliate, WithinReach, the Forum Planning Committee, and all affiliates sharing expertise.
We were honored to be joined for a keynote address by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Founder of the Center for Youth Wellness in Bayview Hunters Point San Francisco, pediatrician, pioneer in the field of medicine, and leader in the movement to transform how we respond to early childhood adversity and the resulting toxic stress that dramatically impacts our health and longevity.
Photography credit: Tara Brown Photography. Photographs may not be used without permission.
During this the Forum in Seattle, WithinReach’s Chief Strategy Officer, Sharon Beaudoin, sat down with Dr. Paul Dworkin to discuss the Help Me Grow model and importance of its four key components and the work of Help Me Grow Washington. Access the podcast recording.
Access materials from the 2018 HMG National Forum
Access materials from the 2017 HMG National Forum