Dear friends of Malta House,

I hope you all have been enjoying these first few days of fall!

The nursery at Malta House is fully operational! Reopening the nursery has been a top priority as it is fundamental to the Malta House mission. The nursery provides support for the young mothers while residing at Malta House, and simultaneously prepares them to be independent and informed parents when they leave. In addition to day care, the nursery staff helps the new mothers build essential parenting skills. These skills range from recognizing developmental milestones and actions they can take when those milestones aren’t met, to practical ways to incorporate useful routines into a child’s daily life.   Mia Reichl is our Director/Head Teacher, and we have hired both a full-time and a part-time nursery assistant to complete our team.  

Mia is working on a program to offer volunteers an opportunity to be in the nursery on a weekly basis.  The program includes an hour of music and movement, an hour of story time and an hour of outdoor exploration.  Volunteers would sign up for a minimum of eight consecutive weeks in one of these areas (3 volunteers per area/session).  

Our first weekly Mommy and Me class was held on Thursday September 19th and was a huge success.  Dr. Joan Magner was our guest, and she conducted a question-and-answer session with our moms.  It was a wonderful hour of information and sharing.  Moms can put questions they’d like answered in a “question box” throughout the week leading up to the next Mommy and Me class .

Over the past few months, I have been the guest speaker at many different organizations which has allowed me to tell the story of Malta House to many who are unfamiliar with us and share all that we do to help our moms and babies.  I absolutely love telling the Malta House story and if you know of any organization that would be interested in hearing our story, please reach out to me!

The annual Malta House Fall Fling is scheduled for this coming Thursday, Oct 3 at the Italian Center in Stamford. Support the Malta House mission by relaxing over a delicious Italian dinner and participating in our teacup auction. The Fall Fling is also a time to recognize volunteers who help make Malta House a success. Dr. Joan Magner, Volunteer of the Year, Bridget & Kelsey DeRiso, Community Outreach Volunteers of the Year, Help for Kids & Desiree Waters, Community Partner of the Year and Frontier Communications, Corporate Partner of the Year. The evening kicks off at 6 pm. More information can be found at https://www.maltahouse.org/event/2024-fall-fling.

Come celebrate life! We look forward to seeing you there.

There is so much to celebrate at Malta House, and I am grateful to be part of it! Please reach out to me with any questions or thoughts you may have at lkoeppel@maltahouse.org or 203-587-0088 ext. 111.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Lisa Casagrande Koeppel

Executive Director

Malta House, Inc.

www.maltahouse.org

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