• To provide a safe Christian environment for children.
• To promote individual growth for the whole child; spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical, and social.
• To provide a well-planned curriculum that will incorporate literacy, music, art, and play

Spend some time together with your family and children experiencing the wonders of nature at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. Explore 16 acres of outdoor specialty gardens together, including a sunken garden with an eighty-foot reflecting pool and a perennial garden with a meandering stream. Climb the two-story, stone rose tower in the Rose Garden and overlook the entire Gardens and Lake Monona. The exotic Thai Pavilion and Garden, the only one in the continental U.S., will make you feel like you’re really in Thailand. The outdoor gardens are open daily and always free!

The year-round tropical Bolz Conservatory, is a sunny 50-foot-high glass pyramid with towering palms, blooming orchids, waterfalls, and wooden bridges. Look for birds and watch the koi fish swim.

An accessible tram travels the outdoor gardens on weekends spring and fall, and daily during summer, for people who need assistance getting around the gardens. A unique gift shop features books, children’s nature toys, and garden-related gifts. Playground and picnic areas right next door! Olbrich is Travel Green Wisconsin certified.

Events include:

Olbrich’s Blooming Butterflies, July 9 – August 15, 2009

See live butterflies inside the Bolz Conservatory and take the Butterfly Passport walk in the outdoor gardens.

Summer Concerts, Tuesdays at 7 p.m., June 2 – July 28, 2009

Bring a lawn chair and a picnic – the only time picnics are allowed inside the gardens.

Classes and workshops for families throughout the year

Hours

Outdoor Gardens: April-Sept, 8 am-8 pm; Oct 9 am-6 pm; Nov-Mar, 9 am-4 pm.

Bolz Conservatory & Growing Gifts Shop: 10am-4pm daily and until 5pm on Sundays.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens

3330 Atwood Avenue, Madison, WI 53704

608-246-4550

Check www.olbrich.org for more information.

The Family Resource Center located at 205 Deer Valley Road, is part of a network of family resource centers throughout the state dedicated to providing education and resources that parents need to build healthy family relationships.

These centers are cooperative efforts in which many community agencies work together to provide families with the support they seek to raise their children in the healthiest way possible. The center is for all parents who need information to make healthy decisions for their families. All families are welcome to participate in our programs, and all programs and services are offered free of charge with on-site child care.

Among the programs we offer are:

Play and Learn: Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 AM

Drop-in Playtime: Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:30 AM.

Women’s Support Group: The Third Thursday of the month from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.

Parent Education in Spanish (La Movida Radio 1480 AM) Wednesdays at 10:00-11 AM.

Parenting Workshops: Call for complete listing at (608) 278-8167

The Center’s lending library has bi-lingual books (English-Spanish) and toys that families can take home; and in-home Parent Education for a limited number of families with children new born to 5 years. Our warm-line provides a link to expert, non-emergency parenting advice on the day-to-days trials of child rearing.

Several enriching volunteer experiences working with children and families are available at the Family Resource Center. We welcome you to share your time and expertise with us.

Family Resource Center
205 Deer Valley Road, # 1
Madison, WI 53713
(608) 278-8167

As parents, we discover our way through by trial and error, with help and support from friends and family. But what to do when friends and family aren’t available, can’t help, or don’t understand? Enter the Canopy Center. “When parenting is hard, we’ll give you a soft place to land.”

Created in 1977 by a young mother, Canopy Center has more than 30 years experience strengthening family units. The Parent Stressline (608-241-2221) is often the first contact point. The line, staffed by trained volunteers and professional counselors, is available daily from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. It is a place for parents and caregivers to find a confidential listening ear and learn about community resources. With today’s extended families scattered around the globe, providing a place where parents and caregivers can just talk and find support can, and does, make all the difference.

In addition to the stressline, Canopy Center’s services include therapy groups that offer children, teens, and families a safe, stable, nurturing place to recover from abuse and change patterns. The Oasis program offers help and healing for incest and child sexual abuse victims, ages 5 to 18 years. Young people meet with others their own age and learn to process their feelings and have fun again. Separate groups are available for non-offending parents and caregivers and adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Professional therapists meet weekly with children, teens, and adults and draw participants out of the isolation that so often accompanies abuse.

The Families United Network program uses a guided self-help model to support parents and teach new coping skills. Both English- and Spanish-speaking groups are available. Professional therapists lead the sessions and teach skills that encourage children and parents to grow to their fullest potential. Child and teen groups are activity-based; parents participate in group discussions. Most participants come voluntarily, seeking help with children with special needs, feelings of isolation, or simply a way to parent differently than they were parented. Call 608-241-4888 for more information about the Oasis and Families United Program.

Volunteers with the Canopy Center staff the stressline, co-facilitate therapy groups, provide childcare, and help with kitchen, office, and administrative tasks. Volunteers find their own lives enhanced, as they gain experience in group and family dynamics; develop listening, communication, and facilitating skills; and participate in the healing process.

Canopy Center is a nonprofit organization. If you would like to contribute, but cannot commit volunteer time, consider a donation or pick up a bag of Comeback Coffee, fair trade coffee that supports the teen programs.

The Canopy Center Healing and Family Support Services are located at 2120 Fordem Avenue, Suite 110, in Madison, Wisconsin. Visit them on the web at www.canopycenter.org.