{"id":1859,"date":"2025-09-16T20:03:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T01:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2025-09-22T14:57:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:57:51","slug":"little-hands-big-health-annual-family-health-fair-joins-little-hands-big-trucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/support\/little-hands-big-health-annual-family-health-fair-joins-little-hands-big-trucks\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Hands, Big Health: Annual Family Health Fair Joins Little Hands, Big Trucks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/09\/IMG_4763-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/09\/IMG_4763-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/09\/IMG_4763-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/09\/IMG_4763-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/09\/IMG_4763.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-background has-large-font-size\">Little Hands, BIG HEALTH Fair<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>COLUMBUS, Miss.<\/strong> \u2013 The W\u2019s Center for Education Support\u2019s Office of Early Childhood, in partnership with WISE Start and Excel by 5 of Columbus-Lowndes, will host its annual Little Hands, Big Health Family Resource and Health Fair alongside FORGE\u2019s Little Hands, Big Trucks on Saturday, October 4, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Columbus Soccer Complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Rowdy Foundation will sponsor a sensory-friendly hour from 9\u201310 a.m., ensuring the event is welcoming to all children. Families can visit the Boy Scout Hut and Farmer\u2019s Market area to access resource tables and activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fair connects families with <strong>birth-to-five supports<\/strong>, including childcare, early education, mental health, nutrition, job assistance, disability services, early intervention, and family engagement opportunities. Special guest readers and community presenters will share stories throughout the morning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>9:15 a.m.<\/strong> \u2013 Emily and Scarlett, Friendly City Books<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>9:30 a.m.<\/strong> \u2013 Mother Goose, Columbus Public Library<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>10:00 a.m.<\/strong> \u2013 FORGE<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>10:30 a.m.<\/strong> \u2013 Miss Meridian, Rose Stafford<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A new Family Resource Guide for birth-to-five families in Columbus and Lowndes County will also be launched at the fair. The guide highlights local childcare, health, early education, and community services, providing families with a single, easy-to-use tool to connect with available supports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Campus partners such as The W\u2019s Speech-Language Pathology students will also assist families by sharing resources, leading surveys, and joining in the fun with Pete the Cat and Curious George mascots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvents like this are wonderful opportunities to give back while putting information and resources directly into the hands of families in our community,\u201d said Mackenzie Pearce, Early Childhood Coordinator at The W. \u201cWhen families know what supports are available, it strengthens not only their children\u2019s futures but our whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fair draws 400+ attendees annually and features dozens of local organizations committed to young children and their families. Community partners interested in hosting a no-cost resource table may contact Mackenzie Pearce at <a href=\"mailto:wisestart@muw.edu\">wisestart@muw.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the School of Education at The W<\/strong><br>For more than 140 years, The W\u2019s School of Education has led lifelong learning from early childhood through post-graduation. We prepare teachers, support professional growth, and strengthen communities through education, empowering graduates to lead and make lasting impact across the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Little Hands, BIG HEALTH Fair COLUMBUS, Miss. \u2013 The W\u2019s Center for Education Support\u2019s Office of Early Childhood, in partnership with WISE Start and Excel by 5 of Columbus-Lowndes, will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":1821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,24,5,6],"tags":[13,12,14,15,22],"class_list":["post-1859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources","category-updates","category-support","category-newsletter","tag-community-building","tag-early-childhood-education","tag-economic-development","tag-health-and-wellbeing","tag-outreach"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1859"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2149,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859\/revisions\/2149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}