Credit union fundraiser helps kids get free health screenings

Mid Oregon Credit Union encourages the community to stop by a branch and “Adopt-A-Bear” from April 1-19 in support of Healthy Beginnings, a 21 Cares for Kids partner helping to ensure that every preschooler in Central Oregon is healthy and prepared to enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Since 2004, Mid Oregon’s Adopt-A-Bear annual fundraiser has raised more than $25,000 to help support Healthy Beginnings in its efforts to provide no-cost health and developmental screenings to preschool children in our communities to remove any barriers to a successful entry into kindergarten.

The state has identified universal community screenings as a best practice, providing consistent, reliable, valid, evidence-based screening for young children – but provides no state funding for this objective.

For the past 25 years, Healthy Beginnings has relied on community donations to keep their screenings free for all families who utilize their services. Healthy Beginnings has served more than 10,000 children across three Central Oregon counties.

The health screenings are performed by top-level medical, dental, nutritional, and behavioral specialists from the local area, providing parents with a thorough assessment of their child’s physical and developmental health.

“So many critical developmental milestones happen in those first five years,” says Diane Murray-Fleck, Executive Director of Healthy Beginnings. “Children can act out because they are suffering from unidentified medical or developmental issues. Our assessments help catch these issues before school starts, and gives parents an additional resource and peace of mind if they have questions about their child’s development.”

Community residents can “Adopt-A-Bear” at any Mid Oregon Credit Union location through April 19, or by calling 541-382-1795. For information about child screenings go to www.MyHB.org .

Mid Oregon Credit Union is a full-service, member-owned financial cooperative exclusively serving Central Oregonians since 1957. Serving more than 33,000 members in Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Wheeler, Lake, and North Klamath Counties, Mid Oregon Credit Union partners to help our members achieve their financial dreams. For more information about our services and branch locations in Bend, Redmond, Madras, Prineville, La Pine and Sisters, please visit www.midoregon.com .

Healthy Beginnings is a registered 503(c) non-profit organization located in Bend, Oregon, dedicated to ensuring that all local children enter their school life ready to learn, contribute, and thrive. They conduct free, comprehensive health and developmental assessments for children under the age of five using state-of-the-art screening tools and performed by certified volunteer health and behavioral specialists. These free health screenings are available to every child in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties. You can learn more about Healthy Beginnings at www.myhb.org.