News from The Tree House CAC -  February 2018

Helping Your Child Process a Traumatic Event 

The past two weeks have been filled with agonizing accounts of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Because of this, the topic of guns is on the minds of many people. Last week, while we were presenting to a class at the Universities of Shady Grove, a student asked us if we see many victims of gun violence at The Tree House. We are happy to tell you that the answer is no, we don't. But the trauma suffered after other horrific events, man-made or otherwise, is similar to the trauma suffered after a mass shooting, and we deal with trauma every day.

Reactions to a traumatic event vary by age. Preschoolers may lose developmental skills they recently acquired, cling to their parents more, or have trouble sleeping. School age children may also have problems sleeping, but in addition they often experience guilt regarding their own actions. They may also feel sick when there is no apparent cause. Adolescents may withdraw or engage in self-destructive behavior. These are just some of the symptoms that can follow trauma.

As a caregiver, your children need you to support and reassure them. They need to know they can talk to you. Your job does not stop there, however. You should watch for symptoms such as the ones listed above and published by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. If your child has had these or other traumatic stress symptoms for over a month and it is impacting his daily life, he may need to speak to a professional for additional help.

In the meantime, keep an open line of communication with your children. Don't be afraid to discuss an event such as the shooting with them if there is a chance that they will become aware of it. If you are at a loss for how to speak to your children about such events, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network also has information here that may help you.

We're really cooking now! 

We'd like to introduce you to a few of our cookie stand hosts:

We thank all of our sponsors who joined our Tree House Tour de Cookie family early. It's not too late to join us in support of our event. To find out more, click here.

Need more information?  See our helpful links below:

Register early! Our short route is limited to 400 riders and it WILL fill up. To get a t-shirt you must register before April 16th!

Cookie stand spaces are being claimed and bakers are offering their time and talent. If you want to host a stand contact us right away! We only have 2 spots available.

Ever year we have fantastic volunteers. Let us know if you want to be one of them!

Want to have a booth at our Expo? We welcome for-profits and non-profits!

By supporting The Tree House Tour de Cookie as a sponsor you are supporting the work of The Tree House CAC!

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Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation Supports The Tree House CAC!

We are so happy to announce that the Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation has again granted The Tree House CAC $7,500 in support of our mission! We are incredibly grateful to have their continued support as we strive to heal Montgomery County's abused children.

If you'd like to hold a fundraising event on behalf of The Tree House please contact us at contact@treehousemd.org.

Montgomery Village Kiwanis Club Wraps up Another Great Fundraiser

Arlene Hale and Matty Gladstone of the Montgomery Village Kiwanis Club and Charlie Stitt of Child's Play of Rockville stopped by on February 23rd with a check for $2100 for The Tree House! This was money they raised by gift wrapping over the holidays at Child's Play. 

We want to thank Arlene, Matty and the rest of the Kiwanis Club for all of their support over the years. You have been wonderful friends to us and we know this project takes a lot of time and devotion. We also want to thank Charlie, who helped facilitate the event. We are very grateful to all of you!

Tree House Therapist Featured in Universities of Shady Grove Promotion

We are very excited for our therapist, Yancy Padilla, who has been featured in the Universities of Shady Grove's #Powerof9 campaign. Click the photo below to read her story.

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The Tree House CAC of Montgomery County Maryland
7300 Calhoun Place, Suite 700
Rockville, MD 20855