Vicky Elkins’ Cultural Care Au Pair Site - Memphis

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers- Jewish Proverb

Following is the popular usage of ‘mother’ in different languages!

French - Mere
German - Mutter
Hindi - Maji
Urdu - Ammee
English - Mom, Mummy, Mother
Italian - Madre
Portuguese - Mãe
Albanian - Mëmë; Nënë; Burim; Kryemurgeshë
Belarusan - Matka
Cebuano - Inahan; Nanay
Serbian - Majka
Spanish - Madre, mamá
Czech - Abatyse
Dutch - Moeder; Moer
Estonian - Ema
Frisian - Emo, Emä, Kantaäiti, Äiti
Greek - Màna
Hawaiian - Makuahine
Hungarian - Anya, Fu
Ilongo - Iloy; Nanay; Nay
Indonesian - Induk, Ibu, Biang, NyokapHere is the Proclamation that explains, which explains the goals of Mother’s Day in the United States.

Mother’s Day Proclamation
Arise then…women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosum of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace…
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Wishing all Mom’s a happy Mothers day.

Welcome Catalina. She is from Colombia, this is her first year as an aupair.

Mara is 23 years old, and her birthday is January 30. She will take care 11 and 8 years old girls and 5 and 4 years old boys.

Join us March 27 for the seventh annual Mid-South Baby Expo.

Saturday, March 27, 2010
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Agricenter International
7777 Walnut Grove Rd.
Memphis, Tenn.

This year’s Expo will feature:

* Information seminars and other valuable educational resources
* Games and activities for everyone
* Maternity & fashion shows
* Shop at dozens of exhibitor booth
* Food court featuring Corky’s BBQ and Newk’s Express Cafe
* Great door prizes and more

There has been some questions as to whether or not au pairs need to file a federal tax return or not.  Au Pairs do not need to pay social security or medicare however they could be responsible for federal taxes depending on the amount of stipend they received.  As a general rule ALL au pairs should file a tax return, most will not owe any taxes but in some cases depending on when they arrived in the U.S. they could owe some tax.  See below some information from Cultural Care Au Pair:

Basically, our advice to host families and au pairs is that all au pairs need to file taxes for stipend earned in a given tax year. The IRS is pretty clear that they are not treated as “normal students” for tax purposes and are those not automatically exempt from federal income taxes. Au pairs will need a Individual Taxpayer ID Number (”ITIN”) for this (looks like a social security number, but starts with the digit “9″).

Most au pairs, especially those who arrive in the summer, will owe little or no tax - they are allowed to claim the personal exemption ($3,650 for 2009) but are not allowed the standard deduction. The maximum tax bracket for their income would be 10% so they usually will be paying 10% of their received stipend minus the $3,650 exemption.

It is easiest to just have them file regardless of arrival date or expected tax burden, rather than trying to do these calculations with them, we advise that they just file the 1040NR-EZ form (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040nre.pdf).

As part of Cultural Care Au Pair’s mission to break down barriers of culture and language through educational exchange, a group of local childcare coordinators and staff recently visited South Africa to see firsthand the difference the donations from the Cultural Care community have made through our charitable organization Kids First.

Since it’s inception in 2004, Kids First has supported many worldwide organizations that work with at-risk youth. From the daycare center in Brazil to the school library in New Orleans to an orphanage in Russia, Kids First has supported a wide range of global organizations. Our most recent work at an orphanage and daycare center in a poverty-stricken township outside Capetown, South Africa is another great example of the work we are doing worldwide.

Cultural Care staff and LCCs had an opportunity to visit several projects funded through CHOSA, an organization that Kids First supports. CHOSA provides support to programs that work with at-risk children and their families to provide nutrition, medication, clothing, food, shelter and an education.

During the service visit, those who participated had a chance to visit the Ubuhle Babantwana Care Center, which helps 150 children, some of whom are HIV positive. Donations received from au pairs, host families and Cultural Care LCCs and staff have provided funds for the building of a new structure for the infants and toddlers in the center. The group from Cultural Care Au Pair had an opportunity to see the new structure, meet the inspirational director and dedicated teachers and had some time to play with the children.

In addition, the group visited the Ilitha-Labantwana Place of Safety, the Philani Child Health and Nutrition Project, the Emasithandane Children’s Project and the Baphumulele Children’s Home. The Cultural Care team is now bringing their experience back to the U.S. to raise awareness, and additional funds for even more projects that Kids First supports.

“Our Kids First trip to Cape Town was truly amazing and inspiring,” says Local Childcare Coordinator Trudy Mar. “The work, effort, love and sacrifice the women heading up these projects give to all of the kids goes well beyond what most of us could imagine. If one little body sleeps better, eats better and smiles more, we’ve helped to change their future and make the world a better place. Every dollar we raise for Kids First definitely does make a difference.”

For information about how you can make a contribution to Kids First, or raise awareness for the programs it supports, visit http://www.culturalcare.com/aboutus/kidsfirst/ or contact your Local Childcare Coordinator.

At Cultural Care Au Pair and our parent company EF Education First, we believe in connecting people as citizens of the world, and breaking down barriers of language, culture and geography. Never is that mission more important than in a time of crisis.

In order to reach out to the people of Haiti, EF Education First will match up to $100,000 of employee, student and customer donations made through the American Red Cross.

We believe this is our responsibility as a company, as educators and as global citizens. We hope you will join us and other members of the Cultural Care community in our effort to aid the millions of Haitians who need our support.

Together, we can make a difference.

Click here to make a donation:
http://american.redcross.org/efeducationfirst-emp

The results from the 2009 Host Family Survey are in … and the consensus is that our host families are overwhelmingly happy! To share a few of the stats:

- 96% of host families are satisfied with the quality of childcare that their au pair provides
- 95% are satisfied with the support provided by their Local Childcare Coordinator
- 97% are pleased with the choice they made to use the services of Cultural Care Au Pair
- 96% would recommend the services of Cultural Care Au Pair to other families

Thank you to our current host families for participating and for helping us to further improve our program! Host family feedback gathered through our customer satisfaction survey has contributed to several changes at Cultural Care Au Pair including an improved host family and au pair matching process, increased new and repeat host family discounts, new payment plan options, and better online and phone support for host families. In addition, host families are able to provide direct feedback to senior management at face to face meetings held throughout the country, and they may participate in an online forum (www.community.culturalcare.com) created just for program participants.

We’re thrilled with these results, which are certified by independent survey company Discovery Surveys, Inc. In fact, our participation rate (52% of active host families this time around) and the results themselves have improved each of the four times we have administered the surveys (spring and fall of 2008 and spring and fall of 2009). For more detailed survey information, visit our website.

Cultural Care Au Pair offers 3 Ways to Match
Cultural Care Au Pair host families now have the ability to review even more applications and au pair profiles with our new 3 Ways to Match, a program feature that let’s host families select the style of matching that best suits their needs. Host families can now search through multiple candidates on their own timeframe, set an appointment for a consultative matching session or work one-on-one with a placement manager who carefully selects possible matches. Best of all, our 3 Ways to Match allows you to enjoy the benefits of all three matching styles to help you find the right au pair for your family.

To get started
Whether you’re a new family to Cultural Care Au Pair or have already hosted an au pair, our 3 Ways to Match makes it easy for you to begin reviewing au pair candidates right away. Simply fill out your new or repeat application. Once it’s processed, you can log into your account and begin matching. Here’s how it works:

Personalized, exclusive matching
Enjoy the benefits of our trademark one-on-one matching. Your placement manager will select carefully screened applications for you to review based on your family’s unique needs. Each au pair is exclusively reserved for your family’s review, which means no two families are contacting the same reserved au pair candidate at the same time.

Consultative matching
Review our pool of au pair candidates in real time by setting up a consultative matching appointment by phone with your placement manager. This highly effective method allows you to carve out time with your placement manager to review available candidates who are not being reviewed by other families. At the end of the appointment, you have the opportunity to have up to three candidates maximum reserved for your family exclusively.

Search & Select
An enhancement to our current profile review system, this new feature offers families the ability to build a list of au pair profiles available for review. Families can narrow the search field and request, for example, a driver, a second year au pair or someone available now. If you find a candidate of interest to you, you may add the au pair to your list and notify your placement manager of your interest by clicking the Notify Placement Manager button. Your placement manager will review your suggested matches and place up to three of those matches into your host family account for further review of their full application.

Please welcome Lukas!

Lukas is from Germany, and this is his first year as an aupair. He will be taking care of a 1 year old boy and a 5 years old girl in Lakeland.

He is 20 years old and his birthday is October 11.

January
Thursdays, January 7 at 7pm.
Manicure at Happy Nails in Collierville
($13.5 for a manicure)
3601 houston Levee
Collierville, TN 38017
Phone: 901-861-0125
 
February
Sunday, February, 7 at 12pm
Collierville Police station  (Personal Safety)
We need to meet at the police station Annex which is on the corner of N. Rowlett and Walnut. 
There is a parking lot directly across the street as well as one located near Walnut and Mulberry. 
Once inside, you will notice the training room on the right.  That area should suffice to hold your group. 
The speaker will be Lt. Sean Williams, our SWAT Team Commander. 
He is well-versed in citizen safety
 
March
Friday, March 12 at 7pm. 
(tickets are $10)
For aupairs are not allow to take the car out of Memphis, they can drive with me.
Just let me know. Also I need the $10 by Februay 7 in our meeting to buy tickets online.
Riverking Hockey Game  
De Soto Civic Center
 

April
Sunday, April 11 at 3pm
Mud Island Park
 

May
Saturday, May 29 at 10:30am
HOST FAMILY EVENT ( I will send more detailed information later)