CHILD CARE RESOURCE CENTER HONORS `ROLE MODEL'.Byline: ALEJANDRO GUZMAN Valley News Writer Child Care Resource Center will honor Chris Gardner Christopher Paul Gardner (born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a self-made millionaire, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr. , a man portrayed by actor Will Smith in Columbia Pictures' new movie ``The Pursuit of Happyness,'' as an outstanding parent and role model at a gala reception on Saturday at the Universal Studios Globe Theatre. ``The Pursuit of Happyness,'' in theaters Dec. 15, is based on Gardner's autobiography in which he details his struggles from childhood through adulthood as a homeless and single father trying to care for his son while striving to become a successful businessman. Child Care Resource Center external relations manager Susan Montalvo says the organization wants to honor Gardner for being a dedicated father despite the adversity he faced. ``We wanted to honor an outstanding parent who is a role model for the community. Chris Gardner is absolutely that person, and we're so excited the community will be able to meet him and learn from his life at our event and through the new film,'' said Janet Alston Jackson, CCRC Noun 1. CCRC - an agency in the Department of Defense that is a national center for research on all aspects of injury control and casualty care Casualty Care Research Center Board member. Gardner's story about his struggles is relevant to participants of Child Care Resource Center, says Montalvo. The program aims to help people achieve self-sufficiency. She says Gardner's balance of being a nurturing, responsible and ambitious father is a good example of what to do, but she also stresses the importance of programs such as Child Care Resource Center. Montalvo says the center has two distinct roles. One is to help people find child care in their area. Second, the program helps people find a way to pay for it. In order to qualify, you have to be low income. There are always more people than can be helped. One woman, Saundra Crockett, first started with the program when she decided to go back to school. In a letter to Child Care Resource Center, Crockett thanks the program for helping her and her family. ``I am presently in a new job and have had to get off of assistance. My three children and I would not be able to be at this position without Child Care Resources' help,'' Crockett stated in the letter. Aside from helping low-income families, the program also hosts training sessions for the community where people can learn how to get a child care license. Montalvo says if it has to do with child development, they deal with it. Gardner is currently president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the Chicago-based brokerage firm Gardner Rich Gardner Rich, LLC is a NASD-registered broker-dealer firm that was founded by Christopher Gardner in 1987. Gardner sold his small stake in Gardner Rich in a multi-million dollar deal in 2006. & Co. He founded the company in 1987. He enlisted in the Navy just after high school. After the military, Gardner went to San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and took a job as a medical supply salesman. Then he reached a turning point in his life. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a press release, he was in a parking lot when he met a man driving a red Ferrari. He was looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a parking space. He told the driver of the car he could have his space if he answered his two questions. The two questions were: ``What do you do? And how do you do that?'' The man was a stockbroker and he was making $80,000 a month. That pivotal encounter gave Gardner a clear career goal, but he still needed a way into the world of high finance. He was accepted into a program, he left his job in medical sales. But his plans collapsed when the man who offered him the training slot was fired, and Gardner had no job to go back to. To make matters worse, he was put in jail for $1,200 in parking violations Parking Violation The illegal practice of an acquiring company concealing ownership of the target company by holding stock under a related third party before attempting corporate takeover. that he could not pay. Chris Jr.'s mother left, and Gardner, despite his circumstances, fought to keep his son. Although he managed to enter a training program at Dean Witter Reynolds Dean Witter Reynolds was an American stock brokerage catering to the middle class. In 1997, it merged with the Morgan Stanley Group to form Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The amalgamated firm is now known as Morgan Stanley. , Gardner's meager mea·ger also mea·gre adj. 1. Deficient in quantity, fullness, or extent; scanty. 2. Deficient in richness, fertility, or vigor; feeble: the meager soil of an eroded plain. 3. stipend sti·pend n. A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance. [Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st as a trainee meant he, like so many working poor in America, had a job but could not make ends meet. Gardner passed his licensing exam in 1981. He and Chris Jr. got an apartment, and in 1983 he joined Bear, Stearns & Co. After becoming a top producer, first in San Francisco and later in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Gardner left to establish Gardner Rich & Co. Inc. Reservations for Child Care Resource Center 30th Diamond Anniversary gala honoring Chris Gardner are available by calling 818-256-1059. For event information, call CCRC External Relations at (818)256-1059 or get connected online at www.ccrcla.org. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Chris Gardner will be honored as an outstanding parent on Saturday at Child Care Resource Center's 30th Anniversary Gala. Provided by Child Care Resource Center |
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