Spring is around the corner in Northeast Louisiana! Soon the birds will be singing, azaleas will be blooming and all of us will be aching to be outside in the soft southern air. It is the most beautiful time of year to be living here. To celebrate the beauty, bounty and talents of this area, Community Trust Bank is pleased to present NELA Ovation weekend April 7-9, 2011, benefitting the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana. This weekend will be a time to celebrate some of the finest that Northeast Louisiana has to offer.

Partners in organizing NELA Ovation Weekend are: Debbie Bourg Dancers, Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana, Children's Museum of Northeast Louisiana, Downtown Art Alliance, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe Symphony Orchestra, Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, Ouachita Medical Society Alliance, Restaurant Sage, Twin City Art Foundation, Vieux Carré Gourmet. Proceeds from events will benefit the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana.

        

The Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana is a local and regional umbrella that works through various coalition, advisory groups and task forces to address some of the most difficult and important challenges facing families with children in our area. While the work is important and critical, it is also a hopeful effort to reverse negative trends and to promote all children having the opportunity to be successful and lead productive, healthy lives. Through the four focus areas of early care and education, healthcare, parent education, and youth development, the Children's Coalition is leading community partnerships to address quality child care as a basis for success in school and economic development; access to health care for all children, child safety, asthma education and improving birth outcomes; family support and empowerment through evidence-based parent education programs; juvenile justice reform assuring that all youth are properly cared for and prevented from entering the "deep end of the system" and teen mental health through the TeenScreen Suicide Prevention Program. For more information, visit us at www.childrenscoalition.org, or call 318-323-8775.