Michele & David Chazen

March Au Pair Meeting - Rock Climbing

Posted by: mchazen on March 2, 2010

Please join us for a great nite of Rock Climbing with several Au Pair groups in the area.
 
When: Friday March 19 at 7:45 pm.
Location: Garden State Rocks http://www.gardenstaterocks.com/ 732-972-3003      
               705 Ginesi Drive
               Morganville NJ 07751
               (behind Boy Scout Building)
Cost: $18.00 for 1 1/2 hours and includes- Harness and staff to assist us
 
You must wear athletic footwear. If you are not wearing  athletic footwear they can rent for an additional $5.00
 
We must have your R.S.V.P. by Thursday March 11 so that the Garden State Rocks is prepared for us.
 
Please be prompt so you will be able to utilize the full time we have there.
IN ORDER TO START PROMPTLY THIS gsr-party-waiver-pdf1 MUST BE COMPLETED AND SIGNED
 
Garden State Rocks is the Northeast’s newest, and perhaps most innovative, climbing gym.
Our totally air conditioned facility features state-of-the-art top rope and lead walls (between 25 and 30 feet tall), a spectacular bouldering island and a unique and expansive cave.

The more than 6,000 sq. ft. of climbing surface includes vertical and overhung terrain with bulges, roofs, aretes, and slabs with the most realistic crack anywhere. The creative, rock-like climbing structures, built by the Eldorado Wall Company are surrounded by a continuous safety pad.

First Aid Meeting for February

Posted by: mchazen on February 10, 2010

The Au Pair Meeting for February will be on First Aid

Date: Thursday February 18^th     

Time: 7:30 pm

Place: Colts Neck First Aid Squad                      

It will be held at the Colts Neck First Aid Squad  which is located on the same grounds as the COLTS NECK POLICE DEPT and the Colts Neck Library. On Heritage Lane ,between Cedar Dr and Heyers Mill Rd. Please use the Colts Neck Police address if you are using a GPS system
124 Cedar Dr 
Colts Neck NJ 07722

Refreshments will be served.    

The speakers are all volunteers. One of them is  Host DAD so please try to be on time and attentive during the presentation

The results are in! Cultural Care Au Pair families are overwhelmingly happy!

Posted by: mchazen on January 30, 2010

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

Finding the perfect au pair for your childcare made easy

Posted by: mchazen on January 24, 2010

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.

 For more information about our 3 Ways to Match  contact your local childcare coordinator.

January Au Pair Meeting Reminder

Posted by: mchazen on January 20, 2010

The January Au Pair  meeting will be held on Sunday, January 24th 2010 from 12:45 - 2:45.   You will all be Ice Skating at the Red Bank Armory
 
Where: Red Bank Armory Ice Complex
76 Chestnut Street                                                                     
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-450-9001
Cost: $9.00 (admission) + $4.00 ( skate rental )

See you all there.  Friends welcome to join us.

Other Au Pair Groups will be joining us.

Getting an au pair is more affordable than ever

Posted by: mchazen on January 8, 2010

Our host families spoke, and we listened. The economy had an impact on everyone last year. Many families faced new financial challenges, but in the end, they still needed flexible, affordable childcare. As a result, Cultural Care Au Pair has created several new payment options that help lower the initial cost for welcoming an au pair into their home in the New Year. Along with this exciting new change, we are also keeping our prices the same for the second year in a row!

Now new families applying to Cultural Care Au Pair will have even more payment options available. Not only have we reduced our application fee, we have created several new payment plans for new and repeat families. As a result, they can continue to enjoy all the benefits they have enjoyed from Cultural Care Au Pair in the past - and even more!

Lower application fee, lowered payment plan options
How does it work? Now new families applying to the program will pay a $75 non-refundable application fee -a savings over our previous $350 application fee. Upon finding the right au pair, a $275 selection fee will be due so the au pair can finalize arrangements to come to the U.S. Offering this new payment structure not only helps secure the au pair for the family, it allows the visa process to begin moving forward.

In addition, families now have even more flexibility when it comes to making payments. On our regular payment plan, families now have the ability to pay the program fee 30 days prior to the au pair’s arrival, instead of upon selection of an au pair. This is great for families who select an au pair early, as it provides them with additional time to pay their program fee.

In addition, our Extended Payment Plan option now lowers the initial deposit to $2,395, plus a $200 payment plan enrollment fee. Families have the option of making a payment in three easy installments or they can log into their host family account at their convenience and pay weekly, bi-weekly or monthly - whatever works best for the family, as long as it’s within the Extended Payment Plan timeframe. Repeat and extension families enjoy all these flexible payment benefits as well, with the additional benefit of a waived application fee!

Along with keeping prices the same in 2010, and creating several new, lower payment plan options, we are also decreasing the cost for enrolling in our Extended Payment Plan, making it even easier to afford an au pair in the New Year. For more information about how to utilize these new options, contact me, your local childcare coordinator, and I will be happy to provide you with additional details about Cultural Care Au Pair’s exciting new payment options for 2010    

Recognize your au pair! Nominations due for 2010 IAPA Au Pair of the Year Award

Posted by: mchazen on December 27, 2009

Every year thousands of young people from all over the world embark on a special journey by becoming an au pair. Now it’s time to recognize the extraordinary and ordinary daily accomplishments that each au pair makes in his or her host family by nominating your au pair for the International Au Pair Association’s seventh annual Au Pair of the Year Award.

The International Au Pair Association established the Au Pair of the Year Award to recognize the many great young men and women participating in the au pair program worldwide. In addition, the award helps highlight public awareness of this valuable cultural exchange program.

For the last two years, au pairs with Cultural Care have been honored with the IAPA Au Pair of the Year Award. In 2009, the honor was awarded to Francisco Ricardo Silva de Araújo, of Brazil, an au pair to the Boyer family of Virginia. In 2008, Linda Falter, an au pair from Germany, received the award while she was an au pair for the Sato family of Hayward, California.

What makes your au pair outstanding?
Maybe it’s the day-to-day things he or she does, such as kicking around a soccer ball, helping the kids with homework or entertaining them while you cook dinner. Maybe it’s the way he or she has embraced your family, such as teaching your kids her language, baking treats from her home country or coming to watch your children in the winter program at school. Every thing your au pair does that helps your family or brings a rich cultural exchange into your family is worthy of recognition, and a great way of saying thank you to your au pair!

Host families who would like to nominate their au pair should submit an essay detailing what makes their au pair exceptional in the form provided. Nominations for the Au Pair of the Year Award must be received by Friday, January 15. Once you’ve submitted your nomination, don’t forget to share it with your au pair to show her or him how much you think of what she or he does for your family!

Simply nominating an au pair for the IAPA Au Pair of the Year Award is a wonderful honor that can show your au pair how much you value what she or he does for your family. This award allows so many in the au pair community to reflect on what an incredibly positive program this is and the many lives it touches and enriches along the way.

For more information about the Au Pair of the Year Award or nominating your au pair please click here.

Oktoberfest by German School of Monmouth County

Posted by: mchazen on September 19, 2009

2nd Annual

Oktoberfest 

 Sunday, September 27, 2009

12:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Where: Elks Lodge, 40 W. Front St., Red Bank, NJ

Free parking

Tickets: $25/adult, $10/child in advance (16 & under);

At the door: $30/adult, $10/child  

Information and tickets: info@germanschoolmc.org

www.germanschoolmc.org,  or 1-(888) 368-5300