Lakeport family wins 'Check In Communicate Challenge'

The Porter family of Lake County, Calif. Pictured, from top left, Ricky, Nathan (13), Justine (12), Ruth with new baby Miles (3 weeks); bottom right, Joey (8), Mathias (1), Teilia (3), Nickolas (7) and Tobey (5). Photo credit by T. Thornquist.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. ? The Porter family was the happy winner of the Lake County Hero Project's February Check In Communicate Challenge, which concluded in March.

The Porter family was randomly chosen and won a wide array of books supporting communication with families, feelings and emotion flash cards for young children designed to help them learn to identify and communicate about their emotions.

The challenge urged parents to check in with their children every day regarding school, friends, feeling and their daily activities.

It's no surprise that communication in the Porter family, a family of 10, is already happening.

"Being more aware of good communication and being challenged to do so for an entire two months created competition in the family, which was fun and brought us closer together," said Ruth Porter, mother of eight. "With so many children in the home it's important to know they can communicate with mom and dad and have that open communication line."

It is reported that children with open communication within their families are less likely to be depressed; parents are able to address sensitive situations like bullying before they occur and get out of hand.

Open communication can increase awareness, creating happier, healthier homes and families.

The Porter family has been a Hero Project family since the beginning in 2014. It is estimated they have completed more than 20 challenges over the past few years.

As huge supporters of the Hero Project, the Porters ? Ruth and husband Ricky ? feel that the Hero Project has really brought them together in creating one tangible common goal.

They are excited to continue the new school year and be part of the Hero Project's legendary marketing material.

Grand prize winners from the 2016-17 school years will have a photo shoot this summer with their families to be used on the new challenge cards and social media, including the Hero Project Web site.

"This is a fun and exciting thing to be part of. This coming year we are changing things up. We are using our Hero families just in a different way. We are showing real moms, dads, aunts, uncles and families who completed the challenges and won for new marketing material," said Audrey Patti, coordinator for the Lake County Hero Project.

The Hero Project is funded by the Lake County Office of Education and First 5 Lake. This program supports children, ages 0-8, by presenting parents with activities and parenting tips to improve parenting child relationships and to increase knowledge of early childhood development.

The program is free and accessed virtually though www.lakecountyheroproject.com , Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

The Hero Project also has an App which can be downloaded onto mobile devices from iTunes and Google Play.

To learn more about the Hero Project go to www.lakecountyheroproject.com .

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