The task of finding parents with young children to participate sometimes seems discouraging.  Many parents are working full or part time outside the home and cannot participate.  Some parents feel uncomfortable about visiting with the elderly.  Yet many parents do want to participate in this most rewarding experience.  Where does one begin?

1. Seek out places where parents of young children are apt to go.  Places such as grocery stores, libraries, laundromats, children's toy and clothing stores, fabric or craft stores, Gymboree or Kindergym facilities, and YMCA's are great places to post flyers and leave brochures.  It is a good practice to ask permission from the store operator or manager to leave the flyers.  You can also try contacting Welcome Wagons or similar organizations that greet or help out people who are new to an area.  Parents who have recently moved to a new area are usually eager to meet new people.  Call your Chamber of Commerce or Realtor's Association for names of welcoming groups in your city.

2. Arrange to visit programs involving parents and young children, to talk to them briefly about Project Caressing.  Hospitals and YM (or W) CA's often have New Parenting programs, or baby exercise programs, which are ideal places to start recruitment.  Be sure to bring plenty of attractive brochures to hand out to interested persons.  (See Note 1)

3. Mail out a brochure and a typewritten ad of a few lines, along with an attached cover letter to various churches and community civic groups, so that they too can help recruit participants.  The letter should basically explain the program and include a request that they publish the ad in their bulletin, or post it on an information board, if they have one.

4. Last, but certainly not least, tell friends and relatives with young children about the program.

Note:
When you are recruiting, focus on parents of children aged three months to two years.  Children older than two may not adapt to the program as easily as the younger ones.  There are children in the program up to four years old, but these children started in it before they were two.  We feel they do well in the program because they have grown with it.