About Great Day Family Connections

Mission Statement:

• Parents will learn the importance of building purposeful relationships with their children
• Parents will teach their children as the primary educator; literacy and communication
• Parents will connect with other parents thereby forming supportive networks, peer advocates, and shared resources.

As we learn, we teach. As we teach we connect. As we connect we grow!

Dona L. Harris-Biography

Bachelor's degree from Hofstra University: NY: Sociology Major’
Masters of Social Work from Columbia University, N.Y
Experience in:

• Foster care and Adoption home studies
• Curriculum Development for administration and foster care staff
• Curriculum Development for foster care and adoptive parents
• Development and implementation of Parent Skills training

Sensitivity training to medical staff, law enforcement, substance abuse rehabilitation staff regarding preventing babies of substance abusing mothers entering the foster care system.

Ms. Dona Harris worked at Grady Memorial Hospital (currently Grady Health System) Atlanta, GA on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with prenatal and postpartum women who were involved with substance abuse. Ms. Harris was a case manager under a grant program called Project Prevent which focused on preventing babies from entering the foster care system by helping the mothers gain sobriety through treatment and community resources. Her responsibilities also included parenting skills training and sensitivity workshops with medical staff and law enforcement.

Dona Harris has her masters in Social Work for more than thirty years and experience working with families who have children who are deaf or hard hearing for more than 19 years which includes her tenure at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf. She provided ongoing family engagement workshops, facilitated and participated in conferences as an organizer as well as a presenter, fundraising, encouraged community partnerships through outreach and established community-based sign language classes.

Ms. Harris has a passion for working with parents. Therefore she has founded Great Day Family Connections, Inc. (GDFC, Inc.) which focuses on parents as the primary educators of their children. She established collaborations and partnerships with several community-based organizations such as Great Day Inc., Great Day Works, The Clarkston Culture Fest Committee, and Quota International of Northside Atlanta. 

Partner Up!

Great Day Family Connections, (GDFC) would love to have you join us as a Partner! As non-profits and businesses, we all look for ideas to raise money so we can serve our target populations. We offer several ways that you are welcomed to partner with us.

Educational Fundraising:

Usbourne Books and More: Literacy event and book sale

MaryKay.com/dharrisbeauty- “Self-care is not Selfish” Lessons in self-care; Men, Women, and teens (learn and practice) 

Great Day Family Connections Silent Towne.  A fundraiser to benefit children who are deaf or hard of hearing by providing partial scholarship funding to attend Deaf Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. (The maximum amount of funding provided will be no more than 75%.  Families are expected to be financial investment partners contributing to the program tuition.)

Vision Statement:
Families are engaged as partners in the educational and social development of their children. The community no longer sees the “disability” of individuals but the various abilities and skills that are possessed; establishing an integrated community of individual acceptance and accessible resources. We are all not able to do some things, however, we all have the ability to do many things!

Phone: (770) 560-3142
Email: info@greatdayconnections.org