Earlier this month, Old Colony Y staff were moved by a powerful Mission Moment shared by Jodi Ward, Assistant Director of School Age Program. This testimony underscores the profound impact we have on the lives of children we serve, reminding us of the meaningful work we do daily.

Mission Moment: 

Childcare and school age are undoubtedly challenging, often without immediate acknowledgment of the positive impact we make on children’s lives. Today, I want to share Carter's story.

Carter came to us last year having past difficulties in other programs due to behavioral concerns. When Carter entered our program, we faced doubts about his potential success; there were many challenging moments. However, through understanding, patience, teamwork, and dedicated staff, we witnessed remarkable transformation and growth, defying our initial expectations. I feel it is important to note - Carter has taught us far more than we will ever teach him.

Carter’s classroom staff, behavior specialist, site coordinators, and myself have worked seamlessly as a team, collaborating and ensuring a supportive network is in place for Carter. This collective commitment highlights the strength of unity and determination within our Y school-age community.

Each day, Carter is given a hug by his staff, peers, and leadership, whether his day was good or could have been better. His classmates have continuously shown grace, compassion, empathy, understanding, and acceptance.

Carter was recently evaluated and diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. Written in his evaluation, Carter was asked, “If he had any friends at school,” he replied, “no, but I do at the YMCA.” The next question asked was “do you know what a friend is and not a friend is?” Carter replied, “A friend gives you a hug and not a friend hits you.” Reading Carter’s evaluation, it became apparent that even the little things or a daily hug mean more than I think any of us ever knew.

Carter is not just an incredible child who found a place in our program, but thrives on a daily basis, showcasing remarkable growth and resilience. There is not a day that Carter does not have a smile on his face or doesn’t put a smile on everyone else’s face.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each of our amazing team: Kim, Heather, Alisha, Wisdom, Nick, Calie, Dee, Kristiana, Kiley, Latoya, and Domingo, as well as the rest of our school-age staff for your unwavering dedication and efforts to ensure Carter's success and the success of every child in our program. Your commitment makes each day a triumph, and your impact resonates far beyond the walls of our program. Thank you all for your invaluable contributions.

I just want to leave you with this one quote, whether a hug, a smile, a “hello” or “how are you,” seems like a small thing - the small things matter.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together” - Vincent Van Gogh