A Special Expression of Appreciation to Some Very Special Children’s Village Families
Children’s Village recently presented hand-crafted Excellent Friend Award certificates to 15 very special families – those among the first to return when we reopened in July 2020 after the mandated pandemic closure and who remain with us today.
To express our gratitude to the families, each received a unique, framed certificate created by Children’s Village volunteer and artist Anthony Latess*.
“I’ve thought of these families so often, and wanted to do something to symbolize how much it meant to us that they started back so soon, and are still with us,” says Beth Baker, Family Services Director, who organized the presentation.
“When we reopened our doors after the shutdown, there were countless unknowns but one thing was clear: accessible, high-quality child care was never more critical to ensuring that children, families, communities, and businesses would continue to thrive. We knew we needed to resume our work but we had no script to follow during a crisis of such scale,” says Mary Graham, Executive Director, who joined Ms. Baker to present the certificates.
“We wanted to honor those families who entrusted us with the care and education of their children, despite so much uncertainty. It seemed like everything was upside down – parents didn’t enter the building for our first year, school-agers learned through the computer screen that first year, and we even offered a virtual preschool option. These families embarked on a journey to unchartered territory with us and held out hope that we would figure it out together, which we did! Others then followed their lead, and today, Children’s Village’s enrollment has rebounded,” says Ms. Baker.
The families’ responses to the gesture included surprise (why were they being called to the ‘principal’s office’?) as well as gratitude, stating:
You should be the ones getting the appreciation gift.
My family told me to keep the kids at home but I knew they would be safe and OK with you.
We love your program.
View photographs of some of the families during the certificate presentation in the below slideshow:
*View photographs by artist Anthony Latess on his website here.