Dear Friends and Neighbors,
In the last two weeks, we celebrated two big endings: we wished our preschoolers well in a three-day graduation celebration, and we said goodbye to our largest class of graduating seniors. The weeks were joyful and a little bittersweet for our teachers who have spent the last year (and then some) with these wonderful young people.
It feels right that graduation is happening right now, at the tail end of this pandemic. We’re all graduating this year, aren’t we? Coming out of the most unusual, unexpected, collectively traumatic year of our lives. It was hard and scary – and despite that, it was full of hope too.
We saw communities come together to support one another in big ways and small. GCC saw it happen in waves – people of all walks of life raising their hands to be the one to volunteer, make a gift or just send words of encouragement as our staff worked to ensure our neighbors who needed it had food, childcare and connection to make it through the pandemic.
I can’t think of a better way to come out of the year we had than to walk into a new beginning: summer programming at the Goodman Center. Monday was the first day of our summer camps and activities, and our buildings were vibrating with the energy of young people excited about what’s in store. Kids from age 3 to 19 were on-site, meeting their teachers and peers and gearing up for a summer filled with fun and learning.
How great is that? To finally be able to anticipate what comes next, rather than brace ourselves for the unknown.
I hope you’re filled with the same hope and renewal that we’re experiencing right now at the Goodman Center, and wherever the summer takes you, I hope you’ll find some time to keep in touch.
Take care,
Letesha Nelson, CEO / Executive Director