A Note From Jackie Donaldson, Director of CBH’s Youth Development Program
Dear Friends,
Parents, teachers, and people who work with children are always looking for ways to help the young people in our care live happy and productive lives. That’s not an easy thing to do and there are a range of social, economic, health, and familial challenges that can make that job even more challenging. But there are also some simple things we can do, things we can do easily and within the course of our everyday lives that can make an enormous difference in young people’s lives. Simple expressions of interest or caring, for example, can be very helpful.
Studies have shown that meaningful relationships with caring adults are at the core of what young people need to be successful. If children feel safe and supported, they are more likely to ask questions that will help them better understand the world. If their gifts are noticed and encouraged, they are more likely to see that they have something to offer the world they are exploring. At Children’s Beach House, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with young people in our preschool and youth development programs and help them to understand the world and to find their places in it. We bear witness to their milestones and achievements, and we are there to support them during life’s inevitable tough moments.
This summer one of our returning campers found herself struggling to find her voice. Although the Beach House had always been a familiar place that felt like a second home to her, she was taken aback when she encountered several new faces in the post-pandemic camp staff. They were friendly faces, though, and those friendly faces made it a point to get to know each camper and to learn about each child’s interests. By the end of the camp session, thanks to the counselors’ great care in being intentional and in creating trusting relationships with each kiddo, the camper who once could not find her voice could be heard belting theatre scripts from the top of her lungs or filling the halls with laughter with her peers. Moments like those remind us that a little intention goes a long way. By creating safe spaces for children that feel like home, physically and emotionally, we establish trusting relationships that help them to succeed.
Every adult can have a positive impact on youth like that. Through small gestures, such as asking, “how was your day?” adults can begin to forge relationships that have lasting effects in a child’s life.
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, please know how grateful we are for your help as we work to have a positive impact on young people every day here at Children’s Beach House.
Be well,
Jackie
Jaqueline Donaldson directs CBH’s Youth Development Program. The Youth Development Program’s family engagement coordinators provide year-round support to children, ages 7 to 18, engage families and educators in supporting each child’s goals and development, plan and supervise evening and weekend enrichment activities, and help families find and access a network of necessary services in the community. The Youth Development Program also includes CBH’s signature activity, week-long summer camp sessions at its Lewes Beach facility.
The Moore Family prepares Thanksgiving dinner packages for the YDP families!
Chad and Elyse Moore and their children have volunteered to prepare Thanksgiving care packages for the families in the Youth Development Program (YDP) for years. Packages include a whole turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, and all the fixin's needed to put on a great Thanksgiving feast! Then our Family Engagement Coordinators hit the road to deliver the packages to the YDP families from Wilmington to Millsboro and everywhere in between.
A Favorite Thanksgiving Recipe from Greater Good Events Executive Chef, Dom Pandolfino
When asked to share his favorite recipe from his family’s Thanksgiving feast, Chef Dominic Pandolfino didn't hesitate to recommend this simple cornbread concoction.
“It’s so simple but the chorizo puts it over the top,’ he says. "People always comment about the ‘complex’ flavors, but really it’s just a few simple ingredients."
It was practically inevitable that Tom Sheridan would cross paths with Children’s Beach House. His nearly four-decade-long career has its roots in community-based services to people in need and he lives just a stone’s throw away from CBH’s Lewes facility. It just took a quick introduction to make the inevitable happen.
With a newly-minted master’s degree in social work, Tom started his professional career in the early 1980s setting up group homes for people with developmental disabilities in his home state of New York. That early work taught Tom two important lessons. First, “great programs come from great people on the ground doing good work.” And, second, those great programs can be stymied by systemic obstacles -- laws and policies that need to be addressed at a legislative or government agency level. That second lesson prompted social worker Tom Sheridan to become a lobbyist.
Tom began his lobbying career in Washington, DC at the National Association of Social Workers and the later with the Child Welfare League of America. In the late 1980s he joined AIDS Action Council, where he became the chief architect and strategist behind the enactment of the Ryan White CARE Act, landmark legislation that has been bringing much-needed funding to services for people with HIV/AIDS since 1990, as well as the lead lobbyist for the historic Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In 1991, Tom founded The Sheridan Group where he and his team work to craft effective strategies for socially responsible public policy initiatives to “help the good do better.” The Sheridan Group has worked on high profile projects – such as with the musician and humanitarian Bono’s ONE Campaign to create the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and as lead strategist in Save the Children’s effort to form a new 501(c)(4) political arm – but he has also worked on countless other “white hat” efforts with dozens of charitable and advocacy organizations, including those focusing on poverty, cancer, hunger, public service, and human trafficking.
In spite of all this in-depth involvement with service and advocacy organizations and the close proximity of Tom’s Lewes home to CBH’s facility on the Delaware Bay, for many years, Children’s Beach was, to Tom, “that organization over there that ran a summer camp for kids.” That was until a close friend who was working with Children’s Beach House arranged a meeting with CBH Executive Director, Rich Garrett. That’s all that it took. Tom clearly saw one of the “great programs from great people on the ground doing good work” that he loves to support and Children’s Beach House immediately saw a valuable ally in Tom.
“I love to be close to work that really matters,” says Tom, “and CBH’s work truly does matter. From the very start, I’ve been so impressed by how CBH constantly monitors and evaluates its work and uses that data to continuously improve its programs.” The board was equally impressed with Tom’s experience and enthusiasm and invited him to join them in guiding the organization. “When I was invited to join the CBH Board of Trustees, I didn’t hesitate a bit. I was honored to be invited and happy to help.”
Children’s Beach House’s decision to undertake a strategic planning process shortly after Tom joined the board gave him countless opportunities to be incredibly helpful. His ability to plan and strategize was immeasurably helpful to the board in developing the strategic plan and he has been an enormous help as the organization has implemented it.
When asked what fires him up about his work with CBH, Tom recites a list of things. “The work that we’re doing to bring our Youth Development Program to Milton is very exciting. Our strategic planning process detected a pocket of need there and now that we’re doing more in-depth planning with the community, we’re seeing more clearly how we can help and it’s even more exciting and far-reaching than we initially thought. It’s also been amazing to watch our social enterprise, Greater Good Events, take off and to support our charitable work so well. I’m looking forward to watching that program continue to expand and serve our kids in new ways. And our strategic plan has given CBH a clear direction and very specific goals for us to reach. It has been very exciting to watch the organization work toward and meet those goals. There’s a lot to be fired up about.”
Honor Someone You Love With a Gift to Children’ Beach House
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve are all perfect occasions to honor loved ones – or the memory of loved ones with a gift to support the good work of Children’s Beach House. It will be our great honor to continue our work with your support and to do so in honor and in memory of those you love.
Please use this button to make your gift.
We will be happy to notify the people you honor or the loved ones of those in whose memory you have made a gift.
May all your holidays be filled with love and gratitude.
Federal Government Employees and Military Personnel
Please consider supporting Children’s Beach House through the Combined Federal Campaign
CFC# 18341
If you are not a federal government employee but know someone who is, please encourage them to support us.
Thank you!
Delaware Government Employees
Please consider supporting Children’s Beach House through the State Employees Charitable Campaign
SECC# 70037
Donate on-line at: https://secc.delaware.gov/
If you are not a Delaware government employee but know someone who is, please encourage them to support us.
Thank you!
