Reflections From Children's Enrichment Committee President Judy Vaillancourt

Reflections from the President

It is hard to believe that more than a year has passed since the present officers were elected to serve the Children's Enrichment Committee of Orange County. In addition we continue to benefit from the chairpersons of various committees in our organization who contribute each year to make the Children's Enrichment Committee a viable means of helping children who are most in need. 

These remarkable people are:

Sandra Strohsahl our Vice President

Madalyn Diana our Treasurer

Paula Wells our Corresponding Secretary

Susan Pfeffer our Recording Secretary

Jean Rimbach our Scholarship Chairperson

Ann VanHaaster our Holiday Gifts Chairperson

Sari Cornell our Annual Fundraising Chairperson

Ann Falkenberry and Jeanette Crane our Communications Coordinators

Jeanette Crane our Historian

They have all worked so successfully to fulfill our mission of helping good children through bad times.

Here is what you, the members of CEC, have done this year:

You have provided scholarships of $1500 each/ per year/ for 4 years to 5 students this year. 

You have organized our holiday project for foster children with Social Services.

You have knitted dozens of beautiful items for foster children.  

You have shopped for, purchased and wrapped gifts for more than 200 foster children in the county during the holidays.

You have involved the Boy Scouts in Goshen to assist us in providing for more than 30 of these children's gifts.

You have provided the organization with its own Post Office Box. 

You have given us a face on Twitter.

You have organized luncheons for us.

You have attended fundraisers at John's Harvest Inn.

You have rewritten our organization's flyers and updated them.

You have prepared materials for our annual fund drive.

You have addressed and stuffed envelopes to request donations.

You have created an exciting and ingenious blog for us.

You have kept a record of the events of this organization.

You have written articles for the newspaper.

You have taken pictures for those newspaper articles.

You have created spreadsheets of information.

You have spoken to the residents at Glen Arden to introduce them to a worthy and safe organization to which they can contribute.

You have untiringly kept track of monies-received and paid our bills. 

You have made a connection with HONOR (Helping Others Needing Our Resources) to help homeless children.

You have written dozens of thank you letters and presented awards to those who have supported us.

 These are the things done by people who are passionate about supporting children.

None of these accomplishments could have happened without  the people who have gone before us in this organization – those who have had the wisdom and foresight to encourage new membership, to create committees and to engage benefactors.  You have created a long-standing relationship with our county foster care supervisor, Brian McNamara, and you have made us known in all of the high schools in the area who work hand in hand with us in our efforts to provide college scholarships to students who are eligible.

We have all heard:  It takes a village to raise a child. And we are a big part of that village.

Gratefully,

Judy Vaillancourt

Children's Enrichment Committee President