On Thursday, June 13, Children's Trust staff and partners came together for this year's Celebration Day. Our annual Celebration Day celebrates the work and accomplishments of Children’s Trust program partners and family support professionals across Massachusetts. 

This year's event celebrated the remarkable achievements of our partners and inspiring family-support professionals, and shared inspiring stories from program participants, highlighting the effectiveness of collective efforts to support children and families.

At the Children’s Trust, we are deeply proud of the hard work and partnerships we empower on local, state, and national stages, all contributing to the safety of children and strengthening of families throughout the Commonwealth.

Moments of Reflection

As a past program participant and current Family Engagement Support Specialist, Tina Utter shared how the Healthy Families program helped her gain confidence as a parent and gave her the support system that and her partner needed. Her experience as a program participant in Berkshire County Family Center and Healthy Families motivates her to pass on that same feeling of support to the families she currently works with.

“It's wild to think that I started as a nervous mom who needed my Healthy Families home visitor to join me at the Family Center play groups that I now help facilitate those same play and learn through. It truly is a great feeling to come full circle and be able to be the support for families that I once needed.”

Attendees also heard from Healthy Families program participant, Andrew McKnight. Andrew reflected on how after extensive birth complications and a difficult custody battle the Healthy Families program helped equip him with the tools to become the strong, loving father he is today. He expressed her gratitude for the support and guidance of his family's home visitor, Natalie, and how much he values both their relationship and the Healthy Families program.

“The last thing I want to say is that the Healthy Families programs helped me set goals for myself and provided me with the support and resources to achieve my goals. I think we should all strive for big things, and they've done a big job helping me do that"

Special guest, Dr. Barbara Stroud, spoke on the importance of compassion in helping families deal with hardships and prejudice. She shared tools and stories on making sure parents felt like they were worthy of receiving love in order to pass that on to their children. 

"And when we celebrate love and compassion and that becomes internalized by them, they walk out into the world with an open heart willing to extend love and compassion to everyone."- Dr. Barbara Stroud

Celebration Day Awards

Each year, we are thrilled to recognize the dedication and accomplishments of program partners and family support professionals across Massachusetts. Congratulations to this year's award recipients!

Healthy Families Awards

All-Star Award
Healthy Families Framingham/Milford

Home Visiting Award
Healthy Families Lowell

Documentation Award
Cape Cod Healthy Families  

Fatherhood
Healthy Families Lowell

Legislative Advocacy
Healthy Families Melrose/Wakefield

Public Relations
Healthy Families Berkshire County

Supervision
Harbor Area Healthy Families

Training
Boston Area Healthy Families

Community Engagement
Healthy Families Holyoke

Focus on Quality
Healthy Families Central Middlesex

Vanguard
Pati Webber, Healthy Families Haverhill

Groups
Greater Attleboro Taunton Healthy Families

Family Center Awards

Healthy Families Massachusetts Drop the Mic Award
Christopher Millett, Cape Cod & the Islands Sheila Toro, Healthy Families of Southern Worcester County and Vanessa Dos Anjos, Greater Brockton Healthy Families

Family Center Drop the Mic
Yaritza Fuentes, Community Action Family Center

Healthy Families Massachusetts Community Champion
The Bridge Amherst Family Resource Center

Healthy Families Massachusetts Family Recognition Award 
Lourdes Giraud Rosado, Healthy Families New Bedford

Healthy Families Massachusetts Family Recognition Award 
Heidi Shartrand-Newell, Family Center of Northern Berkshire County