Celebration Day: Honoring the People Who Help Massachusetts Families Thrive

On June 11, 2026, we hosted Celebration Day, an annual event that invites professionals who spend their days supporting children and families across Massachusetts to step out of their individual communities and into one shared room. This statewide gathering recognizes the family support workforce and the partnerships that make our work possible.

Opening remarks from our Executive Director Jennifer Valenzuela set the tone for the day. She reminded attendees of our vision to make Massachusetts a place where every child grows up in a thriving family and community – and how much this work depends on an enormous and committed network of home visitors building trust with new parents, community organizations creating access and opportunity, trainers strengthening the workforce, and advocates pushing for stronger policy.

“We serve as a convener and partner in that work,” she said. “But the meaningful change happens because of the people in the room.”

Jennifer Valenzuela, Executive Director at the Children’s Trust

A Broader Celebration of the Family Support Workforce

This year’s gathering also marked a shift. For years, Celebration Day centered primarily on the Healthy Families Massachusetts network. This year, the event widened to reflect our full community of partners, welcoming colleagues from the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention program, training and workforce development initiatives, and beyond.

The expanded event reflected an important truth: strengthening families requires collaboration across sectors and disciplines.

The Power of Trusted Relationships

One of the morning’s most powerful moments came from Shannen Jimenez, a Healthy Families Massachusetts program participant from Worcester.

Shannen shared her experience of a traumatic pregnancy, an emergency delivery, and the disorientation of becoming a mother while her newborn remained in the hospital. She talked about her home visitor sitting with her through the hardest moments and helping both her and her husband step into parenthood with confidence.

Her story put a human face on a theme that ran through the entire day: that strong, trusted relationships are often what stands between a family in crisis and a family that finds its footing.

Supporting Families by Supporting the Workforce

That idea, supporting families before challenges become crises, was woven throughout the day’s programming. Jennifer talked about the challenges families face across the state as they continue to navigate economic insecurity, isolation, and mental health challenges, and the role of everyone in the room to make sure support reaches families early.

Keynote speaker Carmen Blyden, a leadership and wellbeing coach, turned that theme inward, encouraging the family support workforce to extend the same care to themselves that they give to the families they serve.

Recognizing Excellence Across Massachusetts

The day also made space to recognize achievement. The Recognition of Excellence program honored dozens of home visitors and supervisors for outstanding service delivery, and a series of peer-nominated awards celebrated standout work in community partnership, leadership, documentation, training, and direct family impact. But the recognition mattered less as a tally of names than as evidence of a workforce that, year after year, keeps choosing to show up with creativity, compassion, and persistence for families.

By the close of the day, one thing was unmistakable: this is an extraordinary workforce. These are people who show up for families during their hardest moments, who build trust one visit at a time, who keep choosing this work even when it’s demanding, and who do it all with skill, heart, and an unshakable belief that families deserve better.

That is worth celebrating.

Celebration Day Awards

Each year, the Children’s Trust proudly recognizes the dedication and accomplishments of our program partners. Congratulations to this year’s recipients and thank you for your continued support and partnership.

• All-Star Award: Greater Brockton Healthy Families
• Community Champion Award: Ronnie Heoy, Executive Director of Project Kompass Inc., and Doug Coldwell of Happy Valley Organics
• Community Engagement Award: South Shore Healthy Families
• Documentation Award: Greater Attleboro Taunton Healthy Families
• Drop the Mic Award: Laura Miller, Healthy Families Franklin County, and Claudia Joacine, Harbor Area Healthy Families
• Family Recognition Award: Lily Suarez, Healthy Families Greater Springfield
• Fatherhood & Co-Parenting Award: North Worcester County Healthy Families
• Focus on Quality Award: Healthy Families Lawrence
• Groups Award: Healthy Families New Bedford
• Home Visiting Award: Healthy Families Framingham/Milford
• Legislative Advocacy Award: Greater Fall River Healthy Families
• Public Relations Award: Boston Area Healthy Families
• Reflective Supervision Award: Healthy Families Greater Springfield
• Training Award: Healthy Families Hampshire County and Healthy Families Franklin County
• Vanguard Award: Maria Leite, Greater Brockton Healthy Families