“All great achievements require time,” Maya Angelou. One word that defines February’s 2021 success story is achievement! Our African American History Month Event was hosted virtually for the first time. Collaboration, organization, and hard work were all key to its success. New Destiny FSC’s team was able to put together a virtual event that was engaging, fun, and educational. Every part of the event was carefully planned. Many pre-virtual tests were done to ensure the program ran smoothly. Moreover, the first 50 families that registered for the event enjoyed a “free” delicious soul food meal catered by our number ONE Cook, “Jennie A!” A team of interns/volunteers and staff met at the office to distribute the food to all families. Each family registered received sides which included, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, corn bread, and collard greens. Topped off with two pieces of fried chicken per family member. Our African American History Month event was a success, 50 families joined virtually, 10 of them were new! Collaboration with two key partner organizations contributed to the success of the experience: The Paterson Museum and the Paterson Public Library. Paterson Museum presented the life of Larry Doby, a native Patersonian, who was the second African American player to break baseball’s color barrier and the first black player in the American League. The Negro League was special to Paterson as they played many of their games in the city’s legendary Hinchcliff Stadium. A story-teller from The Paterson Library read an inspirational folk story about the positive impact of a grandfather on his grandson’s life and growth. The educational enrichment experience was followed by a few robust rounds of African American History Jeopardy and a battle of Name That Tune led by Project Game Time (with a live DJ). Families participated as teams in both games including dancing, and even one participant who sang! The end result was well worth the time and effort put forth by each staff, volunteer, and community partner. Having events such as this reminds us of the importance of maintaining a strong bond between the FSC, our families and our community partners. A sense of joy and togetherness was present at this event. We may have been separated by distance, but it felt like old times where we all got together at the Family Success Center.
