I just spent a weekend with my best friend from childhood, Sarah Jacobson. She and her sister, Connie, also a wonderful friend, came up from the DC area to see our new home in Vermont. I have known Sarah for 49 years. Seems impossible. The years pass. Circumstances change. Parents pass on. And yet the solid base of our relationship endures. It has been enough years that we don't necessarily remember the same events with the same details. And that adds some amusement and depth to the memories. The strength of this important, childhood relationship has been the foundation of other relationships. That is how things work. Ideally our positive relationships start with family and move to friends and then to the larger community. Great things can happen if that process goes smoothly. 

Our work at TLC in early childhood relationships, bonding, support, and services is important for the same reason that my deep relationships with my family, and then with Sarah, are important. The early years are the most important for determining what kind of adult a child will become. It starts with mom and dad and then extends to more family, to neighbors, to the community, to the nation, to the world. If we want the world to be a better place for everyone in another generation, we need to invest in those first few years and create solid relationships now.

Thanks for helping us build those important connections in the first critical years!

Maggie Monroe-Cassel

Executive Director