Can You Imagine?

Last Friday marked NCCF’s 10th Annual Art & Soul Charity Auction and its 2nd Annual Youth Arts Fair, both scheduled at the Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza. Friday also marked 9 tornados kissing Maryland in various locales, while the skies alternatively open and closed, erratically dumping torrential floods of water on the thirsty earth.

As I drove from an important meeting in Baltimore that day, praying as I moved slowly through the dark, moody weather moving north, I not only hoped that the thunderstorms had already passed downtown Silver Spring, but that I would arrive at the NCCF event on time. Most importantly, I hoped that the 23 distinctive performing youth groups would not be disappointed, that the philanthropic artists who so carefully hung their intriguing works on walls would not be bereft of an audience, that the humanitarian awardees would be present to receive their accolades, and that the celebration which had been planned for months would go on!

At some unexpected moment, the skies spilled out torrents of rain once again, while the dark clouds themselves seemed to boom in protest.  But can you imagine?  The young artists sang and danced under the pavilion, on a dry oasis surrounded by admirers. They were beautiful, gifted, and absolutely delighted to share their talents.  But can you imagine? More than 400 attendees stood in the Great Hall happily to salute a 25-year-old Army Staff Sergeant, a former NCCF foster child who is now a college graduate and defender of his country.

Really, I did not imagine all of this, could not imagine it.  God delivered the much needed rain, but also the remarkably diverse community, with its immeasurable willingness to support NCCF’s mission.  For this gift, I am so grateful and I thank the hundreds of you that will brave a tornado (or more) to witness this mission in action. You put up your umbrellas and helped us imagine.

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Author

Name: Dr. Sheryl Brissett Chapman

About: Dr. Sheryl Brissett Chapman, Executive Director, is a passionate, internationally recognized and award-winning advocate for children, youth, and their families, who struggle with extreme poverty, abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and disabilities and related trauma. An author and expert in child and family welfare, she believes in the sheer power of “community” as it reinforces unimaginable resilience when it provides the basic support to those in its midst who have need. Dr. Chapman envisions a healthy, happy childhood for each and every child, regardless of the circumstances of their birth or the socio-economic status of their family.

ABOUT US

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Founded in 1915 as an orphanage in the District of Columbia, NCCF is a private, nonprofit child and family welfare agency with a commitment to serving poor, disadvantaged, abused, neglected and/or abandoned children, youth, and their families.

Current program services include emergency shelters and transitional housing for homeless families, a high-intensity therapeutic group home, therapeutic and traditional foster care and adoption, independent living for youth transitioning to adulthood, teen parent services, and community-based prevention services that promote academic achievement, parental involvement, economic and vocational stability, and healthy families. Our programs have become social service models, redefining both NCCF’s reputation and the agency’s position in the human service continuum in the Washington Metropolitan Region.

blog-sidebar-aboutUs-logo

Founded in 1915 as an orphanage in the District of Columbia, NCCF is a private, nonprofit child and family welfare agency with a commitment to serving poor, disadvantaged, abused, neglected and/or abandoned children, youth, and their families.

Current program services include emergency shelters and transitional housing for homeless families, a high-intensity therapeutic group home, therapeutic and traditional foster care and adoption, independent living for youth transitioning to adulthood, teen parent services, and community-based prevention services that promote academic achievement, parental involvement, economic and vocational stability, and healthy families. Our programs have become social service models, redefining both NCCF’s reputation and the agency’s position in the human service continuum in the Washington Metropolitan Region.

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NCCF's Back to School Drive 2022