ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING REPORT | 6
Client Stories
We moved back to Edmonton
5 and a half years ago, and at that point, I had
just become a single parent and was looking
for childcare. I had the advantage of having
family involved in the program so I was able
to get my children in the daycare and that was
a wonderful/very lucky experience for me.
It was pretty stressful having been a stay-at-home
parent, and suddenly being back in the working
force and having to give your kids over to someone
else –it’s like “Oh… I hope they’re going to do a good
job!” Plus, Malachi has always been a little on the shy
side, so I wasn’t sure exactly how that was going to
go –but it was amazing, the daycare at Community
Options is just fantastic; the people there are
wonderful, they really drew him out of his shell.
One thing I really appreciate about Community
Options is not just the friendships among the
kids, but that they really encourage parents to
get to know each other as well. Malachi hasn’t
been in the daycare program for 3 years now, but
several of the children from that program are
still his best friends today, and their parents and
I are good friends –I think that we really created a
community there where we’ve all stayed together.
Another thing that I think is fantastic about
Community Options, and particularly about the out of
school care program is that it takes into consideration
that this is a rather low-income neighbourhood, and
that families here don’t necessarily have the ability
to pay for a lot of activities. What I find absolutely
My name is Camille,
and I am the Board President for Community Options.
To me, Community Options is a meaningful way for
me to give back to my community. As someone who
works in a related field, I have been able to leverage
my skills in order to help meet the needs of those
fantastic is the calendar that Community Options
puts together for spring break, and over the summer.
Usually, kids in more average-income communities
get to go away on vacation, but most kids in this
community don’t get to do anything really special
over the break –Community Options organizes
field trips for these kids almost every single day.
Malachi has been going to the program for quite a
few years now, but recently our situation changed
and it wasn’t really necessary for him to be coming
to out of school care anymore, so he hasn’t been
going here for about a month. But last week, he
asked me if he could start coming back on Thursday
afternoons, and I asked him “Why is that? Why would
you want to go back when you have these other fun
options for things that you can do?” So he explained
to me that he missed André, and he missed the food
and the crafts, and that he thought André probably
missed him too. I thought that that was a really good
testament to how much he enjoys this program.
What makes Community Options really special are
the people that work here and their dedication. It’s
clear that they really do love these kids, that it’s not
just a 9-5 job. It feels like, when you send your kids
here, it’s kind of like you’re sending them to family.
I like to say that, as a single parent, it really takes a
village to raise your kids –and Community Options
is very much an important and critical part of my
village. It’s been the place where I’ve taken my kids,
and where I know that they’re with people who care
about them. It’s kind of a bit like a piece of home.
Ellen & Malachi ()