Healing by
Helping Others
Written by: Becky Mitchell
 Community is a very important part of life at Eagleton. We understand that fostering a sense of community in our students helps them to move beyond the seclusion of their own issues and learn to relate to the outside world in a healthy, positive way.
One way we extend our community is through a monthly therapy group called Understanding Family (UniFy). For UniFy our students' families come to Eagleton to celebrate the positive changes in the boys and to be able to reach out to others to form a community of strength to support each other in continued growth. In this therapy group, we do team building skills and play games - but most importantly, we find time to talk about each boy and to recognize him in front of the group for the forward steps he’s taken.
We also encourage the boys to expand their view to the wider community once a year in charitable giving. In December, Eagleton gathers donations from staff and vendors, and the boys sell handmade crafts and decorate freshly made cookies to raise money for a local charity. Executive Director Bruce Bona matches whatever has been collected and student council gives a check in that amount to a representative of that charity at the holiday dinner. Last year, in honor of the 30 year anniversary of Eagleton School, a donation of $30,000 was raised and given to the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity – the largest single donation they had ever received.
This year student council chose the Elizabeth Freeman Center and Firefighter Keefer of the Great Barrington fire department. Elizabeth Freeman Center is a non-profit, county-wide agency that provides counseling, advocacy, emotional, educational, vocational, and economic services, and fosters social change. Specifically, they provide safety planning, emergency shelter, legal and housing advocacy, residential services, individual counseling and support to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Firefighter Keefer heard an emergency call for help for a student with a peanut reaction while off duty, but was the first to respond to the distress call. His swift actions helped save the life of our student, and we wanted to show our appreciation for his remarkable actions.
With donations from staff and vendors, and with money raised from fundraising crafts created during UniFy weekend, this year a donation of 5,128 was given to Elizabeth Freeman and 3,000 to the local fire department and 500 to the local police department for specific training programs.
For more information about how community is fostered through the UniFy program at Eagleton, click here.
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Email #01
January 28, 2009 |
