Opportunity to walk into new life chapter thrills graduates

Celebrations held in Baltimore, Denton & Martinsburg

Graduation season is afoot and the Board of Child Care had much to celebrate in June!

In total, BCC congratulated 20 seniors across its Maryland and West Virginia residential programs and from its Baltimore-based Strawbridge school.

The festivities kicked off in Martinsburg, WV. Just down the street from the residential campus are three of BCC’s group homes called Campolina Way. BCC’s staff honored Sabrina L., who graduated with honors from the local Spring Mills High School.

Sabrina has been involved in the Work Exploration program for the last two years and looks forward to obtaining full time employment this summer. When she leaves BCC she will be transitioning to a semi-independent living group home.

In Baltimore, back-to-back ceremonies provided plenty of cheer and smiles. On June 8, Baltimore residential program graduates celebrated with staff, family and friends. A variety of scholarships and awards were distributed to the 11 seniors, three of which graduated from the Strawbridge School on campus while the remainder received their diplomas from the local public school they attended.

The celebration included a visit from the Mathis family and Rear Admiral (retired) William Mathis, the brother of former BCC Board Member, Jim Mathis. Both brothers are alumni from the United Methodist Strawbridge orphanage (which would later merge with two other orphanages to form the Board of Child Care).

Tim H., who attended Smithsburg More School and gave the class address, and Robert R., a Strawbridge student, won the James and Lois Mathis Award for Community Service. The Alice G. Seymour Award for Academic Achievement, presented by Rear Admiral (retired) William Mathis, went to Tim H. and Dejon L., who earned his GED on his own while living on the Baltimore campus.

Justin B., a Strawbridge graduate, earned the $1,000 Chase United Methodist Church Award, while Jason L., a graduate from Randallstown High School, and Meaghan S. from Pikesville High School, each won a $250 award of the same name. Many thanks go to Chase United Methodist Church (Middle River, MD) and to their pastor, Rev. Cynthia Burkert, for their incredible partnership and support of our graduates and their future educational plans.

Blaine A., a Strawbridge School graduate, won the Board of Child Care Award for best representing the values of BCC.

The next evening, commencement exercises for Strawbridge School recognized its nine graduating seniors. Laurie Anne Spagnola, BCC’s President and CEO, told the Strawbridge graduates that life is not to be stressed over but rather to be enjoyed and savored.

“Be kind, be silly and most of all, be honest,” Spagnola said in explaining why striking a balance between being too serious or not serious enough is important to success in life.

The annual highlight of the Strawbridge ceremony is the rose presentation. Each graduate singles out someone within the assembly who was significant to their success, walks down off the stage and hands them a single, white rose in an emotional, heartfelt thank you. Recipients this year included foster care brothers, grandmothers, extended family, BCC social workers, and Strawbridge teachers.

The star of 2016’s class was Miranda Webb, a Baltimore County resident student who attended Strawbridge and was one of 70 students statewide awarded the Michael Cardin scholarship from the Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF).

During her address to classmates, she said, “My success is because you gave me the support and encouragement to become the person I am today.” Webb will be using her scholarship for tuition to attend the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) to obtain a nursing certificate.

BCC’s final graduation celebration was at our Denton, MD campus. Jacob C. graduated from North Caroline High School, celebrated in a small ceremony June 15 on the Eastern Shore campus.

Karen McGee, Director of Operations in Denton, called Jacob, “one of the most socially conscious residents we’ve ever had – he was so concerned about the environment he started a cottage composting station for other residents and staff.”

Jacob is busy with driver’s education classes, seeking a summer job and exploring classes to take at Chesapeake Community College in the fall. Jacob is known on the Denton Campus as an avid gardener and an animal lover.

The Treatment Foster Care department also had a graduate, Brandy H., from the Academy for College and Career Exploration in Baltimore.

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Mathis posthumously receives MANSEF award June 6

DSC_6080Jim Mathis, who served on the Board of Directors for the Board of Child Care for 19 years, will be honored June 6 with the 2016 Distinguished Citizen Award from the Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF).

Mathis died July 15, 2015 at age 78 and grew up in the Strawbridge home in Eldersburg, MD. His widow, Lois Mathis will accept the award on his behalf. Two of Mathis’s brothers and his daughter, Amy, plan to attend the ceremony.

Mathis was profiled May 24 in the Carroll County Times by reporter Jon Kelvey. Read the entire article here. Mathis was featured on Page 19 of the Board of Child Care’s 2015 Annual Report, which is available for download here.

Described as “the ultimate advocate and volunteer for BCC during his lifetime,” in that 2015 annual report, Mathis led several committees and served a term as chairman, and was the driving force behind the Strawbridge alumni program.

A residential cottage was named in Mathis’s honor in 2012 and the Jim and Lois Mathis Award For Service and Community Scholarship is given annually to a current program participant.

Mathis believed in education above all else and would often visit the campus and encourage BCC’s children to persevere and to seek a diploma despite the difficulties they experience, his own life serving as a sterling example. He gifted plenty of financial resources to BCC over the years, none greater than a kind and gentle spirit to all he encountered, especially the children who are part of the Strawbridge School, the namesake of his childhood home with BCC.

Mathis was a regular at events or graduations, reminding all of us that commitment to our children sends a clear message of love and respect.

MANSEF is a professional association of publicly-funded private schools. The Distinguished Citizen Award is given annually and has traditionally recognized a board member, stakeholder or volunteer at one of the member schools within the association who has demonstrated a willingness to exceed expectations in fulfilling the mission of the organization he or she represents.

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