Sydney Birckhead found a new family at Waynesboro YMCA Childcare.
Birckhead moved to Waynesboro last year, and as a single mother of three – Hunter, 6, Harper, 5, and Tinsleigh, 14 months – had an immediate need to take care of.
Her first stop was the Y. She visited on a Wednesday and ran into Rebecca Patton, the Y Childcare director, and told her that she was moving to town that weekend and was hoping to get spots in the program for the following week, but realized that it might not be possible to do so on that short notice.
“She told me, Don’t worry. We’ll make sure there’s a spot available for them. Monday morning, they welcomed them with open arms,” said Birckhead, who works in marketing in Charlottesville, and would have had to reduce her work schedule if not for the Y stepping in with childcare.
“The best part of it is that they truly care. They really, really care about them,” said Birckhead, adding that it’s particulary important for her sons, who have positive male role models in their teachers at the Y.
“Now they have somebody to do guy stuff with. Play basketball and that kind of stuff. The kinds of things that mommy just doesn’t have time to do,” Birckhead said.
All told, the Waynesboro YMCA has “just been amazing,” Birckhead said.
“They’ve become my family now,” she said.
Story by Chris Graham
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AFP
