10/10/2025
The Source Elkhart County hosted a celebration of 10 years of Partnership for Children this morning! We'll have more details and photos to share from this wonderful event celebrating a major milestone, but we had to share a few pics now, and a lovely poem by Candy Yoder of the Community Foundation of Elkhart County and Rebecca Shetler-Fast of CAPS that looks back on PFC's work during the Covid era. Well done to all the folks who have contributed to PFC over the years! Over 1,200 children, 5,500 youth-serving professionals and countless families have been impacted by your work. Thank you!
*T'was the Midpoint of Partnership*
T’was the midpoint of Partnership, five years ago,
when PFC kept building, though the world said, “Slow.”
The mission was steady, our purpose still clear,
to keep children thriving through uncertainty and fear.
We had grown from an idea to a movement of care:
Dozens of workers, compassion to spare!
From gyms to classrooms to courtrooms and more,
we built bridges of trust, what we dreamed of before.
And Covid arrived with its distance and dread.
We faced brand new questions: What now lies ahead?
But from homes and from kitchens, we carried our flame –
virtual trainings and laughter, the work never waned.
When child safety referrals fell fast and low,
we rallied together. What do we know?
From data and teamwork, a new path was charted.
With child safety champions, the healing restarted.
That moment of insight, the spark we adored,
gave rise to a vision: The Child Dashboard.
Turning numbers to action and learning to care,
innovation took root and hope filled the air.
Yes, PFC adapted with purpose, kept showing up strong,
reminding the partners that healing belongs.
The screens were our classrooms, the chat box our cheers,
and PFC taught through the chaos, through worry and tears.
That was the season our model matured,
our vision refined, our future secured.
PFC joined The SOURCE, a system of care,
to make sure no child faced their trauma alone out there.
And through it all, a deep shift took hold,
a new way of seeing, both gentle and bold.
No longer “What's wrong?” But “What happened to you?”
A question that changed what the partners could do.
So clinicians and mentors worked hand-in-hand.
Referrals and teamwork spread through the land.
Hope wasn't weary. It took human form –
in staff we empowered, in systems transformed.
And though those mid years were tangled and tough,
they proved PFC’s foundation was solid enough.
We learned that connection outlasts the divide –
that healing can flourish when hearts coincide.
Ten years of progress – of courage and care,
of meeting each moment with hope to spare.
And five years ago, in a world torn apart,
PFC rose higher and found its heart.
And as we step forward, we honor that time
when partnerships deepened and purpose aligned.
For what bloomed in crisis still guides us today,
a path ever-widening, lighting the way.
So here's to 10 years, to lessons and light,
to standing for children and doing what's right.
Each chapter we've written shines bright and sincere,
guided collaboration with the hearts gathered here.
