Judy Cockerton, Encore Public Voices Fellow
Founder and Executive Director Judy Cockerton receives the Encore Public Voices Fellowship!
The OpEd Project is launching the Encore Public Voices Fellowship, and we congratulate Judy for being selected as a Public Voices Fellow.
The fellowship is a joint venture between Encore.org, an organization dedicated to engaging seniors as active, vital members of society who want to live meaningful, purpose-driven lives, and the prestigious Op Ed project, a journalist training program to increase the voices of underrepresented people in the media: women, minorities and elders. As an Encore Public Voices Fellow, Judy will add to her impressive toolkit and amplify her voice as a passionate spokesperson for the remarkable intergenerational community model that is Treehouse. Beginning in September, Judy will join the 19 other Fellows, to hone their skills and expand their thinking through one-on-one coaching, editing and ongoing online training.
During her first week at Treehouse, our new Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development, Julie Kumble, met Emily Lewis. Emily is a vivacious woman who seems to be everywhere at once: reading to a child, working on peace and justice, managing a local symphony. "Who IS this woman?," Julie wondered. They sat down to chat.
Fundraisers are an important way to give back to your school and raise money to support causes you care about. However, fundraisers aren’t the only way to get involved.
Summer is about fun and learning at Treehouse. Here are a few of the activities and adventures our children enjoyed this summer, thanks so generous donors and funders.
18 years ago I became a foster parent after reading a heartbreaking newspaper article about a 5-month-old baby who was kidnapped from his crib in foster care. The article was a catalyst for my family to...
Set in a small town in western Massachusetts, the significance of the Treehouse Community may not be evident from it’s physical presence alone, but it’s positive impact is felt in the region and beyond. Thanks to a collaborative partnership among...
Eighteen years ago when I became a foster parent, I had no idea that the heavy duty trash bags that the social workers took out of their car and placed in our driveway were what most youngsters placed in foster care use as luggage…
Ensuring that young children placed in foster care have safe, secure environments in which to develop healthy brains, bodies and attachments with primary caregivers is good for the children and it helps build a strong foundation for...
Set in a small town in western Massachusetts, the significance of the Treehouse Community may not be evident from it’s physical presence alone, but it’s positive impact is...
At Treehouse we know that communities aren’t just built with bricks and mortar. Communities are people. Our neighbors, friends, and family. And this year, as we celebrate seven years of...
Dr. Paul Farmer is a visionary and social activist who believes that all humans deserve to live a life free from poverty, premature death, and unnecessary...
It’s happens all the time… I’ll be at a stop light and someone will drive up next to me, roll down their window and say, “Re-Envisioning Foster Care. Is that really possible?” I live in the Greater Boston Area, work in...
I was a 12 year old when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the March on Washington and delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech. On August 28, 1963, as I turned on our TV, approximately...
It is said that there are only two stories – a person goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town. Children who are removed from their families and placed in foster care are living both...
Fourteen years ago a little girl with dark brown eyes and long curly hair entered my life. She was absolutely adorable. Today I met a little girl who looks just like her...
I was the world traveler in my family. I spent a great deal of time in my twenties and thirties visiting other countries, soaking up the sights and sounds of each new culture I explored. My oldest daughter has taken over that...
Winning the 2012 Purpose Prize has given me an amazing opportunity. For the past month I have been talking with a group of national reporters about...
Since 2005 I have had the honor and the distinct pleasure of working side by side with a wonderful woman named Kerry Homstead. Together we have built the...
If you walk into the Treehouse Community Center these days you will hear the rat-a-tat sound of a floor drill. We are replacing the floor in the Gathering Space – the largest area of...
Over the past decade I’ve driven back and forth across the state hundreds of times. While heading to Treehouse, Camp To Belong MA, Re-Envisioning Foster Care Conferences, Sibling Sundays and meetings of all kinds, I always...
Oh, what a beautiful morning! Calls from reporters who want to interview me about winning this year’s Purpose Prize are coming in ...
This is the first post in our Community blog, featuring the voices of Treehouse community members and friends.
Our six year Camp To Belong MA partnership with Beaver Summer Programs makes my heart sing! It is a wonderful example of how 900+ families in the Boston area, who send their children to...
On July 24, 2007 I received an email from Connie Harris, our Camp To Belong MA counselor outreach coordinator. The opening line read: “Wow…
Father’s Day in our family this year meant “Happy Father’s Day” phone calls & creative presents from our two oldest in San Francisco and Chicago. Our seventh grader gave thirteen little presents to...
In 2006 while listening to NPR in her home state of Michigan, retiree Rosa Young heard a story about Treehouse – a brand new planned multi-generational community in Massachusetts where children who had...
I’ve been a mom since 1980. I recall my first Mother’s Day. May 1981…
On a beautiful May morning thirteen years ago today I woke up, got dressed, drove my 12 year old daughter to school, and went to work at No Kidding! – a wonderful specialty toy store in...
This morning we gathered at the Community Center to honor the life of Anna Kirwan, one of our beloved Treehouse community members. Anna died in her home last week, surrounded by...
Over the past few months I have had the distinct pleasure of chatting with a group of veteran Camp To Belong MA campers – young people who have ...
Snow is on the ground. Spring is in the air. The Treehouse Community Garden is a topic of conversation. People are walking their dogs, checking out new home construction and...
I woke up this morning with a huge smile on my face. I was dreaming of Camp To Belong MA. Looking at the calendar it dawned on me – in six months we will be in the Berkshires celebrating our...
