The New Hampshire Children’s Trust is thrilled to announce Jocelynn Drew of Antrim as the 2020 Lucy Fowlkes Breed Family Service Volunteer Award winner. She has spent the last several years as a volunteer with the Avenue A Teen Center at The Grapevine Family and Community Resource Center. This year, Jocelynn is being celebrated virtually.
As a local art educator, Jocelynn began teaching art workshops for teens at The Grapevine, sharing her love for art and also paving the way for their popular monthly art workshop series, led by local volunteers. Since the first workshop that Jocelynn taught, this art program has reached over 75 rural youth with free arts enrichment activities.
Jocelynn is an engaged, caring adult role model for youth throughout her community. In addition to art education, she began teaching “learn to roller skate” classes at The Grapevine, giving youth the opportunity to build skating skills and confidence. As a chaperone for The Grapevine’s Friday Night drop-in program, Jocelynn can often be found sitting at the snack counter chatting with teens, asking about their day, and listening to their stories.
"At Avenue A Teen Center I try to use art where I can," says Jocelynn Drew. “I try hard to connect with kids and give them a safe space to be."
Jocelynn embodies many of the same attributes as Lucy Fowlkes Breed, who was known for her incredible empathy for others and her ability to meet individuals “where they’re at” no matter the difficulty. When The Grapevine had to reconfigure many of their programs this summer due to COVID, Jocelynn stepped up to run a 6-week art workshop for them outdoors, carefully following CDC guidelines while also providing youth with a vital outlet for connection over the summer.
Jocelynn is a champion for youth in her community. She is a safe person that teens know they can go to for support, and as a volunteer, she has made a lasting positive impact on the lives of local youth. Thank you, Jocelynn, for your dedicated work in service of New Hampshire youth and families. We are honored to celebrate you as our 2020 Lucy Fowlkes Breed Family Service Volunteer Award recipient.
Visit www.nhchildrenstrust.org/2020-lfb-award to watch a short video about the history of the award and Jocelynn’s impact on her community as a dedicated family service volunteer.
Lucy Fowlkes Breed, who the award is named for, served as a founding trustee on the board of the NH Children's Trust, dedicating fourteen years as a board member, eight of those years as board chair. Upon her retirement, New Hampshire Children's Trust established the Lucy Fowlkes Breed Legacy Fund and created the award in her honor. Lucy was a long-time volunteer, founding the New Parents Support Group at the Children’s Place and Parent Education Center in Concord, dedicating over twenty-five years as the facilitator there.
For more information, please contact Diane Hastings at 603-224-1279, email info@nhchildrenstrust.org, or visit the NHCT website at www.nhchildrenstrust.org.
New Hampshire Children’s Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that specializes in capacity-building for family support and strengthening families programs throughout the Granite State. Since 1986, NHCT has collaborated with professionals to develop integrated approaches for training, technical assistance, evaluation, quality improvement, and program support for organizations working to promote safe, stable, and nurturing environments for children.