Posted by Kate Weldon LeBlanc
"Please use kind words", I often tell my daughter (in combination with or instead of asking her to use an "inside voice"). The advice is both simplistic and profound, because the impact of kindness can be so powerful. The impact of kindness cannot always be observed, but this year we had the lovely experience of reading a new mother's blog post about the impression that kind words from the JF&CS Center for Early Relationship Support had on her. When the mom contacted our Welcome Baby! program to follow up on an earlier conversation and to apologize for her delay in calling back, my colleague assured her, "Don't apologize, you are a new mother, and everyone understands." It sounds simple enough, but those words had a deeply positive effect on her at a pivotal time. It is so rewarding to know that supportive conversations like this happen many times every day throughout the JF&CS community and that the ripples are felt far beyond each individual interaction.
Kate Weldon LeBlanc has been the associate director of CERS since August of 2009. Kate is passionate about child and family issues, particularly on building communities of support for parents. Prior to her arrival at JF&CS, she spent nearly ten years working in the departments of Child Advocacy and Government Relations at Children's Hospital Boston. She holds a BSW from Skidmore College and a MPA from UMass Boston.
