New Year, New Decade, New Goals… Same Mission.

January has brought an opportunity for reflection and for thinking about the year ahead, and the decade ahead.  Here at SEALKIDS, it is amazing to think that about the way it all started 8 and ½ years ago with a mom and her kids talking around a kitchen table. It seems like yesterday…and at times, like a hundred years ago. When SEALKIDS began, our goal was to help NSW children with their unique academic difficulties while their parents do dangerous and vital work for the nation. Today, the mission remains the same, but the scope of what we are doing is larger than we ever dared dream.

Part of our success is due to goal setting. At every level of SEALKIDS we set goals that align with our heart and mission. SEALKIDS requires every tutor to perform benchmark assessments and to identify specific skill goals for every child, every grant period. These goals help everyone on the team, including the tutor, parent, child and SEALKIDS staff, identify the ultimate objective for that child and the steps needed to achieve it. Goals help chart the course, but they also unite us. As an organization, we are doing the same as we set goals for program services that will meet the needs of all NSW children in the year ahead and the decade to come.

It is as exciting as it is daunting to think about the resources that will be needed. When I think about the long term, my mind goes full circle back to that kitchen table. We are still what we were then, a group of committed people passionately doing their best to excellently serve these children and make a difference. The heart and the mission of SEALKIDS is the children, ordinary kids who are living in extraordinary circumstances.  They are our “Why”. Each is a unique challenge and opportunity. The same can be said of every goal we set moving into this new decade.

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” -Andrew Carnegie

Wishing you a new year and new decade filled with purpose, passion and hope. Thank you for helping SEALKIDS meet the challenges facing these incredible children.

—Suzanne Vogel