How has Wayfinder grown and changed with recent changes in the world?
We have changed for the better. We chose our name— Wayfinder—because it’s about moving forward. We’ve always been an organization that keeps progressing. One example is in Child Development Services. Initially because of the pandemic, we began offering child development services for children with vision or multiple disabilities through telehealth. We didn’t know if we could successfully deliver child development services that way. But online sessions proved to be a great success. While we resumed delivering our in-person services, we are now using telehealth with families that prefer it, for both children in remote rural areas and busy urban regions.
I’m thinking about Lavona, whose son Jamal is a toddler with multiple disabilities. She also is the mom of a new baby girl and has an older boy in grade school. Being able to get child development services for Jamal via telehealth is a godsend for Lavona. Her life is more manageable.
How does Wayfinder relate to the lines about the future from Amanda Gorman’s poem?
When you read the stories in this impact report, you will see how the lines of Amanda Gorman’s poem come to life at Wayfinder. A little boy with multiple disabilities develops his vision so
he can see his family. Against all odds, a foster youth who wants to have a family gets one.
A teenage girl masters her debilitating social anxiety. After losing most of her vision and her friends, a girl finds new friends and true understanding at our camp.
Wayfinder’s caring staff and expertise help pave the way to the future, but the other aspect is the bravery of children, youth, adults and families. No matter what their circumstances when they turn to us, they are brave enough to imagine a better life, put in the work and change their futures.
Read Board Chair Elworth (Brent) Williams, Jr. Q&A
March 30, 2023