Ann and Darby Shockley are a mother and daughter team who have been involved with Florence Crittenton Services for the past three years. Ann, a retired nurse, first heard about FloCrit when she did her pediatric training for medical school at the Florence Crittenton home in the not so distant past. Darby became involved with the FloCrit Junior Board after hearing about it from family friend Dave Peterson, a current FloCrit Board member. Shortly after Darby joined the Junior Board, Ann began volunteering.
Since she began volunteering, Ann has volunteered 112 total hours in the Early Childhood Education Center infant classroom for babies aged 6 weeks to 1 year, and just over 50 hours in the last year alone. She loves to see the connection between the moms and their children. She also explained that she simply loves to hold babies. After retiring, and having previously worked with another nonprofit that supported moms and their babies, she knew she wanted to become involved with a similar demographic. She explains that her work with [infant room ECE Center teachers] “the Marias” has been wonderful. “They both have such an incredible bond with the babies. They are patient and stay calm even if eight babies are crying at once.”
Darby spends her time engaging with our community on the Junior Board, a group of young professionals who plan fundraising and engagement events for Florence Crittenton Services. Darby has enjoyed working with Casey Short, FloCrit’s Development Associate, and the staff liaison to the Junior Board because she “has awesome energy and brings everyone together with their own talents and strengths in mind.” Leaning into her own talents, Darby coordinated a Paint and Sip Event on campus in the Art Therapy room led by Donica Snyder, Family Advocate Manager and Art Therapist at FloCrit. The event raised over $600 for FloCrit. In addition to painting their own piece of artwork to take home, participants were shown the art journals of current FloCrit teen moms. “It was really powerful to see their journeys depicted through art. It was a unique view on the lives of teen moms,” reflects Darby.
Ann and Darby view Florence Crittenton Services as a place unlike others. Both mother and daughter echo, “It is such a game changer for moms who are facing adversities and providing them with skills to take care of their families. There are many ways to have meaningful involvement with the organization.” Ann elaborated on her time spent volunteering, “You are giving to the life of the mom and children and even grandparents. Many times these women will go on to be the primary provider in the family. It is amazing how many services the organization provides and how in volunteering you are able to contribute to impacting the entire family.”
When not sharing their passion and talents with the FloCrit community, these two enjoy spending most of their time in the great outdoors in Colorado. They enjoying hiking and have spent a lot of time in Breckenridge. They also like attending concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheater and traveling, including a trip to Finland last year! We are so grateful for both of them and their hard work to help make our campus a better place.
