February 2022
“Friendly House is where people find new friends, continue lifelong friendships, connect with their Northwest neighbors, take fun classes, where children have a safe place to have fun together, where elders are seen and cared for, and where people want to give back to help their neighbors in need.”
Stacey Moy is one of Friendly House’s fantastic After School Assistant Teachers. It also just so happens that she celebrated her third anniversary of working at Friendly House this week on February 7th! It means so much that someone so kind-hearted has dedicated this much of her time to enriching the lives of the children in our community. We hope you enjoy learning a bit more about Stacey and her time at Friendly House so far.
“I hadn’t heard of Friendly House until I applied for a job here. A former co-worker let me know that Friendly House was looking for an After School Teacher, and she encouraged me to apply. At the time, I had taken a long leave from working with elementary students after a challenging two years at a previous job. In January of 2019, I was ready to work with students again. I was so excited to take the plunge at Friendly House.
I came in for a panel interview. I was a bit nervous. Sitting across the table was former After School Head Teacher, Chris Lay (now he works on the Complete Student Support program), the Co-Children’s Programs director, Dan Hupala, and our former Executive Director (now retired), Vaune Albanese. They worked together to get to know me and see if I was the right candidate to join the After School team. A few days later, I got the call with a job offer. I was so excited to be part of the team to make a difference in this neighborhood. I remember that on my first day working at Friendly House I was passing through the Crawford lobby and Vaune greeted and encouraged me. I thought it was amazing that the Executive Director saw me and welcomed me to the Friendly House team and made me feel so comfortable. My first day went by in such a blur that I don’t remember the details. I just remember feeling happy and exhausted at the end of the day. I’ve been working at the After School program for three years now. I’ve gotten to know so many students, their families, and other people in this community.
One of my favorite experiences working at Friendly House so far has been the After School program’s Winter Clubs during Winter term 2020. I led a Tai Chi and Chinese Games Club with a group of ten young students from K-2 grades. At the end of the term, the students’ families were invited to learn what we did in our Clubs at a Club Showcase. I remember there were about five of my students with me as we showed everyone in the room some Tai Chi moves. I noticed a few family members following along. The next day, a couple of my co-workers said to me, ‘Wow! It’s amazing. In a room full of 50 people, everyone quieted down, and they were following the breathing and hand movements.’ One of the best things about working at the After School program is that every time we have Clubs the activities are diverse and offer choices so that the students stay engaged. The kids will tell their families, ‘Don’t pick me up until Club Day ends.’ This Winter, we restarted Club Days after two years of absence due to the pandemic. For some students, they are excited to be in their Clubs again, while for others it’s their first time experiencing them.”
When asked how she would sum up Friendly House, Stacey puts it beautifully, saying,
“Friendly House is where people find new friends, continue lifelong friendships, connect with their Northwest neighbors, take fun classes, where children have a safe place to have fun together, where elders are seen and cared for, and where people want to give back to help their neighbors in need.”
A huge thank you to Stacey for sharing her story and being a part of this project!
If there is someone whose story you would like to hear or if you would like to share your Friendly House story, please reach out to us by emailing info@fhpdx.org.