'It didn't die with her:' New Beginnings continues to grow after death of executive director

CAMBRIDGE — When former New Beginnings Youth and Family Services Executive Director Theresa Stafford died in December after years of battling cancer, the learning center on Greenwood Avenue didn’t fall away or get left behind.

“It didn’t die with her,” Stafford’s sister Norby Lee said. “She left people who had enthusiasm for children and (cared) about the success and learning and experiences for children.”

A recent donation to New Beginnings is helping ensure that Stafford’s legacy lives on in more ways than one. Stafford’s long-time friend and former classmate Phil Feldman stopped by the learning center on July 2 to take a tour and hand current Executive Director Goldie Cooper a check for $25,000.

Feldman, who made the donation in Stafford’s honor, said he made the donation because he wants the center to be named after Stafford, who was New Beginnings’ executive director for eight years.

Now there are plans to rename the center “Dr. Theresa Stafford’s New Beginnings Learning Academy.” Later this summer, the facility plans to hold a dedication event.

Feldman said he hopes his donation benefits the kids that New Beginnings serves. He talked about the experiences that the nonprofit learning center provides children.

“It takes kids who are maybe not as fortunate as most and shows them parts of the world they (might have) never seen,” he said.

During his visit to New Beginnings on July 2, Feldman, along with his wife Marlene Feldman and grandchildren Andie and Claire, heard from staff and students of the learning center about the book they have been reading as a class. Students also told Feldman about some of the field trips they have gone on and activities they have tried out.

Recently, the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay donated golf clubs to New Beginnings so that children can practice their swings.

Myche Smith, who started as a volunteer at New Beginnings and has now been employed there for two years, said the center rolled out its new STEM program this week. Throughout the day, different age groups can try out different activities in the new STEM Center within New Beginnings.

“The kids are going to enjoy it because STEM is all about having fun,” Lee said. “It’s learning through fun.”

Feldman said he loved seeing the children work on their reading and writing skills during his visit.

“That’ll take them as far as they want to go,” he said.

Along with Feldman’s donation, New Beginnings recently received $40,000 in grant awards, including a $10,000 grant from the John and Janice Wyatt Foundation to go toward a reading programming.

“Reading can be fun, it can be exciting,” Lee said. “It can open up a new world for you that you can’t even imagine.”

Lee does the bookkeeping and grant writing for New Beginnings. She said she has written $180,000 in grants, and the center has gotten about $72,000 in grant awards so far.

“And I’m still writing because I vowed to do $120,000 in grants,” she said.

Looking back on what her sister did for New Beginnings, Lee talked about how Stafford grew the learning center that now serves pre-K through seventh graders.

“She went from a $43,000 budget ... to over $185,000 a year to give these kids the best experiences she could give them,” Lee said.

Lee said Stafford wanted kids “to have the best education they could have in the best environment.” She said kids don’t always have the best home situations.

“But we can put them in the best learning situations they could be in,” Lee said. “So (Stafford) made sure that this place was outfitted to look like any other center in the world.”