Dear friends,
In 2019, Sherwood Forest began putting in place the process to write our next strategic plan. Even as the world began to change in 2020, we decided this work could not wait and moved forward with our planning process although we, of course, had to make some adjustments. We reached out to our community – campers, parents, board, staff, volunteers and community partners – to make sure we included their voices throughout the planning and discussions.
Through this process, we identified a few areas of growth for Sherwood Forest. First, we quickly realized that our mission and vision statements needed to be updated to better articulate the impact we have on the children we serve. A task force was created and the result of their work is now included in this document as our new mission and vision. This helps to guide our work and purpose over the next several years as we reach new goals and growth in our organization.
Next, we delved into a discussion of our programs and how they could be improved to help us fulfill our promise to our children and help inspire and empower them to reach their full potential. This led us to discuss the social and emotional learning that is engrained in the summer camp and year-round experiences and a decision to intentionally work to develop this learning for greater impact. This is reflected in our programming goals outlined in this document.
The 2020 pandemic and the way it negatively affected various groups, especially the families we serve, and the racism that is continuing to impact our world and community, led to a discussion of equity and how we ensure our work is inclusive and addresses inequities in our society. This resulted in the development of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. This committee works to ensure there is consistent oversite, to always push us to examine our policies, procedures and practices and to help us challenge and work to eliminate racism, sexism, classism and other “isms” that are keeping some members of our community from being able to reach their full potential.
Finally, we examined the resources – human, physical and monetary – we will need to accomplish these goals. Some of our previous strategies in these areas will need to continue to grow and change for us to further our mission.
The details of our goals and strategies are outlined in this document. None will be easy and all will take a lot of work, but our Board and Staff are committed to our children and their success. We invite you to join us on this journey.
Marjorie Melton Addie Bone
Board President Interim Executive Director
Download Our Strategic Plan