Throughout history, the world has stood still only a handful of times and has completely shut down on even fewer occasions. The COVID-19 health crisis, however, has exposed our world to an entirely new form of operation, one that requires a sense of intuition, tenacity, and adaptivity unlike many of us have ever had to exist within before. The pandemic has also happened at a time of unrest in a variety of public spheres, whether that be socially, politically, or economically, imploring the world to both fight a virus with no known cure and, simultaneously, reinvent itself amidst the intricate turmoil of society at large.
The need for healthcare workers and first responders has drastically increased as the spread of COVID-19 continues. As a trusted organization of the Indianapolis community-at-large for forty years, AYS (At Your School) has recognized that the call for essential employees creates difficulties for families who were sent to work on the front line of the pandemic, saving lives at the risk of their own. We have realized that AYS must provide some sort of relief and sense of security for parents, as it is our duty to aid the children and the families of our communities, no matter the circumstances.
In developing our role amongst other essential businesses working to provide relief amongst the efforts to combat COVID-19, the growing concern of affordable, reliable, and safe childcare for families navigating the role of essential work was exactly the area in which we could help our communities. As a result, AYS, the United Way, and Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) teamed up in March to offer childcare services exclusively for essential medical and emergency professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak.
AYS sought to ease the stress of essential workers as they scrambled to ensure their children were taken care of while, simultaneously, trying to fight the rather monstrous global health crisis at hand. The AYS team has been dedicated to serving the children of central Indiana since 1980, and that goal has only been further solidified as we work to truly hear our surrounding communities. We have constructed multiple different pop-up sites across Indianapolis in order to provide safe, caring, and fun programs for children while their parents work diligently to minimize the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. AYS ensures the wellness of children and provides the academic support they need while school is closed.
AYS commits itself to elevating the lives of our children and easing the worry of working parents across central Indiana. The unity and solidarity brought forth by COVID-19 has made stories of hope and strength vital parts in the reconstruction of a new “normal.” We not only aim to play our part as an organization dedicated to enriching the well-being of children, but as a group of people who are determined to better the world around them, no matter how difficult that may be.
Despite how unprecedented the present has become, the world has banded together to ensure we not only make it through this chapter but that we also leave behind a place that is better for those who come next. AYS is honored to serve as a philanthropic effort in the fight against COVID-19 and will continue to put the needs of our communities first, not only for our families and for our children, but for our future.
