J.R.

I still see my Mom’s initials on a lot of things at BELA. Sometimes I keep things, not because I need them for work but just because she initialed them. The “JR” for Jody Rutherford, in that perfect teacher handwriting, most often in pencil . She loved pencils. She’s literally the only person I’ve ever worked with who used a pencil. A Teacher to her core. Seeing her initials is comforting to me, makes me smile and reminds me of how she did things and why. Her initials are often a gentle nudge in the right direction when working in Education and the non profit sector is not always easy or simple. 

Jody founded Brooks Early Learning Academy in 2012 as a way to ensure her grandchildren and the children in this community could access high quality early learning opportunities and to make sure all children could get the services they need. Jody led our team and drove the culture of our school until she passed away in 2019.

At BELA, we believe that every child deserves the best possible start to their school career, regardless of their needs or their family’s financial situation. This belief is ingrained in us and integral to everything we do – we were taught by the very best! 

Doing the work that we do in the current economy and political landscape is not always easy. Fundraising is one of the ways we can ensure our students get what they need. Proceeds from the Festival of Trees can help us cover general expenses like supplies and equipment and help cover overhead costs, allowing us to keep fees low; positively impacting all of our students and families. In addition to that, last year at Festival of Trees we shared that we were officially establishing a fund in Jody’s memory that will allow us to carry on her legacy by directing some of the proceeds from Festival towards our students that need them most, exactly the way Jody would have! 

The Jody Rutherford Memorial Fund makes a direct and immediate positive impact.  Through the fund, we can bridge the gap between government funding limitations and the services our students require, ensuring all students who need early intervention receive it. We are able to provide important services to the students who don’t qualify under the limited government funding model but who would clearly benefit from speech therapy, occupational or physiotherapy. We can cover funding shortfalls when students require more services than their specific funding covers. We are also able to provide financial assistance to families in need through scholarships to cover their tuition in part or in full. In this economy this has become more important than ever.  To provide some clarity around how impactful these scholarships can be: one of our recipients last year was a single Mom whose gross yearly income is $22,000. While she was working very hard to make ends meet, without the scholarship for her child’s tuition she would have had to withdraw her daughter from school. She wanted so badly to give her daughter the best possible start to her school career and we were able to help her do that. This fund ensures no child is left behind. 

Jody  was a visionary and a lifelong educator. Her passion for early childhood education and commitment to supporting families in need inspired us all. 

It’s because of her legacy and our community’s support that we were able to establish the Jody Rutherford Memorial Fund. Thank you for helping us make it happen! We can’t wait to continue this important work at this year’s Festival of Trees and raise fund for both BELA and our co-beneficiary, the Brooks Food Bank Foundation. We know the community will be behind us, as always!

Mom’s influence remains at BELA, just like her initials on notes, memos, research and brainstorming doodles. I see her initials all over this Fund too and most importantly, on her work that we continue to carry out every single day.

This one’s for you, JR 

❤️✨

~Carmen Powell

Director of Operations

BELA