On Wednesdays, following the final school bell at the Noel Education Center, a collection of excited students strolls into the chapel at the Spiritual Life Center. Soon after, the space is filled with activity and music.

While the pandemic put a lot of things on hold, the desire to build a community around music was not one of them. And, for the first time since 2019, choir started back up at Cunningham this school year, giving our youth the opportunity to perform at the annual Board Day luncheon and the residential Christmas program.

Usually, when a large group of our youth gather in the chapel at the Spiritual Life Center for an activity, the noise level from excited chatter is quite high.

The gift-giving season can be stressful and when you have 807 youth and families to "shop" for, you start early.

At Cunningham, this process starts in October with the filling out of wish lists. Cason*, a student from CIRCLE Academy, our therapeutic day school, completed his wish list with the help of Ms. Kinnett. Listed were any shirt, socks, fidget toys, string and coloring materials.

Throughout the year, your support helps provide for the critical needs of our youth and families, but also allows for special memories as they heal, learn and grow.

Recently we wondered, is there anything more important than creating a safe environment for kids and providing them with opportunities to grow? We don’t think so and are blessed with an amazing staff that doesn’t think so either.

Don't snooze on this opportunity to make a difference and impact the lives of vulnerable youth.

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Christmastime at Cunningham is one of the busiest times of year and we wouldn’t have it any other way! Luckily, the Advancement team had its own "elf" to help with the hustle and bustle of the season.

Sixteen-year-old Myles* was clearly in a bad mood when he arrived for Drum Circle in the music room at the Noel Education Center. Myles had been going through a major depression and hadn’t been engaging in much, but Drum Circle was a weekly therapy he enjoyed.

Doug* came to Cunningham after experiencing a difficult and inconsistent family life. His father was incarcerated, and his mother struggled with addiction, so he wasn't used to many rules and regulations.

In art class, our students created designs using repoussé, a metalworking technique in which a tin sheet of metal (our kids used tin foil) is shaped and hammered from the reverse side to create a design. The assignment was to incorporate symbols that had personal meaning to them and would help tell their story.