Community Highlight: Care Center of Holyoke and the Young Parents Regatta

Interview provided by Halley Glier, Program Coordinator at Rowing Strong, Rowing Together.

The Care Center Holyoke helps young mothers and low-income women attend college by uniquely integrating education, arts, culture, and sports. The Care Center launched its athletic program with Rowing Strong, Rowing Together. Through this inspiring and challenging initiative, young mothers train in team and single crew shells on the Connecticut River in preparation for the annual Young Parents Regatta.

What is the Young Parents Regatta, and what is the purpose of it?

The Young Parents Regatta is the annual culminating event of Rowing Strong, Rowing Together (RSRT) – a regional program started by The Care Center in Holyoke, Mass., that partners community boathouses with agencies supporting young mothers. Each partnership works throughout the summer to create a rowing team.

Most programs help young moms pursue their high school equivalency credentials or gain job skills; rowing complements this process. RSRT enhances and enriches the character, growth, and learning of teen mothers. Providing young mothers – isolated in so many ways – with team experience is a crucial ingredient to their current and future success.

This program has run for 25 years, impacting several generations of young mothers all across New England. RSRT is the only effort of its kind in the country. This year, we welcomed teams from Holyoke, Springfield, Chelsea, Massachusetts, as well as Hartford, Conn., and supported partnerships in New Bedford, Mass., and New Haven, Conn.

How have the The Care Center and the Young Parents Regatta helped athletes overcome challenges?

Low-income, young mothers are subject to stigma and isolation, and providing them with a team that celebrates what they're capable of fosters a sense of belonging. With this, rowers are exposed to the endless life lessons rowing has to offer – like the impact of collaboration and teamwork, the value of patience, the power of supportive communication, the meaning of discipline and accountability to a team, and how rowing can become an outlet. Many have told me that rowing taught them to be patient mothers. I've seen rowing pull young mothers out of deep depression. And the cherry on top: it's a concrete experience of teamwork that can go on resumes and provide job references.

What was your favorite moment from the weekend?

The look on rowers' faces when they return to the dock is always a highlight. There's a renewed sense of "Wow, we did that!" and "We can do anything we set our minds to." Their pride is embodied.

This year, we had families, friends, children, social workers, even local news anchors cheering for them. Signs were held up reading "Row like a mother" or "Get it mamas!" There was supportive energy all around; everyone involved had a lot to be proud of.

What was a moment from the weekend that motivates you to keep going?

I had a rower from Holyoke who came into the season with a determination to give rowing her best shot. She came to our program when she was 14 and struggled with depression for years, sometimes unable to get up for school. But when she started rowing, she had a consistency I'd never seen from her. Halfway through the season, she shared that rowing was helping her get out of bed, and her depression was getting better. At the Young Parents Regatta, she raced a single, a four, and an eight. She won her single race with fans cheering from shore and walked off the dock with a smile and a confidence I'd never seen – still with two races to go. She's laughing more, connecting with peers more, and showing up more.

It's stories like these where I realize RSRT is intergenerational. There are young children being impacted by this program, watching as their mothers grow more empowered, gain community, and are celebrated. This program goes way beyond its participants. That's what keeps me going.