Matt Parrish presented our very own Carita Jackson, Associate Executive Director with Metro Atlanta YMCA’s South DeKalb Family YMCA, who gave a captivating Classification Talk. For the past 22 years, Carita has worked tirelessly for the YMCA and the communities it serves. Simply put, Carita lives our motto, “Service Above Self.” Carita explained that it was no accident that she came to work for the YMCA. Carita “grew up” in the YMCA, taking advantage of many of the YMCA’s outstanding programs and resources. She attended YMCA summer camps as a youth and enjoyed them so much that she eventually became a camp counselor. As a young adult, Carita obtained her undergraduate degree in Computer Science and then went to work for Microsoft. However, Carita’s desire to serve her community never escaped her, and, after a stint with Microsoft, she returned to her true calling when she took a temporary position with the YMCA. As Carita explained, the YMCA was a natural fit, and she has never looked back! In her current role, Carita wears many hats and very much enjoys making a significant impact on her community. Carita develops, plans, facilitates, and enthusiastically participates in a wide variety of programming that's offered at the South DeKalb YMCA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carita’s role has taken on a special significance. Carita recognizes just how much COVID-mitigation efforts have decreased opportunities for folks to maintain healthy and active lifestyles, and how these efforts have led many of the children she serves to spend a great deal of time inside playing video games and staring at their electronic devices. In response to that trend, Carita has focused her efforts on accomplishing one overarching goal: getting people moving! Carita is currently implementing a “work outside” promotion at the South DeKalb YMCA, which has been very successful at getting YMCA program participants outside and active. Carita has been taking full advantage of the two large soccer fields at the South DeKalb YMCA, where she offers a wide variety of activities such as walking and aerobics. Carita has also organized a kickball league that will begin soon, and her YMCA offers a number of other physical activities, such as basketball clinics, virtual runs, swimming, volleyball, and many more! Carita, her staff (which she's been sharing with other Metro ATL YMCA locations since the start of the pandemic), and her dedicated group of volunteers (Carita is always looking for additional volunteers!) have also been working diligently to offset another unfortunate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic: food insecurity. Each Friday, Carita’s team distributes free food to members of the community. Carita’s team also provides free daily lunches for local families. Carita explained that while the South DeKalb YMCA will host a youth summer camp next summer, due to COVID, the number of participants will be less than in prior years. However, Carita will offer a number of other opportunities for kids that are not able to participate in the traditional summer-camp program and will help refer others to similar services offered by local community service organizations. As to her personal pursuits, Carita explained that now that her wonderful daughter is grown, she is looking forward to doing a great deal of traveling. When asked whether she sees retirement on her immediate horizon, Carita said that she has no plans to retire, that she loves what she does, and that she genuinely enjoys giving back to her community. And if you thought Carita was not busy enough already, she also has a side hustle—she does private event planning on the side! We thank Carita for her service to her community and wish her and her family the best as we close out a rough year and look forward to regaining a sense of normalcy in 2021!