Nurture: to give tender care and protection to a young child, animal, or plant, helping it to grow and develop; to encourage somebody or something to grow, develop, thrive, and be successful (Encarta Dictionary).
A church I attended had a nurture committee. Now I work for the City of Saint Petersburg and often feel in making my rounds in the Parks and Recreation Department that a more accurate name for our organizational entity would be the City’s Nurture Committee. The activities involved in our department are highly dependent upon intense personal effort and contact. To me “Committee” implies this much more than the more bureaucratically remote “Department.” The whole organized effort undertaken is in nourishing people either in recreation centers or parks. Today and yesterday I witnessed the careful nurturing of children and youth in several recreation centers and at Camp Redbird during the busy “schools out” summer season. The mission clearly is “to give tender care and protection” and to encourage children and youth to thrive and flourish. But nurturing is not limited to the young. Adults and senior citizens also need nurturing so there are centers and activities especially designed for these age groups. People never outgrow their need for nurturing. I feel proud and lucky to work on what I personally choose to view as the City’s Nurture Committee.
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