MaryEllen Rooney Named an 'Angel in the Nursery' by the New York Zero-to-Three Network

December 15, 2020

MaryEllen Rooney, the Director of ABC’s Graham School at Echo Park, was recognized as an ‘Angel in the Nursery’ by the New York Zero-to-Three Network in its December newsletter titled “Beacons of Light.” She is being recognized for overseeing ABC’s emergency childcare program for children of first responders and essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and coordinating our large-scale food distribution efforts that gave out a quarter a million meals to families struggling with food insecurity. You can read the full story here:

Dr. MaryEllen Rooney, Director of ABC’s Graham School at Echo Park, was a real angel in East Harlem this year, working with humanity and compassion for all. Not only did MaryEllen oversee an emergency childcare program for first responders and other essential health workers, but she also coordinated a food distribution program that provided more than a quarter of a million meals to children and families in East Harlem at their time of greatest need. ABC’s emergency childcare was open 11 hours a day, and had 36 daily slots available for children – birth through school age – from the start of April, going up to 54 by the summer. On top of all of this, MaryEllen also coordinated deliveries of formula, diapers, and other essentials to new mothers and was always on hand for every family emergency or unexpected issue. Whether she was opening emergency childcare early in the morning or getting emergency mental health care to parents in crisis late at night, MaryEllen, with her marvelous and unique sense of humor, was in so many ways the glue that held ABC’s COVID-19 response together.

The New York Zero-to-Three Network is “a community of individuals who are committed to strengthening the development of children birth to three and their families.”