When their daughter, Jordan, began her career at Youth Villages, Kathy and Chuck Candler saw firsthand the impact of our work and the care we show our team. Inspired by her experiences and the mission to keep families together, they became proud supporters themselves. Read more about what moved them to get involved.

Tell us a little about your connection to Youth Villages.

Our daughter, Jordan, joined Youth Villages after graduating with a degree in psychology, while pursuing her master’s in social work. For three years, she worked as a family intervention specialist in the Intercept program and interned as a LifeSet specialist to complete her degree. We were impressed not only by how Youth Villages supported [families and young adults], but also how they treated their employees. Jordan had a strong connection with her supervisor and co-workers, which made her feel truly valued and made us want to learn more and get involved.

How did your child’s work here shape your understanding of our mission?

Jordan often shared how the [Intercept] model worked, how she engaged with families and what they were working toward. We loved the work that was being done. It gave us a much deeper understanding of social work than we’d seen in Texas and helped us truly appreciate the work Jordan, and Youth Villages, were doing.

What moved you to go from being supportive parents to becoming active supporters of Youth Villages yourselves?

As we learned more about the challenges her families faced, we realized we were in a position to help, even in a small way. We’re fortunate to be able to give in a way that doesn’t affect our lives significantly but could make a meaningful difference for someone else.

What aspects of Youth Villages’ mission or programs resonate with you the most—and why?

We connected with Youth Villages’ commitment to keeping families together. Seeing how they put children first, helping keep them in their homes and supporting families through incredibly difficult circumstances was powerful. Through Jordan’s work, we saw that these families were doing their best under tough conditions, and we wanted to be part of giving them the resources and support they need to keep going.

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