In 1946, Sister St. Mark McMahon saw the need for a special class for children who were being ignored by the traditional education system. Her plan was truly revolutionary as this was long before New York State had mandated that children with IQ's below 50 be accepted into the educational system. With two small classes of 30 "slow learners", the School Of The Holy Childhood was begun.
Education and vocational training were the focus of these classes. Academic subjects were taught at each student's level, pace and ability. This focus remains the same today, although many different programs have been added, such as weaving, ceramics, life skills, and sewing.
Over the years we've outgrown several different facilities and have seen tremendous growth in all areas to become the multi-faceted agency that we are today. As Executive Director, Sister Seraphine Herbst guided much of this growth from 1984-2009. Holy Childhood currently includes the Jimmy W. Wilmot Adult Day Training Program and the Helen H. Heller Health Center, which addresses medical, therapeutic and psychological needs. Our Partners with Industry (PWI) program provide high-quality, competitively priced contract manufacturing services. A solutions-focused organization, we are driven to solve manufacturing problems large and small. Our skilled and diversified workforce - comprised of people of all abilities - takes great pride in the quality of its work and its ability to solve real-world problems by delivering valuable manufacturing support services to businesses and organizations throughout the region.
For over 30 years we have worked to produce pies for the masses. Our pies have become so popular that we leased a 12,000 sf for profit bakery in 2018 which is located on Mt. Read Blvd to set up a for profit pie baking business We proudly bake pies for our retail customers across the country. But we do so much more than make great pies—we provide meaningful employment to people of all abilities and offer opportunities for our bakers to build and refine their craft at this aptly named Special Touch Bakery,. Donna Dedee-Doyle serves as the President and CEO.