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Date: 9/13/2023
CHICOPEE — One Strong Community Program LLC, committed to fostering educational, artistic and personal growth, is officially open to serve the students of Chicopee Public Schools.
Founder and Program Director Charles Laboy has been working on establishing this program for seven years.
“The idea for the program came about as an effort to use experience I’ve developed over the last fifteen years in school programs,” said Laboy.
Laboy has worked at Chicopee Comprehensive High School for 15 years.
“[I] wanted to establish my own brand,” he said.
He shared that he wanted to expand on that work and gear participants toward group activity and working on skills students already have.
In 2022, the “brand” of One Stop Community Program was established.
Laboy’s cousin offered space out of his home at 74 View St., for the program to occur. The downstairs was transformed into a classroom and activity space, which also leads into an outdoor space.
After receiving licensure, Laboy’s program opened with an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 1.
The program is open for enrollment and can currently host up to six students at most. Because it is a family and childcare center, 10 students are the most allowed.
Laboy said his hope would be to potentially rezone the space or go into another space, to allow for more spots.
However, in the meantime, he said the space will make for good personal connections.
Laboy plans to have at least one monthly event connecting with local politicians or other individuals that students can learn from.
The program takes place after school, from about 3-6 p.m., as Laboy still works at Chicopee Comp during the school day.
He shared that through a grant from the Chicopee Cultural Council, three high school students did an internship and assisted in the creation of a website for the program. Laboy noted that there are also many volunteer opportunities he offers to students.
To register for the One Strong Community Program, contact Laboy through Facebook, or charleslaboy@onestrong.page.
If the six spots fill, Laboy said he will offer a waiting list. Once a student is enrolled, they are enrolled for the entire school year unless a different agreement is decided upon by a parent or guardian.
There are participation rates, which can be discussed with Laboy.
With this new program, Laboy said his goal is to have these first set of students establish connections.
Over the past 15 years working in the Chicopee Public Schools, Laboy said he has had the best times working with students in the various programs.
“People enjoy working with me, developing and creating these relationships,” he shared. “[I] hope to continue that work with the One Strong Community Program.”
In the future, Laboy said his goal is to expand to other cities such as Springfield and Holyoke.