Darryl Laferte, Parent Trust’s longtime webmaster, knows his volunteer work is helping thousands of people be better parents —people he doesn’t know, and people he does.[spacer height=”20px”]
“One day, I saw a colleague browsing the website at work,” he says.
Darryl assumed she was investigating Parent Trust because of his involvement. But it turned out his co-worker was pregnant and investigating her childbirth options. Her search for solutions brought her to Parent Trust.
“It had nothing to do with me. That was an amazing moment,” says Darryl.
Parent Trust jumped aboard the information highway early on, thanks to Darryl.
Back in 1997, he was looking for a volunteer project –a concrete way to give back to the community. This was at a time when searching for information meant a trip to the library or using a phone book.
“It was clear from the beginning that Parent Trust had all this great information – a database full of it,” says Darryl. “And it was cool that even then, everyone wanted it to be a useful tool, not just a website for the sake of having a website.”
Over 20 years later, he’s still giving his time, energy, and expertise to Parent Trust.
“He’s our highest impact volunteer. The hours he has given us over the years are countless.” says Associate Director, Linda McDaniels.
Darryl has been a board member and a Parent Trust Children’s Champion. And along the way, he became a parent.
Darryl says taking one of Parent Trust’s Conscious Fathering classes >> helped him get past some of his own expectations that he’d just automatically be good at being a dad. “I could not have fathomed how useful it would be.” He’s since referred many others to Conscious Fathering and to the Family Help Line. “It really hits home for me now – how important these resources are.”
And Darryl’s work keeps those resources running.
When there are glitches, unexpected errors, or when part of the website goes down on a weekend, Darryl finds the time to make it right. Marni Port, Children and Teens Services Program Manager and in-house webmaster says Darryl’s commitment to Parent Trust is vital. “I don’t know what I’d do without Darryl,” says Marni, “He is the reason we have a website, plain and simple.”
Darryl stays with Parent Trust because he sees the dedication of the staff and how hard they work to serve everyone. He says It feels good to be a part of something so important with such an inclusive mission. “There is no hidden agenda,” says Darryl. “Parent Trust is here for everyone.”
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