Gratitude. Thankfulness is a recurring theme for Sue Walia, Educational Director/Owner of Abrakadoodle Northern Virginia. Since 2004, Sue has operated a very successful and well-respected franchise, which was tested during the pandemic. The summer of 2020 brought upheaval as Sue navigated unfamiliar waters and transitioned some students to online programs, for which parents expressed appreciation. Just this week, after having completed summer 2021 with 63 camps, Sue was invited to an annual camp summit with Fairfax County Parks Authority, a long-time partner site. “I was super excited,” Sue exclaimed, “because we were recognized among the top three partner organizations for rising to the challenge to meet park needs for which they expressed gratitude!” Sue said she is very grateful to her teaching team for working alongside her to learn and practice Zoom and to meet the needs for online programming during Covid. “The creativity and the kids have always been the most rewarding part of my business,” reflected Sue. “I believe the pandemic has actually served to strengthen partnerships and loyalty with sites and parents. I would never have thought of offering classes online until we had to do so. Now, we have another possible revenue stream and parents and sites are thankful for our willingness to try something new as we rebound and ignite excitement for doing fun, in-person art activities again in a safe and healthy environment.”