When HumanKind Board Chair Jennifer Huffman leads a tour at our Early Head Start center, she said she sometimes feels emotional. “I don’t just see children, I see little Jennifer.”
Jennifer Huffman pictured above.
Jennifer and her sister Nicole, who attended Head Start in Bedford as children, now share the impact that the program had on them and their whole family.
“Head Start gave me the start I needed: a love for learning and the skills to thrive,” said Nicole, who received her doctorate in education last year.
The Pursuit Begins
Jennifer and her sisters, Nicole and Regina, grew up in Bedford County in a community known as The Ridge. Jennifer remembers they had neighbors without running water, who would come to their little two-bedroom house to get water. Jennifer’s father, Anthony Bonds, said recently, “We were poor, but we didn’t know it.”
Anthony and Betty Bonds did everything they could to give their daughters stability. They worked hard. They went to church. They built a village.
Rev. Bonds started his career cleaning a printing department floor over 55 years ago. Today, he still works at that company, but after multiple promotions and returning to school, he has worked his way into research and development, all while pastoring two churches in Rocky Mount and Bedford.
“We talk about life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. But to pursue is a verb. It speaks to action,” Rev. Bonds said.
“Looking back, when I was a young boy, the main role model I had was my grandfather. When he passed away in 1959, it devastated me to the point that I felt hopeless…I was in a state of hopelessness … When I saw how Head Start was helping my girls and our interactions with Mrs. Belah Payne, hope came alive.”
It all started when Mrs. Payne, who worked with Head Start in Bedford for 27 years, whispered to Betty Bonds at church one Sunday, “You need help.” Her help wasn’t a judgment, but an invitation.
Dr. Nicole Bonds pictured above.
Early Childhood Impact
Nicole, who is the oldest of the Bonds girls, remembers her time at Head Start warmly. She said it gave her structure and security: the gentle firmness of her teacher Ms. Taylor, the predictable routine, and the love of learning. Truly, she received a head start on what she would need for success in school. Nicole’s fascination with globes and travel started right there, next to Vista Foods, and never let go.
Nicole, who has been a Bible teacher for many years and started an online school, said wearing a little cap and gown at the end of her Head Start experience has led to a string of graduations in her life.
Confidence to Pursue
Head Start didn’t just change the Bonds children — it changed the whole family. Interacting with leaders like Ms. Beulah Payne sparked Anthony’s own educational journey (he returned to school at 49). “When that burden of hopelessness lifts,” he says, “the human spirit will pursue.”
Jennifer adds that the impact of early childhood education “crosses generations. It was not just the children, but my parents who were impacted.”
The Long Arc of Impact
Sometimes called the “virtuous cycle,” one good thing can truly lead to another.
Not long ago, Jennifer included her own fourth-grade teacher. They hadn’t seen each other in many years. The teacher stood in awe, looking at her once-quiet student, now a Board chair, Senior Vice President of Solutions Banking at Atlantic Union Bank, Keynote Speaker, and community leader.
Jennifer today speaks with unshakable clarity about Early Head Start’s long arc: “You don’t imagine the impact at the time, but you see it later on…When I walk those halls, I imagine who these children will be in 30 years.”
Paying It Forward
Today, Jennifer is leading efforts to expand HumanKind’s Early Head Start to double the number of families served. Because she knows exactly what will grow here: self-belief, readiness, and the quiet courage to keep pursuing.
Dr. Nicole Bonds encourages all to invest in that pursuit. “Whether you’re a family who could benefit — or someone with the capacity to seed another child’s future — find your place in this story,” she implored.
Dr. Bonds calls it a spiritual principle: sowing and reaping. If you sow into a child’s life today, you might be sowing into a future legislator, doctor, or teacher.
Rev. Bonds adds that it’s the pursuit that matters — the verb that moves a life forward. Head Start gave his family the audacity to pursue.
“The more you learn and the more you experience, the more you feel you don’t have to live this way the rest of your life. That builds your self‑esteem and confidence,” he said.
How You Can Plant the Seeds of Tomorrow’s Pursuers
- Visit. Schedule a time to see Early Head Start in action. Walk the halls and picture who these children will be in 30 years.
- Give. Set aside a monthly gift to expand classrooms, support teachers, and extend reach, small seeds with big harvests.
- Advocate. Encourage families to enroll. Stand with us in ensuring every child gets the structure, socialization, and care they deserve.
- Volunteer. Lend your expertise, whether its reading to children, helping with the community garden, or being a part of events like the Lynchburg Turkey Trot that supports all HumanKind programs. Click here to learn more!
