Tuesday, December 4 was a long day for many of us. A snowstorm hit Madison and after maneuvering our way through traffic, many returned home later than usual, tired and hungry.

Well, the day was even longer for a family of three children who attend one of our Madison schools. These children are in transition, and when they were being dropped off at the apartment they'd been staying at, no one was at home.

They were brought to the MMSD Allied Learning Center and the MSCR Safe Haven program.

The three children were obviously worn out from riding around in a cab for the past hour. They were hungry and tired after a long day at school. They were scared about being dropped off at a place where they had never been and where they didn't know a soul. You could read all of this by looking into their eyes.

When the youngest of the siblings, a kindergartener, saw the Safe Haven staff approaching the cab, her frightened frown turned into a smile. She exclaimed, "Hey, the people who work at our school wear those t-shirts too."

She was, of course, referring to the MSCR logo on the front of the staff's shirts. She immediately knew that she and her siblings were arriving at a safe place with people who would care for her and her family.

After three hours of playing at the Learning Center, completing the night's homework, enjoying some special snacks and being entertained by the Allied Safe Haven staff, the children were picked up by a relative and taken home. As the snow continued to fall, they left with smiles and giggles.

Is there a better testament to the influence that MSCR has on our Madison community? We should all be proud of what our logo represents to the children we serve.