Faces Of Nantucket: Jen Dunbar And Joanne McAveety
Jason Graziadei •
In their roles at the Small Friends early learning center, Jen Dunbar and Joanne McAveety have helped raise several generations of Nantucket kids.
The two women have been caring for the island's youngest children for decades, and they have been mainstays for Small Friends through its multiple locations and directors over the years. But their passion for the work they do hasn't wavered, and the relationships they have forged with the children and their families keep them coming back year after year.
"I like just sitting and talking to them - I really get to know them - I know their cats' names, their dogs' names, their brothers and sisters," said Dunbar, who has worked at Small Friends since 1992. "I feel really lucky to have that. After all these years, I still look forward to coming to work."
The days can be long, she said, but there's so much joy and laughter and moments that remind her of the impact she has had, like the time when her former student Tony Fox came back to Small Friends to read to her class.
"I really like what I do. I find joy in this," Dunbar said. "I feel like it's my purpose."
McAveety, who is originally from Ireland, came to Nantucket in 1991 and has worked at Small Friends since 1999. She met husband Joe - who many people know as "Joe the Tailor," - and the couple had two daughters on Nantucket, both of whom went to Small Friends, of course.
"It’s a job I’ve enjoyed the most," McAveety said.
She first heard about Nantucket from her college friends in Belfast, who had visited the island. After graduation, they convinced McAveety to travel across the Atlantic with them to Nantucket.
"They asked me: 'Do you like the sea and do you like to party'?" she recalled with a laugh.
After working several jobs around the island, she took the job at Small Friends and has never left. Working with children has been among the most rewarding experiences of her life.
"They become like your own kids, and it's fun to watch them growing up," McAveety said. "You still remember all of them. And the kids teach me a lot too."
