FORT MITCHELL, Ky. — Katrina Proud is the director of children’s services at Redwood in Northern Kentucky. 

She said she’s been doing this for 23 years. She said she gets to do what she loves, which is helping kids. Sometimes she even get to act like a kid herself and dress up in different costumes.

“It is not a job that is taken lightly. It’s not a job that at 6 o’clock we clock out of,” Proud said.

One place you can find her is inside a recently opened library. Officials with Redwood said a grant helped give them the opportunity to open this up. She’s reading to kids and helping them pick out new books to take back to class. But Redwood extends far beyond just a library. It offers programs to all kinds of children and adults and has been going since 1953 to help those with disabilities. 

“I see dreams come true every day. I get to witness children walk for the first time who were told they were never going to walk,” she said.

Programs that include work skills for adults, therapeutic and other educational programs for children. It’s all something that Proud gets to play a role in. She gets to watch everyone grow and develop.

“To see them blossom and grow throughout the years and just to see how much their skill sets have improved in certain areas is beyond rewarding,” she said.

Redwood is always looking for volunteers. You can find more information here.

Editor's note:  A previous version of this story had Katrina Proud's name misspelled in the photo caption. The error has been corrected.