Confidence, strength, and friendship are three core beliefs at Imagine Academy in Stoughton, a before and after-school and summer camp. Co-Executive Directors Jimmy Brooks and Sarah MacFarlands’ mission is to build values of self-worth for children of all ages and abilities.
They aim to provide compassionate coaching, play-focused challenges, and shared experiences. Imagine Academy also believes in encouraging community engagement and giving back.
Brooks and MacFarland are former educators with over 40 years of combined teaching experience. Beyond this, the two have participated in Strongman and Powerlifting for several years.
“We use our background in strength training as a modality to teach kids to be confident and strong. So that’s why we do strength shows, like ‘Be a Beast,’” MacFarland said.
On Nov. 4, 2023, Imagine Academy partnered with Lakeview Church for their annual Thanksgiving food drive, where community members donate food items, like frozen turkeys, potatoes, roasting pans, side dishes, and pie.
All these items are put into full Thanksgiving meal baskets and given to families throughout Stoughton.
To aid in this goal, Imagine Academy hosted the ‘Be a Beast so Families Can Feast’ event in the Lakeview Church gymnasium. It was a strength show, where children and adults competed in events, such as overhead press medleys and wheelbarrow load and runs. The entry fee was a donation of a food item. Imagine
Academy had 22 participants in the four through 14-year-old category and received enough donations to provide 15 Thanksgiving meals.
“Last year, Imagine Academy partnered with Lakeview, and from ‘Be a Beast,’ we had enough food items donated to fill ten entire Thanksgiving baskets. Fifteen baskets this year is a PR for us,” Brooks said.
MacFarland and Brooks know what kind of impact these meals will have on families in the coming months.
“We’re giving meals to families that need to eat on Thanksgiving, but the reality is they need a meal every day,” MacFarland said. “You’re not only food insecure on Thanksgiving. If this provides just one meal, it hopefully can make a difference for those families.”
Last year, Imagine Academy had a shoebox Toy drive to provide toys and holiday gifts for children throughout Stoughton.
The belief in making a difference is how Imagine Academy came to be. Brooks wanted to create an enriching environment for his children during Virtual Learning when he saw how many kids were struggling alone.
“Imagine Academy was born out of what we call the chaos of Covid, where both of our sets of kids were struggling with online school,” Brooks said. “We wanted a platform where they could feel safe, respectful, responsible, and to have the opportunity to be together with their peers. Because that was a part that was missing during Covid: peer interaction, human interaction.”
For MacFarland and Brooks, the friendships that Imagine Academy students build during playtime, obstacle courses, and lifting sessions are crucial for all kids, including their neurodiverse students.
“Our biggest celebration here is that on any given day, you can’t necessarily tell who might have special needs and who is just a kid playing with their friends,” MacFarland said.
Brooks and MacFarlands’ backgrounds qualify them to provide specialized respite care for children with various needs. At school, many of their students are told ‘No, no, no,’ because they are different from their classmates, Brooks believes. But, at Imagine Academy, they learn and play however feels right to them. Brooks and MacFarland have seen first-hand the positive effects of Imagine Academy on all their students.
“We have typically developing children besides neurodiverse children, and they create real friendships—that’s the difference here. These kids work, play, and lift alongside their peers and build relationships,” Brooks said.
Imagine Academy strives to make a difference in the Stoughton community through the lives of our children and students. For Brooks and MacFarland, instilling a sense of self-worth and confidence is what matters most. As well as letting kids do what kids do best: make friends, play, and shape the world.
For Brooks, “Imagine Academy is where children get their childhood back.”