At last November’s gala, Journey of the Heart, we were privileged to recognize two outstanding Friend of Children award recipients and an inspiring Family of the Year. Here’s more information about them all:
2014 Friend of Children: Glenda Woosley
Glenda is the Owner/Operator of Culver’s of Darboy and Little Chute. Glenda has been a true champion of the Coalition over the course of the past seven years. Beginning in 2007, Glenda has been making a donation to the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families each and every month. She and Culver’s have played an instrumental role in the past foster care recruitment campaigns as well, starting with the Turn a Life Around campaign a few years ago.
Glenda Woosley and her Culver’s crew have been the recipients of numerous awards and recognitions both on the corporate and local levels due to their dedication and commitment to their guests and the community. Those awards include the Commitment to Excellence Award, the Ruth Award, the Culver’s Crew Challenge, and the Green Thumb/Pride Award.
In addition, last year, Glenda supported the foster care recruitment efforts of Outagamie and Calumet Counties by inviting social workers and foster parents to her Culver’s restaurant for a foster parent recruitment and awareness event on Valentine’s Day. Culver’s guests were provided with information about foster parenting in the form of table tents.
Each Christmas Eve, the store closes and hosts a Christmas dinner for less fortunate families. Culver’s crew members donate their time to participate in this family event. Glenda is not only a Champion of the Coalition, but it’s clear that she is also a Champion in her Community.
2014 Friend of Children: Bruce Miller, National Insurance Services
Bruce Miller came to the Coalition’s door in April 2003. We always ask people who want to be on our board why they are attracted to us when there are so many organizations and needs in our community. Bruce said, “Adoption has brought great richness to my wife Marianne’s and my life. We adopted three boys and I would like to help others share the same joy.”
Bruce joined our organization at a critical time – when we were starting to grow. In the first few years that he was on the board, we received a five year federal grant, started our wonderful relationship with Jockey International and its Jockey Being Family® project, and began implementing our resource center work for foster care statewide.
Bruce has always understood the richness of adoption, and also its challenges. He has been a steadfast champion of the expansion of our post-adoption support for adoptive families and our advocacy around this needed service.
Bruce’s leadership as a board member and as Board President from 2008 to 2012 helped us immeasurably. We faced a substantial increase in staff, funding, and all the complexities connected to these rich opportunities. Bruce is a strategist – from the work he does with National Insurance Services to his church, and other nonprofits in this community. His wisdom and knowledge have helped us grow and think towards the big picture of where, what, and how we can continue to impact the lives of children and their families.
Bruce didn’t just help us out. He enlisted his wife Marianne, who has been on our special event committee – and past chair of it – for many years. National Insurance Services has been a strong supporter – from its corporate side but also from all the wonderful people connected to it who have helped us in so many ways.
We salute Bruce Miller for his dedication to our organization and thank National Insurance Services for their support for families.
2014 Family of the Year: The Cadd Family
For some families, a small compact car is sufficient to transport their children to school and other extracurricular activities. A mini-van is necessary for other larger families that require extra space in order to transport everyone to where they need to go. For the Cadd family, nothing short of a shuttle bus will do.
Rick and Peg Cadd have been fostering for over 30 years. When asked how many children they have fostered over that time span, they responded, “We lost count after a hundred children, but we remember each child by name.”
In addition to being foster parents, the Cadds have adopted 10 children from foster care and their family also includes four birth children. So what are the most rewarding aspects of fostering and adopting? In Peg’s words, “There are so many rewards, but the best reward would have to be the children. It’s rewarding when children and youth can be successfully reunited with their birth families or adopted by loving families.” She added, “[We have been] blessed to be a part of our children’s lives and watch them grow and become successful and happy.”
When Peg is not busy with all of the responsibilities of parenting, she somehow finds time to be a trainer for foster parents, social workers, and other child welfare staff. Peg is able to share the wisdom that she and her husband, Rick, have learned over the past three decades with others as an additional way to assist other parents and child welfare staff with their collective pearls of wisdom.
The Cadd family is an absolute inspiration because of their commitment to enriching the lives of countless children and families. Rick and Peg Cadd truly have an everlasting supply of love for their children.
“We feel very blessed to have been able to be foster, adoptive, and birth parents. Each of the sweet angels has a very special spot in our hearts.”
The Coalition 