Longtime Foster Parents Accept Prestigious Award
Friday, March 12, 2010

The Home for Little Wanderers 2009 Brodkin Award

BOSTON — For the past nine years, Judy Brodkin has been keeping her late husband’s legacy as a business innovator, community leader and philanthropist alive by honoring exceptional individuals who have worked with the children and families in the care of The Home for Little Wanderers.

During an intimate lunchtime gathering in Boston’s South End this January, Mrs. Brodkin presented the A. Keith Brodkin Award to six families who have been fostering children through The Home’s Adoption and Intensive Foster Care Program for 15 years or more. Each has been committed to going above and beyond the call of duty to build partnerships with the community. Together they have touched the lives of hundreds of children, including some with very challenging needs.

According to a staff member from The Home’s Intensive Foster Care Team, “It takes a special person to work with children who have such challenges, but each foster parent’s humility is an inspiration to each of us who has had the pleasure to work with them.”

The Home’s President and CEO Joan Wallace-Benjamin applauded each of this year’s recipients for their dedication and explained, “there are currently more than 8,000 children in the Massachusetts’ Foster Care System. We commend each of you for making a difference in the lives of so many of our state’s most medically fragile foster children who require care from compassionate and dedicated individuals.”

This year’s A. Keith Brodkin Award recipients include Viola Bailey of Mattapan (15 years, 18 children), Kristen and James Smith of Bellingham (17 years, 24 children), Veronica McIsaac and Paul Grant of Charlestown (17 years, 10 children), Bill and Pat Perry of Billerica (20 years, 75 children), Kalda Smith of Dorchester (25 years, 40 children), and Grace and Frank Cyr of Billerica (44 years, 93 children).

The A. Keith Brodkin Award is given annually, thanks to a generous donation to The Home, in trust, from the family of the late A. Keith Brodkin, former chairman and chief executive officer for Massachusetts Financial Services (MFS) and a dedicated philanthropist.

About The Home for Little Wanderers’ Adoption and Intensive Foster Care Program
The Adoption and Intensive Foster Care program is committed to providing loving and stable homes to children currently in the care of the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families (DCF) who are residing in hospitals, residential programs, temporary foster care homes, or with their birth parents who are unable to care for them. These children, aged between birth and 18 years, represent a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds and are faced with challenges that include emotional, behavioral, developmental, and/or medical. Some are teenage moms who need support and guidance with their parenting skills. The primary goal of the program is to prevent institutionalization and to shorten the hospital or residential placement stays of children and teens with special needs. For more information, visit our Foster Care section.