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Pictured from left: Monroe Golliday, president of the Epworth Village Board of Directors; Candy Kennedy recipient of the Epworth “Freddie” and Tom McBride, Executive Director of Epworth Village at the 2008 Epworth Village Holiday Dinner.
The “Freddie”
Epworth Village presents award to Candy Kennedy
Candy Kennedy, Executive Director of the Nebraska Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health” was named the recipient of the “Freddie . . . Green Book Award for Children and Families.” Kennedy was presented this honor at Epworth’s recent Holiday Dinner held at the York City Auditorium on December 12.
“The purpose of this award is to recognize an individual who is passionately working to change the lives of children and families for the better,” explained Tom McBride, Executive Director at Epworth. “Candy works tirelessly representing families and helping to find and develop the services they need. She never sees things from one side. She can see through the fog and work for the good of everyone. When Candy speaks it means something.”
Kennedy’s educational background is in Clinical Nursing and Medical Management. Among her many involvements and contributions include; serving on the Nebraska State Infrastructure Grant Management Team and the Nebraska LB542 Children’s Behavioral Health Task Force. She has also been a co-facilitator for the Nebraska Youth System Team, worked on the Nebraska Legislative Crisis Response Task Force and is involved with the Nebraska DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) Child and Family Services Partners Council, Nebraska DHHS Behavioral Health Stakeholders Council and the Magellan Stakeholders Council. However, Kennedy is first and foremost a proud mother of two wonderful children. One of her children has dealt with significant mental health issues. Therefore, she knows first hand how vital appropriate services are across Nebraska.
The “Freddie” award is named in honor of a young boy named Freddie Rawcliffe, who in the 1880s, took a moment from work on the farm to write a letter to the Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in New York. The letter said to use the dollar he had earned from chores done the previous year to build a home for children. Freddie’s dream was that each child of the United Methodist Church would contribute a dollar each year to support such a home, hence the birth of Epworth Village.
“Freddie” has a special and very personal meaning for Kennedy as well, “My brother’s nickname was Freddy. He was a little bit younger than me and back in those days, I remember our parents, our whole family in fact, struggling to find help dealing with his behaviors. He was getting in trouble at school and then later he got involved with drugs and alcohol. He ended up dying from an overdose. That experience with my brother became an opportunity when my son was born. It has made my journey with my son a little more understandable.”
Freddie’s dollar, more than 119 years ago, was the significant seed it took to grow into thousands of supporters for the mission of Epworth Village. How fitting that the vision of a young boy fueled what has become not only a home for children, but a place of renewal and hope for thousands of families across this state and nation.
The statue presented to Kennedy was designed by sculptor Vern Friesen and depicts “Freddie” standing atop one of Epworth’s famous “Green Books.” Each boy, when they have completed their journey at Epworth, receives one of the green signature books, filled with messages of positive encouragement and inspiration from peers and staff members who have been with them throughout their growth at the family-centered treatment agency. The award signifies Epworth’s deeply-rooted foundation and the symbolic completion of thousands of journeys by children and families through its state-of-the-art treatment program.
Last year, Jeff Santema, Legal Counsel for the Nebraska Legislature Health and Human Services Committee, was the first to receive this prestigious award.