Friend of Children Award

For more than a decade, the board members of Cunningham Children’s Home have selected individuals or organizations who have gone above and beyond to help our kids and we honor these individuals through the Friend of Children Award. 

2012 Doug Bauling, who provided his expertise in Cunningham building projects for 30 years

2013 Gary Brummet, Chair of the Kendall Gill Golf Benefit for 24 years

2014 Harriett Weatherford and Tom Schaefges and Canine Friends, our Pet Therapy four-legged friends who loved our kids unconditionally

2016 Will and Vicki Kirkpatrick, who hosted annual fishing clinics for our youth for more than 20 years

2017 Motor Muster and Illini Collector Car Club, who donated the registration fees to Cunningham for more than a decade

2018 Randy and Laurel Tucker, Arby’s FMS Group, Inc., Local Arby’s restaurant franchise owners who, among other things, sponsored the festival of quilts for many years.

2019 Eastern Illinois ABATE, an area motorcyclist's rights organization which has supported Cunningham kids for 35 years by donating proceeds from their annual Toyz Run, buying items from our kids wish lists as well as purchasing large gifts for our residential units.

2020 Office of Financial Aid, A generous staff of an office at the University of Illinois who since 2005 have provided enough movie tickets for our youth and direct care staff to use on Christmas day. A wonderful holiday tradition.

2021 Pam Mathews, a former Gerber teacher who has given her time, talent and heart to Cunningham for more than 30 years as a teacher, historian and volunteer

2022 Papa John’s, which, since 2018 through its partnership with the Illinois Marathon, has donated a portion of the proceeds from its PAPARUN promotion to Cunningham, totaling nearly $27,000!

Outstanding Alumni Award

One of the greatest testaments to Cunningham’s vision is the success of our alumni—people who received our services and have since gone on to become productive, engaged adults carrying out our mission through their words and deeds. To honor these special members of the Cunningham “family,” we launched the Outstanding Alumni Award in 2017. This award is presented to a noteworthy individual who demonstrates professional and personal success; service to the community; and a commitment to see children thrive and families’ flourish. 

2017 Don Pittman
2018 Jack Burns
2019 Sally Stewart
2020 Danielle Sheppard
2021 Antwuan Neely
2022 Martina Harvey-Harris