6A | WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Nursery from A1
for family relief.
“You have touched so
many lives because of
your dedication to build-
ing bridges with love.
You are amazing,” said
Roberston, also thank-
ing sponsors, the school
district, staff and volun-
teers.
Next, the Good Neigh-
bor Award was presented
by Director of Programs
Crystal Morrison to her
father, Randle Kersey,
for his six years of volun-
teering.
“He has made the
neighborhood a better
place,” she said. “It’s been
an honor to work side by
side with him.”
Following a slideshow
of the organization’s
history and communi-
ty involvement, Colleen
Stewart, board member
and the organization’s
first program director,
recalled the organiza-
tion’s humble beginnings
with only a handful of
members in 1994.
From this modest
start, Stewart remem-
bered how the group
grew in size and found a
permanent location due
to community support,
despite the nonprof-
it struggling in its early
days.
“This community is
full of wonderful peo-
ple,” she said.
Heather Murphy, first
executive director of
Family Relief Nursery,
then spoke of her good
fortune to approach her
role in the organization
as a blank canvas. The
freedom enabled her to
realize her visions for the
organization in the com-
munity, which included
respite care and opening
satellite offices in Drain
and Creswell.
“Most people don’t get
that opportunity and I
will be forever grateful
for that opportunity,” she
said. “We worked togeth-
er to build something
that was so very special.”
Next, Cindy Vitelli,
former executive direc-
tor, reflected on her time
with the organization,
sharing the memory of
trying to come up with
the name for the fund-
raiser event.
“When I answer the
phone, the first thing I
hear from a client when
they say, ‘I need help,’
and we say, ‘Yes, I can
help you,’ is a sigh of re-
lief,” Vitelli recalled.
She commended the
compassion and devo-
tion from staff at the
nursery.
“Their dedication to
give parents the tools to
build skills for a stable
and healthy environ-
ment is truly amazing,”
she said.
Vitelli retired on Fri-
day after 18 years of
working with the organi-
zation.
Diane Hazen, anoth-
er former executive di-
rector, then praised the
leaders that had been on
stage.
“They were responsi-
ble for helping Family
Relief Nursery earn a
reputation as an orga-
nization that provides
quality care, services and
outcomes that demon-
strate we are accom-
plishing our mission to
keep children safe and
strengthen families,” Ha-
zen said.
She also thanked the
community and took
pride in the group’s
growth to its current
nine therapeutic class-
rooms and three sites in
the area.
“I am proud that so
many children’s life tra-
jectories will change for
the better,” said Hazen.
Current Executive Di-
rector Whalen then took
the stage, honoring Vi-
telli and Hazen for their
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Family Relief Nursery staff and leaders gathered on stage after the annual Sigh of Relief benefit at the
Cottage Grove High School on June 25.
years of service.
“I’m humbled to follow
in the footsteps of these
amazing women that
have done pioneering
work in Cottage Grove,
Creswell and Drain,” she
said.
Lastly, the audience
heard from 25-year-old
guest speaker Channelle
Nelson, who shared her
personal experience with
Family Relief Nursery.
“I went from being
me-based to being mom-
based,” Nelson said in
praise of the organiza-
tion.
Nelson’s life trajectory
took a turn on October
1, 2015, when Umpqua
Community
College
near Roseburg, Ore. was
the scene of a school
shooting. As an attend-
ing student at the time,
the event traumatized
Nelson, causing her to
become depressed and
anxious in crowds.
“As a parent, I went
through the motions,”
she said. “I wasn’t living.”
Later, she gave birth
to her daughter, whose
extreme illness as an in-
fant exacerbated Nelson’s
stress.
“I had no idea where to
go. I had no idea where
to turn,” she said.
Then, in a fortuitous
turn, Nelson ran across
a Family Relief Nursery
outreach event in Yon-
calla. After explaining
her situation to the staff,
she was immediately tak-
en into the fold of the or-
ganization and provided
with much-needed re-
spite care.
“That gave me the
opportunity to have a
break — to be able to get
myself in order, to have
some shut down time, to
get back in to the work
force,” said Nelson, add-
ing that the respite care
allowed her to make the
interests of her children
a priority.
“I was finally given the
safety and support that
was needed to be the best
mom that I could be and
to be confident and to be
able to start building my
life as I needed it,” she
said.
Amid this upward
turn, however, Nelson
then lost her youngest
child.
“At this point I really
shut down,” she said.
Through the traumatic
loss, Nelson said Family
Relief Nursery was there
again to offer more re-
lief when she wasn’t able
provide care as a parent.
In addition, she attended
a parenting class where
instructors guided her
back to a pathway of
confident parenthood.
At Christmas that year,
the group utilized the
Christmas for Kids or-
ganization and brought
presents for Nelson’s
children, a gesture Nel-
son said was more mo-
tivation for her to over-
come her struggles.
Then, when this year’s
snow storm left Nelson
and her children with-
out power, Family Relief
Nursery provided her
with blankets, clothes
and a place to shower.
Nelson expressed her
gratitude for the impact
the group’s safety net had
on her and her children.
“My children were
isolated and had little
involvement with other
children their age,” she
said. “Now we are com-
pletely different from
when we started. We are
a family now – and one
that I am proud to be a
part of.”
Nelson finished by
praising the organiza-
tion.
“It does effect the com-
munity. It does effect
people,” she said. “And it
is important.”
Congratulations!
to our
Employee
Resident
of the
Month
of the
Month
Michele
Blomquist
Farlane
Vester
For the month of June, 2019
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