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!
- 2023 Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) at the University of Illinois, which has raised over $9,500 through creative initiatives providing a lasting impact on Cunningham youth, families and staff.