By Joni Naylor, Beck’s Hybrid

When Nate and Shannon Anderson of Rankin, Illinois, married in 2000, they had hopes to become parents in the near future.  Unfortunately, they had no luck after trying for eight years to have children.  That’s when they made a decision that changed their lives. The Andersons made the decision to adopt a child from The Baby Fold, and their lives have never been the same.

“I never realized when we were adopting how close I would be with my son,” said Nate Anderson. “There’s no better feeling than when I get a call in the field and hear him say, ‘Dadda … home.’”

The Baby Fold was founded in 1902 and currently has four locations in Normal, Illinois. The organization embodies Christian principles to help families and children develop the hope, courage and love they need to become whole and healthy. When the Andersons got the call from The Baby Fold that they could pick up their son, there was a wave of excitement that swept over the family. The call aslo resulted in a detour from the Andersons’ return trip after a tractor pull.

Nate, Ryan and Todd Anderson, along with their mechanic and friend Chuck DeMoss, have been members of the Illiana Pullers Association, IPA, for nearly four years. The team pulls and International 1066 tractor called Checkin’ Out.

“We were on our way home from a pull the day we got the call to pick up our son,” said Nate. “Getting that call was better than any adrenaline rush from pulling!”

The coincidence of adopting their son on the same day they were at a tractor pull is a memory that stuck with the Andersons. The events of that special day are what led Nate to introduce an idea to the IPA nearly two years later. At the annual IPA banquet, Nate approached the officers with an idea for a charity tractor pull to benefit The Baby Fold.

“I really didn’t think that anyone would take me seriously when I suggested the charity pull, but everyone was surprisingly receptive,” said Anderson.

Illiana Tractor Pullers Association President, Andy Buhr, has all the experience needed to plan and execute a tractor pull. His efforts, along with the help of many others including Bill Clayton, Airport Manager of the Rantoul National Aviation Center, have made the Andersons’ wish to give back to The Baby Fold a possibility.

The Pulling for Kids charity tractor pull will be help at the Rantoul National Aviation Center on Saturday, August 28, 2010, at 5 p.m. The tractor pull will feature food and refreshments provided by the Gifford Lions Club.  The Andersons have been Beck’s Hybrids customers for several years, and approached their dealer Jeff Heidrick and Beck’s District Sales Manager Joe McElhoe about sponsoring the Pulling for Kids event. Beck’s Hybrids has signed on to be the title sponsor for the tractor pull.

“This is an opportunity to support not only our customers, but also the kids that need help,” said Scott Beck, Beck’s Hybrids Vice President. “We try to recognize those customers who do more for the community outside their farming operations.”

Adoption is not a word that is new to the Beck family or many of their employees. Many have opened their hearts and homes to children in need. “Sponsoring this charity event took on a more personal effect, knowing first-hand the need of children all over the world,” said Beck.

“I was truly surprised that Beck’s had stepped up in such a major way, but I realized how special it was when I heard that Scott and his wife had adopted,” said Anderson.

Every year The Baby Fold has a major fundraising event, but this year the land where the event was typically held was sold. The event typically provided funding to help not only with daily operations, but also to provide Christmas presents and toys for the children. The Anderson family saw a need to help support the agency.

“These kids need someone to be in their corner,” said Nate. “If I can help put food on the table for the children, it’s a pretty special thing.”

Some donations really sizzle.

When Rich Buchanan was asked, “How do you top a Meathead burger?” he thought BIG.

Rich was the Bloomington winner of the Meatheads contest looking for the best ways to prepare a burger. His submission, the “Mayor’s Massive Meathead Burger,” included two 100% Angus beef patties, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms & cucumber wasabi sauce.  A tasty treat with LOTS of meat.

For his winning entry, Rich was given a $500 Moolah card, good for eating at any of Meatheads’ 4 Illinois locations.  Rich was kind enough to pass the card on to The Baby Fold to support our children and family services.

The donation will be used to provide meals for children in The Baby Fold’s Residential Treatment Center.  Children living in the RTC have special staff who work individually with the kids and take them out to eat, to a movie, or to the park as rewards for good behavior and to build unique experiences for our children.

Thanks, Rich and Meatheads, for your delicious and generous donation!

To see the rest of the Meatheads winners, visit: http://www.meatheadsburgers.com/pages/contest_winners/37.php

About the contest
Jackie Haggerty at Studio J Photography began the contest as a way “to honor The Baby Fold’s dedication and amazing work for children and families within our community” and for the members of our community to celebrate each individual child for just who they are.  The Every Child is a Masterpiece Contest is an opportunity for the love you feel for your child to change the lives of other children within our community.

Our goal for this year is to raise $10,000 for The Baby Fold!

Here’s how it works:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Bloomington Walmart has donated $500 to The Baby Fold through their “Volunteerism Always Pays Grant” program. 

The Bloomington, Illinois, Walmart associates applied for this grant from the Walmart Corporate offices for providing 40 total hours of volunteerism by 8 Walmart associates in the design and decorating of a 7 ½’-tree, featuring handmade felt ornaments, for the 2009 Festival of Trees.

“This gift is just one more way that Walmart helps to support the most vulnerable children in our community,” said Dale Strassheim, President and CEO of The Baby Fold. “We’re grateful to have corporations enabling their employees in meaningful ways when they choose to volunteer for agencies like ours. It makes a big difference.”

Donors like you commit to keeping children safe from the start

When the State of Illinois announced major cuts for social service agencies earlier this year, things looked grim for prevention programs at The Baby Fold like Healthy Start that had devastating budget cuts projected.

While much of our funding was tentatively restored by the State, we anticipate another round of budget adjustments in January when State funding for prevention services is expected to run dry.

Prevention is at the heart and soul of The Baby Fold’s mission.  We see first-hand the incredible damage done to children when support for parents is missing.  Like you, we would give anything to roll back the clock for these children and families to put them on a new track toward becoming whole and healthy.

Fortunately, many friends have stepped forward to privately support prevention in our community.  More than 50 of our donors and the entire Board of Directors for The Baby Fold have pledged to support prevention. In total, more than $25,000 have been pledged towards prevention.

Thank you for your part in protecting at-risk children and families.

To learn more about becoming a Prevention Partner, visit us on-line at http://www.TheBabyFold.org/prevention.

Harvest time brings significant blessings to The Baby Fold.  Through the years, generous farm families have given their properties to The Baby Fold to provide a lasting legacy of support for our children.  Last year the bounty of these ten farms provided an all time high of $339,206 in additional revenue.  

In August The Baby Fold hosted a lunch to honor and thank the current farm operators and our long-term farm manager Brian Thompson, Vice President and Regional Manager at Soy Capital Ag Services.  The ten farms are located in seven Illinois counties including McLean, Champaign, Dewitt, Macon, Sangamon and Iroquois.  Our thanks again to the donors of these farms and the dedication of these farm operators:

Burton Farm, Hoopeston Mr. Dan Houmes; Casey Farm, Decatur, Mr. Colby Schwarze; Cornell Farm, Mansfield, Mr. Lee Whitehouse; Courtney Farm, Sheldon, Mr. Jeff Hopkins; Goodin Farm, Weldon, Mr. Steve Perring; Johnston Farm,  Lexington, Mr. Mark Freed; Blum Farm, Farmer City, Mr. Larry Ruch; Baker Farm, Rantoul, Mr. Kurt Kesler; Waters Farm, Dawson, Mr. Richard A. Young and Mr. Robert L. Young; Decker Farm, Hoopeston, Mr. David Olson.

To learn more about these farms, visit  TheBabyFold.org/farms

The Baby Fold has received a grant from the Paul A. Funk Foundation in the amount of $6,000 to underwrite the adoption services they offer. The grant supports several Baby Fold programs including Infant, Special Needs and International Adoption. Other services supported by the grant are 24-hour crisis counseling, in-home consultations, individual and family counseling, support groups for adoptive parents, children and teenagers, a resource library for families and professionals as well as respite and referral services.

This grant is a welcome relief to adoptive families at The Baby Fold in light of current cutbacks in state funding of these programs.  With the reduction in government support, private funding becomes more and more important to guarantee that families in our area have the resources they need to become whole and healthy.

To find out how you can support adoption in Central Illinois, contact The Baby Fold at (309) 451-7202.

A brand new sand table sits at the Hammitt playground -- rain or shine

Tracy Perkins, Program Assistant in the Challenges Autism Program at The Baby Fold, and her husband Jon have built and donated a sand table structure for the campus at Hammitt School. The table is located in the playground area next to Randle Hall.

The table is an elevated structure with a lid to keep the sand dry and free of curious animals. It was constructed with a 4′ x 8′ tray built of wood on legs. This would enable children to to play in the sand even after a rainy day—a great option in April and May!

Thanks to Tracy and Jon for going above and beyond in anticipating and fulfilling the needs of our children.  For a list of unique donation needs at The Baby Fold, call 309.451.7202.