Kara Smith has been a mentor for the boys mentoring group since 2009. When her daughter Addie attends events with her, the boys treat her like a beloved little sister. Recently, Addie told her mother that she wanted the children attending her birthday party to bring donations to the Children's Advocacy Center — rather than gifts for her! Her mother believes this remarkable act of generosity flowed directly out of her experience of being with the boys in the mentoring group.

Organizer extraordinaire might be the appropriate title for Suzanne. She has helped with filing, office organization, and follow-up phone calls. Both the Development office and Medical Therapy program have benefited from her administrative genius; they are more productive and efficient. Equally important, she's punctual, reliable and good with people.

Dave Ewing, affectionately known as our "fix it" guy, rebuilt the doll house in Intake, cutting out and gluing 1,153 shingles, putting in new fencing, new wall paper, and then repainting it. From wood, he hand-carved and painted several toy cars; the kids love playing with them. It seems as if there is nothing he can't fix; he's tackled everything from cutting and installing a chair railing in the Medical Therapy waiting room to oiling and greasing numerous hinges.

Barb exudes friendliness, warmth, and joy – qualities she brings to our kids in the many letters and cards that she sends to them. Hundreds of kids have had their lives enriched by her friendly notes, interesting stickers, and whimsical gifts. When she's not writing letters, she is doing administrative work and collecting interesting items to donate to the Charity Ball's silent auction. A great volunteer. A delightful human being!

Eileen has been our van driver for about 10 years. Because of her, the process of getting kids to therapy groups and mentoring activities is smooth and easy: she's punctual, reliable, and steady. The kids love her and feel very safe in her presence.

Ray provides personal warmth, humor, and encouragement to our kids by writing letters, sending birthday cards, and making phone calls. In his letters, he often talks about his adventures with his dog Bella; frequently, he includes her photo. One mother told him that her son keeps the photo of Ray and Bella on the refrigerator.

Compassionate and caring, Barb provides child care for the parents who attend the Wednesday luncheon support group. She's on the decorating committee for the Art on the Veranda event and the Cherish a Child luncheon. She writes letters to kids, and helps out with whatever administrative work needs doing at the moment. Recently, she helped Niki Huck create and format a graphic time line of CAC's history. A woman of many talents!

Quiet and steady; Janis can always be counted on to do a great job. She managed the check out table at the On the Veranda art show, helped organized the Cherish a Child luncheon, and supervised the kids art activity at the Harry and David event. Her calm demeanor is greatly appreciated by the many families she speaks to on the telephone as part of her work in Intake. She is a gem.

The "queens of raffle." Maureen and Maggie set a goal of selling ALL the raffle tickets at the Harry and David event; and they did! They were charming, persistent, and persuasive. When they are not helping sell raffle tickets, they are helping to organize the On the Veranda art show and Cherish a Child luncheon. They bring a sense of fun, enthusiasm, and warmth to everything they do.

Carole is a big-hearted, gravely voiced woman whose warmth and humor is greatly appreciated by the families she works with in Intake. Each year, she provides tickets to a play at Oregon Shakespeare Festival's outdoor theater; this year, the girls in the Mentoring program will be able to see The Pirates of Penzance. They can't wait!

Have camera, will travel! Janice takes photos at all of our community outreach events. Her work is touching, compassionate, humorous, intimate, fun and always well-composed. We are lucky to have such a superb photographer working with us.

Quiet, soft-spoken, and reserved, the Quilt Lady drops in from time to time with beautiful hand-made quilts for our infants and toddlers. While her identity is a mystery, her love and caring is palpable.