Jo Poshard: The woman behind the foundation
Longtime schoolteacher Jo Poshard had always planned, growing up, to be a social worker.
"I belonged to the Future Teachers of America in Roberts-Thawville High School, and every year the seniors were allowed to teach a lesson as part of being in FTA," Poshard said.
"I taught an English lesson to a freshman class. After class, my English teacher, Mrs. Helen Otto, called me back into the room and told me I should reconsider my decision to go into social work."
That feedback inspired the teacher within Poshard, and the subsequent career that spanned more than 30 years, but it didn't suppress the social worker in her soul.
"When I left the classroom, I went immediately into the foundation office," Poshard said. "As I look back over my career in the classroom, I reflect on the children I taught who had no one at home to check their homework, listen to them read, or make sure they came to school having had a good breakfast.
"There were children who didn't have proper coats or boots for the winter," she said. "When Glenn and I formed the Poshard Foundation for Abused Children in 1999, all of these children and many others came to mind."
The Poshard Foundation annually awards grants to dozens of Southern Illinois agencies serving abused and neglected children.
Monies are raised for those grants at an annual breakfast fundraiser held this past Saturday on the John A. Logan College campus, where the Poshard Foundation is housed.
Court Appointed Special Advocates is one of the grant recipients.
"The Poshard Foundation has given CASA of Williamson County thousands of dollars over the years to help us train our volunteers, which give our local abused and neglected children a voice in the court system," said Nannette Patrick, executive director of CASA of Williamson County.
"The Poshard Foundation has always been willing to assist CASA in more specific requests for our children and families in need by providing such things as beds, assistance with medical care and even an air conditioner for a foster family," Patrick said.
"CASA of Williamson County can always count on Jo and Glenn Poshard to fill in those gaps that the local social service agencies cannot, which ultimately helps our children lead a more 'normal' life."
Linda Reiss, associate executive director for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, talked about how the foundation's annual funding has improved the lives of children served by LSSI.
"Through these funds, we can provide safe travel for hundreds of children to visit their parents - help with car seats and video players for the ride, something for them to do on a long ride," Reiss said.
Also, these funds help pay for activities for children and their parents during a visit, Reiss added.
"Whether it's buying a bed for a child who has none, providing specialized counseling for abuse, or making sure a child going to court to testify against his or her perpetrator has a haircut and new shoes, we do our best to meet the need," Poshard said.
"Our foundation strives to help abused, abandoned and neglected children in Southern Illinois," she said, "and to serve as a safety net for them when traditional funding sources cannot help."