Page 40 - BusinessWest February 19, 2024

“If there’s
a poster recipient for the Difference Makers award, it would be Fred and Mary Kay. They are the kindest, most generous family ... and there’s
a pureness to what they do. They’re just individuals doing this work; there’s no expectation for recognition. They’re just ” good people.
Dr. Fred Kadushin gets to know some of the young students at Square One in Springfield, one of the nonprofits supported by Feed the Kids.
Bianca, a board member with Pioneer Valley Power Packs, who nominated the Kadushins for the Difference Makers award. “They work tirelessly, and their help and dedication have, and continue to make, a huge difference in the lives of thousands of children in our community.”
Kris Allard, vice president of Development and Communication at Square One, who also nominated them, agreed.
“If there’s a poster recipient for the Difference
Makers award, it would be Fred and Mary Kay,” she told BusinessWest. “They are the kindest, most generous family ... and there’s a pureness to what they do. They’re just individuals doing this work; there’s no expectation for recognition. They’re just good people.”
Impact Statements
As she talked about the Kadushins, Allard started not with Feed the Kids and what it does for Square One, but with a different initiative at the agency — one that collects winter coats for children in need.
“They would donate beautiful coats to the program, and I would always get a note from them that said, ‘make sure they check the pockets,’” she said. “There was always a toy zipped into the pocket — a little Matchbox car or any other kind of small toy that would fit in there — and Fred would always say, ‘have the kids check the pockets; there’s a little something extra there.’”
Doing something extra has been the MO for
the Kadushins, she went on, adding that, during COVID, when coat drop-offs were not possible, the couple still wanted to donate. Allard, who lives in Wilbraham, arranged to go to the Kadushins’ home
on Lake Paradise in Monson and pick up some coats, and while there, Fred initiated a conversation about what else Square One did.
Upon being told the agency provided breakfast and lunch for children, but that this was ‘deficit operation,’ because funds from the state didn’t fully cover the costs, Fred told her about the golf tournament that he and Mary Kay had started a few years earlier.
So began a partnership that embodies the mission of both agencies, and one that certainly helps explain why the Kadushins are being honored as Difference Makers.
For a more in-depth explanation, we need to go back to that report on NPR.
The Kadushins, as noted, came away determined to help, and not by writing a check. They did considerable research on how best to address the larger problem and started a golf tournament to support No Kid Hungry. Soon, though, they wanted to expand their reach and directly support
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