By Mark Ambrogi
As a foster parent for the past 10 years, Tom Dickey knows the challenges Cherish faces.
Dickey began a term Jan. 1 as president of the board for Cherish, a Noblesville-based nonprofit child advocacy group dedicated to intervention and prevention of child abuse.
“I know we will never win the fight against child abuse and neglect,” said Dickey, who has been on the board for four years. “There will always be children in need. People always ask my wife, Peggy, and me how we are able to let a child go that has lived with us. We have a two-part answer. First, you have to be very comfortable with what your role is. For us, it’s a ministry. We are called to be there in the moment with the child. We aren’t trying to solve all the world’s problems, just love and care for the child with the hope that we are making a small difference. Second, and this is the unfortunate part, we know it won’t be long before the phone rings again and there will be another child in our home that needs us.”
Dickey, a Pendleton resident who served as Fishers’ director of community development from 2012 to 2015, is seeking support for Cherish’s Hope for Children fundraising campaign for therapy services.
“In 2016, we expanded our services to include the provision of therapy to children and families,” Dickey said. “Cherish connects families with therapy partners, and we fund the cost of the therapy. With some of our other services, like forensic interviewing and investigation, there are defined, sustainable and annual grant sources. That’s not so much the case with therapy services. We need to establish a sustainable revenue stream to fund needed therapy for victims of child abuse in Hamilton County.”
Dickey said Cherish officials see the need for therapy services daily and understand the positive difference it can make for the families the nonprofit serves.
“My goal is to set us on a path to establish a sustainable revenue source, primarily through fundraising, for our therapy program,” said Dickey, managing director for real estate for the Carmel-based Hageman Group. “It’s no easy task. That’s taking our fundraising for therapy services from zero to $150,000 per year.”
Cherish received national accreditation from National Children’s Alliance earlier this year.
For more, visit cherishcac.org.
