The Night We Remember What Makes a Difference

At Strawberry Fields, some of the most important work happens quietly.

It happens when someone tries again at a goal that once felt out of reach. It happens when staff stay steady through a difficult moment. It happens in Early Intervention, when a family celebrates a small step that feels anything but small. It happens at Good Day Cafe and Scraps & Skeins, where work, belonging and opportunity come together in real ways.

Once a year, the Making a Difference Awards gives us a chance to celebrate that work. 

Held at Toftrees Golf Resort, the Making a Difference Awards is one of Strawberry Fields’ most meaningful traditions. It brings together staff, people served, volunteers and employees from across the organization to celebrate effort, growth, excellence and the people who make our mission visible every day.

This year’s honorees showed how many forms growth can take.

Stephen received the Stephen C. Joyce Consumer Award. He was recognized for the effort he has put into reaching his goals, including increasing his daily steps and winning gold in the Special Olympics Winter Games.

Steve Clark, this year’s Good Day Cafe Employee of the Year, brought a little humor to his recognition. Steve has worked at the cafe for years and recently helped Strawberry Fields present to the Centre County United Way Grants Committee in support of job coaching at Good Day Cafe. After being named Employee of the Year, he joked that it “only took eight years.”

Michelle Ruffo received the Early Intervention Award and was unexpectedly moved by the recognition. As she accepted the award, she shared how Early Intervention has touched her own family and what it means to now “pass it forward” as an Early Intervention physical therapist.

Those moments are why the evening matters. The awards honor real accomplishments, but they also make room for the personality, pride and joy behind them.

As Cindy Pasquinelli shared, quoting words whose original source is unknown, “True impact isn’t measured by what’s required. It’s revealed in the quiet, consistent choice to give more, care deeper, and lift others higher, even when no one is watching.”

The meaning felt familiar to many in the room. Making a difference is not always loud. Sometimes it looks like patience. Sometimes it looks like persistence. Sometimes it looks like someone taking one more step forward because another person believed they could.

This year’s honorees reflected that spirit across the organization:

• Courtney Shilling, Stephen C. Joyce Staff Award

• Stephen, Stephen C. Joyce Consumer Award

• Brandy Roane, Amelia S. Harding Staff Award

• Cassey, Amelia S. Harding Consumer Award

• Michelle Ruffo, Early Intervention Award

• Steve Clark, Good Day Cafe Employee of the Year

• Christine Wilson, Scraps & Skeins Employee of the Year

• Cody Dinger, Administrative Award

• Liviana Miller, Unsung Hero Award

• Janie Prichard, Ellen Campbell Volunteer Impact Award

  
  

The Making A Difference Awards celebrates achievements, progress and a whole community of people making a difference in ways both big and small.