The Woodruff Family: February 2014

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

NWA Philanthropy Day

What an honor to receive Foundation of the Year at NWA Philanthropy Day! Here are a few pictures from the day and the speech I gave:

Patrick and I sat in this room 3 years ago when Patrick’s mom, Rhonda, accepted the award for Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser. At THAT time, I was pregnant with Miller. Our hopes and dreams for Miller in THAT moment were simple. We prayed, just like we did when we were pregnant with Cole, for a HAPPY, HEALTHY, NORMAL baby. What we got was SO much more! Was he a HAPPY baby?....YES! He was probably one of the happiest babies I have ever been around! Was he a HEALTHY baby?....In a sense, YES! Even though his little body was suffering from SMA, a terminal genetic disease, he was otherwise healthy! He never even had as much as a cold! We NEVER had to watch him suffer, not even in his final hours! Was he a NORMAL baby?.....ABSOLUTELY NOT! He was BEYOND normal! He was EXTRAORDINARY! He was UNIQUE! He was EXCEPTIONAL! He was PERFECT!!! Who would have thought when we were sitting in this room 3 years ago that 4 months later we were going to be blessed with a true ANGEL on Earth? A little boy whose untimely DEATH brought to LIFE The Miller McNeil Woodruff Foundation.

Do we wish we weren’t here today accepting this award? OF COURSE, we wish MILLER was here and there was no need for his foundation! Do I still have moments where I look outside at Cole playing in the backyard and break down in tears because my heart wishes his 2.5 year old little brother was out there playing ball with him? YES!!! But we don’t FOCUS on those things! We choose to focus on his LIFE, the LIVES he changed and continues to change, and the LEGACY he leaves behind. A LEGACY that wouldn’t be possible without the GENEROUS support of the NWA community! Thank you to CIRCLE OF LIFE for nominating us for this award, and to Arkansas Children’s Hospital for writing a supporting letter! For us to be in the company of the other honorees here TODAY, and from years PAST is unbelievable! There are SO many deserving foundations in Northwest Arkansas and the fact that we were selected to be honored is VERY humbling!

Patrick and I may be the founders of The Miller McNeil Woodruff Foundation, but our supporters are our BACKBONE! Thank YOU for your support over the last 2.5 years! Because of YOU we have been able to donate over $400,000 to the charities we support in memory of Miller! With EVERY donation we make, we are reminded that Miller’s life had PURPOSE. More PURPOSE than we could have ever imagined!