A Message from our President and CEO Melissa Jenovai

Spaulding for Children 2023 starts the year with new leadership. Our Board is now headed by Kristi Plain, while I will serve as President/CEO of the Agency. While we are new to our current positions, we have been part of the Spaulding team for many years. I want to emphasize that we will continue to deliver programs and services to the children, youth and families we serve. We also will continue to focus on developing relationships within the community.

Way back in 2004 I came to Spaulding as an intern, ready to learn, but not quite knowing what I was getting into. As it turns out, I really liked working in Child Welfare and I had the opportunity to learn from so many great staff and families.

As a result, I stayed at the agency and never left. In fact, I met my husband here at work and we have three kids together. My oldest is in high school and I have two younger kids in elementary school. Next school year will be the time when I have one in high school, one in middle school and one in elementary school.

My days are certainly busy balancing work life and home life, but I really couldn’t imagine doing this job anywhere else. I also couldn’t balance all of this without the relationships built over the years that provide support and guidance. From the colleagues who have become friends, the co-workers who have mentored me, and to the families that taught me so much, they all have helped me when I knew so little at the onset of my first job out of school. The relationships that I built over the years are what really have kept me going.

The agency has also had the opportunity to create new relationships over this past year as well. We have those existing relationships with great organizations like Wendy’s, MASCO, Brasscraft, A Jor-Dan Consulting, LLC, Charco Realty, LLC, United Wholesale Mortgage, LLC, and Detroit PAL that directly benefits the community that we serve.

Last year we were able to secure a donation of turkeys for our families, which was one less stressor we could offer to a family confronting more issues than they could deal with alone. We were able to provide holiday gifts for the children and youth, all because of the relationships developed over the years with our generous supporters. We also developed a new relationship with Pickleman’s Franchising, LLC and Michigan First Credit Union to help make the holiday season bright for many of our children/youth.
 
For this year I look forward to building new relationships and nurturing those we have already established. If not for those relationships and support, we could not do all that we do for the families we work with on a daily basis. Looking forward to this new year with all of you!