2016 Chrysalis Awards Presentation (L to R: Billy Sims, John Damon, First Lady Deborah Bryant, Elizabeth Eason, Matt Holleman, Justice Dawn Beam)
Canopy Presents Chrysalis Awards to Individuals and Organizations for Helping Mississippi Children Thrive
Canopy Children’s Solutions (Canopy) held its Annual Celebration at the Hilton Jackson on Monday evening, November 14, 2016. The event highlighted some of the agency’s top successes for the year and recognized benefactors who helped make those accomplishments possible. The event also served as a platform to announce after nearly 105 years of service as Mississippi Children’s Home Society/Services, the agency is transitioning forward under its new name of Canopy Children’s Solutions.
Four Chrysalis Award recipients were honored for their work across the state: Ware Foundation, LifeShare Foundation, Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company and Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam. The awards were presented by Canopy’s CEO John D. Damon, Ph.D., and Mississippi’s First Lady Deborah Bryant.
Ware Foundation
The Ware Foundation’s mission is to promote social responsibility through providing grants that improve the quality of people’s lives, particularly children.
In 2016, the Ware Foundation helped stabilize the South Mississippi Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Gulfport which provides forensic interviewing for children on the Gulf Coast in cases of severe abuse, neglect or when a child has witnessed or fallen victim to a violent crime. The Foundation also gifted a planning grant for sex/human trafficking training for law enforcement, legal prosecutors, healthcare personnel and child welfare staff on this growing criminal sector.
Elizabeth Eason, Director of the Ware Foundation, was in attendance to receive the award.
LifeShare Foundation
The Jackson-based LifeShare Foundation strives is to meet unmet needs in the lives of Mississippi’s most at-risk and underprivileged children.
In 2016, LifeShare gave funding to begin therapeutic enhancements for Canopy’s CARES Center in Jackson. These enhancements elevate the quality of therapeutic environments in residential facilities, which are shown to significantly impact the overall success of a child’s treatment. Additionally, the Foundation gifted funds to the South Mississippi CAC and outfitted the CARES School Jackson with technology for blended e-Learning classrooms, the Autism classroom, as well as scholarships for extended school year enrichment courses.
Matt Holleman was in attendance to accept the award on behalf of LifeShare Foundation Director Zeita Parker.
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Founded in 1946 in downtown Jackson, Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company (SFFBLI) believes in giving something back to the community where they have enjoyed so much success.
SFBLI is a continued Canopy Community Partner. In 2016, it funded the construction of a bicycle shed and volunteers hosted a summer camp for children at the CARES Center residential campus.
Southern Farm Bureau had two representatives in attendance: Vice President of Human Resources Billy Sims and Corporate Communication and Training Manager Matt Ginn.
Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam
Justice Dawn H. Beam joined the Mississippi Supreme Court upon appointment by Gov. Phil Bryant February 15, 2016. Prior to her appointment, she served extensively throughout the judicial system in the Pine Belt area where much of her work focused on the protection of abused and neglected children. Today, she continues that work as a member of the Commission on Children’s Justice.
Justice Beam is honored as a 2016 Chrysalis Award recipient for her work with the Rescue 100 project that is helping to recruit and provide intensive, expedited training for foster care parents in Mississippi. The goal of the initiative is to increase the availability of licensed foster homes to meet the needs of abused and neglected children throughout the state.
More than 100 guests attended the event including agency adoptees, board members, volunteers, elected officials and other friends of Canopy.