Meet Heather!
Supporting families is essential to the work Pause does. It's even one of the four pillars of our program - rest, support, connection and fun and has been ingrained in Pause since the very beginning. Back in 2012, a needs assessment survey went out to the local Butler County community allowing families to share their needs, barriers and successes. One of the biggest needs surfacing from this survey was from caregivers of kids who have disabilities who shared they needed respite, a break.
This wasn’t shocking to many, especially Heather Wells, the Executive Director of the Family and Children First Council at the time. It made sense that a caregiver putting in 30-40 extra hours in care alone for a child with extra needs would need respite, but how could the community provide that in the most practical and sustainable way possible?
After hours of brainstorming, creative thinking and grant writing, Pause was born. Heather even wrote the very first grant that funded Pause programming in the beginning. While many things have shifted and changed in Pause and with Heather since the launch of Pause in 2014, the support and dedication Heather gives to Pause remains the same. Heather has been a consistent volunteer at Pause events, she’s provided grant writing knowledge and assistance to our team and has provided guidance for next programmatic steps for Pause during her time on the Pause Advisory Committee. She now enters a new era with Pause and will be serving as the Vice President serving alongside current Board President, Michael Albrecht!
Currently, Heather is a visiting Assistant Professor on the Hamilton campus of Miami University. Heather worked in social services for over thirty years and in 2020 she retired from the public system and started her own consulting firm. Heather still works with non-profit agencies as a grant writer and consultant in addition to her work at Miami. Heather and her husband have been married for 33 years and they have three grown children and one son-in-law. They travel extensively and have visited 27 different countries! (How cool!) They love to cruise, but also enjoy camping. In Heather’s spare time, she enjoys baking bread - so basically, she’s our favorite.
Why do you think it's important to serve as a member of the Pause Board?
I've been with Pause since the beginning, having written the grant that funded the start of the project. I have been volunteering since the first events and see being on the Board as another way to volunteer. I feel I bring skills and history that can help the board support Pause as it continues to grow.
What's your perspective of serving on the Pause Board through the lens of a special needs family or advocate?
I have two daughters with special needs. I have also served families with children with special needs for many years. Pause is different from any other service out there and more families need to have access to it.
In what ways do you feel you've impacted families?
I love that Pause allows me to help one family at a time by volunteering at Parent’s Night Out events. Sharing the great things we did with a parent who has been worried about leaving their kiddo for the evening always makes me feel like I made a difference, even if for a moment in time. But I also get to help many families when I assist Pause with grant writing, outreach events, and service on the Board. Serving Pause is like pouring from a magical bucket that only fills, never empties.
Heather - your support has fueled Pause for years and we are so excited for you and the experience that you bring to help Pause grow and stretch into something bigger and better!
This is CAN DO. This is COMMUNITY. This is YOUR SUPPORT.
