Angels in - Pound Pup Legacy

staffing the hotline for Help for Abused Women
and Children. As an intake counselor at The
Anchorage in Beverly, Massachusetts, she worked
with children who were in the custody of the
Massachusetts Department of Social Services.
Through her work at the Anchorage, she succeeded
at creating a sense of family for children in need;
built homes for children who were homeless; and
provided a human touch to a system that often
dehumanizes its clients. Loretta Cahill recognized
the importance of a mother’s love and the impact
that a personal touch has in keeping hope alive in a
young person who has been disconnected in every
way from family life. For foster children in the Sixth
District of Massachusetts, Loretta Cahill kept the
hope of having a family alive. The children of
Massachusetts have lost a fierce advocate with the
passing of Loretta Cahill and it as a beacon to
others to continue her work that I dedicate this
important award to her.
Nancy Hendrie
Representative William Delahunt
Nancy W. Hendrie, M.D., of Concord,
Massachusetts, is a board-certified pediatrician who
has worked for many years to improve the lives of
homeless and abandoned children in Cambodia
and, where appropriate, to find loving homes for
such children in the United States. She is President
of The Sharing Foundation (TSF), a nonprofit
organization she founded in 1998, which operates
a number of facilities in Cambodia that provide
children with access to clean and safe surroundings,
nutritious meals, medical treatment and childhood
immunizations. TSF also operates a rural school,
provides English instruction, and sponsors
vocational training courses for older children.
Many of the children cared for by TSF have HIV,
cerebral palsy, congenital anomalies or other
disabling conditions. The TSF orphanage at Roteang
was one of the first places in Cambodia to provide
antiretroviral medicines and care for pediatric
HIV/AIDS patients. Where a childhood condition can
be surgically treated in the United States, Dr.
Hendrie has made it possible for children to come
to the U.S. to receive such treatment. In May,
Mount Holyoke College conferred an honorary
doctorate on Dr. Hendrie in recognition of her
humanitarian work. She has truly been an angel for
countless children, and it is an honor to recognize
her with this award.
Margaret O’Grady
Senator Edward Kennedy
Margaret O’Grady is the Adoption Supervisor and
Congressional Liaison at the Boston Citizenship and
Immigration Services office. The letters that
numerous adoption agencies have sent to me
recommending Ms. O’Grady for the Angels Award
have been quite remarkable and aptly illustrate the
impact she has had on the lives of children. Ms.
O’Grady is clearly a hard-working, knowledgeable,
highly respected individual, who demonstrates
compassion to those she helps. I was most
impressed by the characterization that Ms. O’Grady
is “an exceptional public servant,” as stated by
many organizations including China Adoption with
Love, Inc. This is an increasingly important quality
for those in human services to process, and it is
critical to show those who do possess this quality,
how much they are appreciated. Knowing that Ms.
O’Grady finds the time to be so valuable to more
than 1,400 families each year, I hold her in the
highest regard. Nothing short of the Angels in
Adoption Award would be an acceptable way to
exhibit the respect and gratitude she has from many
individuals. In a letter I received from The Jewish
Family Service of Metrowest, I was moved to read
that they consider Ms. O’Grady to have an
“unfailing commitment to the children of the world
that need loving, permanent families.” What a
deserving compliment for a woman with such
integrity. We live in an age when we hear more
criticism than praise for the able men and women
who devote themselves to public service. Today,
however, we have one such public servant who has
received so many accolades from those with whom
she works, that it is a great honor to name Ms.
O’Grady as my 2003 Angel in Adoption .
Craig and Jane Pixley
Representative John Olver
In the summer of 2001, the Pixleys signed on as
host parents for Kidsave International’s Summer
Miracles chapter in Berkshire County,
Massachusetts. While siblings Kristina (10) and
Dimitri (8) originally joined the Pixleys for a summer
of camps, picnics and amusement parks, they have
since been adopted, staying on for a lifetime of
family love and commitment. As soon as the family
relationship was formalized, the Pixleys returned to
Russia to bring home Kristina and Dimitri’s younger
brother, Nikolai (6). The family of five now resides in
the bucolic Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts
where they run a successful sign making business.
The Pixleys epitomize the sacrifices made by
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