8th Annual Feeding Matters Event
Feeding Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the system of care for pediatric feeding disorder, raised more than $185,000 during its 8th Annual Community Event on Nov. 12. Jaburg Wilk Attorneys at Law and Mead Johnson Nutrition presented the event, which was underwritten by several additional local sponsors.
For the first time in its history, the annual event was livestreamed on a national stage from Phoenix. More than 820 virtual guests from around the globe joined honorary chairs Kristen and David French as the Arizona-based nonprofit honored Valley philanthropists Judy and Bill Schubert with its Visionary Award.
An active figure in Phoenix philanthropy for more than 35 years, Judy co-founded the Phoenix Ronald McDonald House and currently serves as a member of the Barrow Women’s board and The Board of Visitors. She also has served on the boards of several other organizations, including the Junior League of Phoenix.
Bill is currently serving as the treasurer on the 100 Club of Arizona board of directors, and has served as chairman of the St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center Community Board and the Ronald McDonald House of Phoenix Endowment Foundation, among other local nonprofits.
Judy and Bill have championed Feeding Matters since its inception. They served as the 2016 Community Luncheon Event honorary chairs, and Judy has served as a community advisor for the past eight years. The pair are supporters of their current $3 million Power of a Name Campaign.
Jaclyn Pederson, Feeding Matters CEO
Shannon Goldwater, founder and emeritus board member, kicked off the event with a welcome address. Feeding Matters shared several Stories of Resilience leading up to the event and during the program.
Feeding Matters CEO Jaclyn Pederson noted during the event that the organization had a successful year in spite of the global pandemic. “. . . Feeding Matters achieved several advocacy milestones in 2020 including; expanding our educational materials for families, hosting the international PFD conference which reached all 50 states and more than 34 countries, publishing the second phase of research on our Infant and Child Feeding Questionnaire in the Journal of Pediatrics and inciting the research that shows that more than one in 37 children have PFD and even more significant—one in three to five children with a chronic disease has PFD. In addition, we received word that PFD will have its own diagnostic code in an upcoming edition of the US ICD-10 manual and to round out the year we just received a formal proclamation naming December 2020 PFD Awareness Month from Arizona’s Governor Ducey,” Pederson said.
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