APPLETON (NBC 26) — As part of Give Big Green Bay, we’re highlighting nonprofits quietly transforming lives across Northeast Wisconsin.
For Colleen Stratton, that transformation started with one word: yes.
“It was incredible and amazing and totally changed the trajectory of my life,” Stratton said. “In 2024, I graduated with high honors, and I walked across that stage, and all my kids were cheering and clapping.”
Today, Stratton is an ICU nurse and the mother of six. But getting there was anything but easy.
Stratton says she left an abusive marriage and filed a restraining order, suddenly finding herself with no money and young children to care for on her own.
“I was in a marriage where I was told I was stupid, I was a loser,” she said. “After years of hearing that, I began to believe I was those things.”
She knew she needed help, but asking for it was hard.
That’s when a friend told her about Safe Families for Children.
Safe Families for Children connects parents in crisis with screened volunteers who step in short-term to provide care and support, so children can stay safe and families can stay together.
It is not foster care. It is not adoption. Parents maintain full custody of their children and can request their return at any time. Children may stay with a host family for as little as one night or for several weeks, depending on the need.
Beyond temporary care, volunteers also help with transportation, mentoring, meals, and practical support.
“The gap we saw was relational,” said Betsy Barnes, director of Safe Families in the Fox Cities and Green Bay area. “We’re going to walk with you. We’re going to help with transportation. We’re going to babysit sometimes. But you have to be open to that relationship.”
Right now, the organization is serving about 50 families across the region.
On average, a child stays with a Safe Families host for about 30 days. The estimated cost is roughly $1,500 per child, compared to about $70,000 for a child in the foster care system.
For Stratton, Safe Families became more than short-term child care.
“They would make meals. They cleaned my house. They fixed things around the house,” she said. “There were people, like a team of people, that wanted to rally around me and see me through to the end.”
Over time, that support gave her space to pursue nursing school.
And when she graduated, members of her Safe Families support team were there cheering her on.
Today, she says she is financially stable and surrounded by a village she believes will last a lifetime.
“There’s no way that I would have been able to accomplish this without them,” she said. “I never underestimate the power of somebody’s yes… because it has the ability to completely change the trajectory of one’s life.”
Safe Families for Children is a participating nonprofit in Give Big Green Bay.
The organization is currently seeking:
- Host families
- Family friends
- Volunteer mentors
- Financial donations to help expand services
If you would like to donate or learn more about volunteering, click HERE
For Stratton, that decision to say “yes” made all the difference.
And for another family in crisis, it could mean everything.
