Pat and Paul Curran were “hometown sweethearts” from Hornell, New York, who married and moved to Minnesota. Paul worked with General Mills for 43 years and, Pat, who once worked for the FBI in Washington DC, became a dedicated mother to her two daughters, Mickey and Kathy.
A giving spirit
Throughout their 50 year marriage, Pat and Paul were steadfast volunteers and donors to numerous organizations, and before they passed away, they established the Patricia and Paul Curran Family Foundation as a way to perpetuate their philanthropic and volunteer interests.
Building a legacy
It was through the Paul and Patricia Curran Foundation that they began to support children in foster care through investments in Kindred Family Services (later to become Nexus-Kindred Family Healing).
As foundation trustees, Paul and Pat’s daughters, Mickey and Kathy, came to know the Nexus organization. Like their parents, they have a passion for helping people and a keen understanding of the dynamics related to youth who have experienced trauma and mental health issues.
As Kathy noted, just about every family has been impacted by mental health issues in some way. And both Kathy and Mickey said their children, who help direct the philanthropic gifts of the family’s foundation, have been outspoken in their desire to direct more of their funds to organizations focused on mental health.
Generational values
The Curran family values of community involvement and philanthropy have continued with their third generation.
The Curran grandchildren (five in all) are not only involved in directing the philanthropic investments of the Paul and Patricia Curran Foundation but are also actively engaged in various ways with the organizations they support.
Community and philanthropy are intrinsic values of three generations of the Curran family. Families like these play a critical role in supporting the mental health, safety, and permanency of children and improving the world for all of us today and for generations to come. Families helping families; what can be more powerful?
