PORT ANGELES — It’s just what she does, said Shelby Knudson Bell who on Monday will receive a Parent Recognition Award as part of the Children’s Trust of Washington Unsung Hero Award.
In celebration of February as National Parent Leadership Month, the award, given at the Capital Event Center in Tumwater, honors and showcases 28 parents or caregivers — one for each day of the month — from across the state.
Shelby and her husband, Nick, are the parents of four boys: Zaine, 12, Nicholas, 10, and twins, Deacon and Cameron, 7. Three of their sons are challenged with significant special needs, and one has developmental delays.
Shelby “faces this challenge with joy and resolution,” said nominators Priya Jayadev, executive director of Clallam Mosaic, and William Gullick, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church.
“She stays engaged in her kids’ education, as a volunteer and advocate.”
Shelby is commended for having her sons enjoy mainstream sports, when possible, as well as Special Olympics. The boys are engaged in 4-H, presenting their sheep at the Clallam County Fair.
Nominators said that she not only works for the benefit of her own sons, but also to aid other children who are challenged with similar health, intellectual and emotional challenges.
She has volunteered in Roosevelt Elementary School classrooms, with the Clallam Mosaics’ Night to Shine prom and with the Special Olympic Orcas.
Nick, who is the breadwinner of the family, takes care of their children when Shelby is volunteering.
She said she volunteered more at the school in past years and that for three years, she has worked to match promgoers with buddies.
Her children are in the Special Olympic Orcas team, she said.
“When my kids participate, I help out,” she said.
She said she was “very humbled and surprised” when she heard she had won an award.
“I guess at the end of the day, it’s just something I do.
“I do the things I do because I feel there’s a need.”
By winning the award, she is commended “for striving to bring the best possible life experiences to individuals with special needs,” the organization said.
Begun in 2011 in partnership with Strengthening Families Washington, the Department of Children, Youth and Families, the award celebrates the men and women across the state who work to strengthen their families, their local schools and their communities.
Winners are recognized for the hard work of parenting, and acknowledged for stepping up and becoming a role model not only in the home but also in the community.
