“Jan is a selfless woman and great example of volunteerism,” said Nadine Steele, 2025 chairwoman of the award program.
Barbara Faust of Springfield nominated Kushmaul. The pair met in 1973 while involved in the La Leche League (LLL), a breastfeeding support group.
“Jan’s done a lot to nurture children and talk to women about how to mother, especially in the early months,” Faust said. “She’s always been interested in doing better for children.”
Kushmaul, a Wittenberg University graduate, was a volunteer group leader for LLL starting in 1967. Eventually, she became a regional coordinator of leader applicants for the organization. She was active for more than 16 years while raising three sons.
“La Leche League changed my life,” Kushmaul said. “I learned how to listen to my children and meet their emotional needs and good ways to discipline.”
Listening to children and meeting their needs turned out to be one of Kushmaul’s gifts she shared with the community.
“Jan is a visionary,” Faust said. “She saw early on that some children’s needs weren’t being met, so whenever she saw a need for an organization, she just started it. So many people are still being served because of her.”
While working for the Clark County Combined Health District, Kushmaul established the Early Childhood Coordinating Committee. It connected Clark County agencies that helped low-income families with young children and has evolved into what today is Help Me Grow, supporting pregnant women and families with young children statewide. Kushmaul also helped build what is now the Association for Infant Mental Health for Ohio.
“I put in a lot of time and energy, and I helped a lot of people come together, and that’s how it keeps going,” she said. “People get involved and see the value of the work.”
Kushmaul came to focus on children’s mental health. She returned to school, ultimately becoming a licensed professional clinical counselor.
Kushmaul was motivated by what she calls her “tough upbringing.” Her parents frequently moved their six children. During Kushmaul’s last years of high school, her family lived in a structure comprised of a stripped-down house trailer, gutted school bus and room built between.
“Mental health was key to sanity during all those years,” Kushmaul said. “What saved me was I loved school, and I was active at church. I relied a lot on spiritual support. That’s guided me to do not just what’s best for me but for the people I come in contact with.”
Kushmaul wrote a 60-page booklet, “A Child As A Star,” to share her life lessons. The star represents what she calls the five domains of children’s growth and development: the body and mind that connect us to the physical world, the emotions and feelings that connect us to people — and the spiritual aspect that “connects us to that which is greater than ourselves,” she said.
“The first four years will determine the course of that child’s life,” Kushmaul said. “If they do not acquire the skills they need for physical, mental, emotional and social interactions — and I include spirituality — they have a handicap. All are needed to become a healthy human being.”
Kushmaul, now 86 and retired, has fostered healthy development of young children throughout her life. Other service includes:
- working with families at the Parent Infant Center;
- coordinator of Parents and Children Together (PACT);
- as owner of her small business, providing consulting about early childhood mental health for the Council on Rural Services;
- supervising home service coordinators with the Clark County Combined Health District; and
- volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) with the Clark County Juvenile Court.
“Jan is a quiet leader, working behind the scenes as an activist in a more private way for children and families,” Faust said. “Her nature is just so soft. She’s very gentle with suggestions without being pushy. Those traits have served her and her clients well for so many years.”
The Empowering Women One By One award recognizes those accomplishing great things in their communities. The local club presenting the award is a member of the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs and International General Federation of Women’s Clubs. The latter is the largest nondenominational, nonpartisan international community service organization of volunteer women in the world.
“I have been blown away by being given this award,” Kushmaul said. “I did not do anything by myself. There was always a team of wonderful people who supported and did a major part of the work that was accomplished.”
Yet Kushmaul’s work as a community change-maker and lifelong learner continues to inspire Faust.
“Jan was boots-on-the-ground working with families,” Faust said. “I learned a lot from just watching her and trying to affect people in positive ways like she does.”
Contact Jan Kushmaul at janet.kushmaul@gmail.com to request a copy of “A Child As A Star.”
How to go
What: The Springfield City Federation of Women’s Clubs Empowering Women One by One awards luncheon
When: noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 14
Cost: $25
Where: The Woman’s Town Club, 805 E. High St., Springfield, OH 45505
How: Call Nadine Steele, 2025 chairwoman of the Empowering Woman One By One program, at 937-964-8015 (home) or 937-765-8016 (mobile). Reserve by Monday, June 9, to receive a meal.
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