ENA Foundation Honors Illinois Nurse for Outstanding Fundraising Efforts
August 29, 2024 • Awards Emergency Nurses Association ENA ENA Foundation
Thelma Kuska recognized with ENA Foundation’s Cornerstone Award
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (Aug. 29, 2024) – Determined. Passionate. Inspirational. Those are just a few of the words that describe the 2024 ENA Foundation Cornerstone Award recipient.
For more than two decades, Thelma Kuska, of Illinois, has donated to the ENA Foundation and has ramped up her fundraising efforts, all in support of the Foundation’s mission to empower emergency nurses by providing resources through academic scholarships, research grants and educational opportunities.
In 2016, she became the chair of Illinois ENA’s Fundraising Committee taking the lead on the silent auction where collecting auction items became a year-round priority. Kuska has also been instrumental in establishing an endowment fund – which Illinois ENA named after her. Created in 2021 after years of bringing the idea to the board, the endowment was fully funded within a year due to Thelma’s hard work.
“Thelma’s efforts in fundraising for the ENA Foundation are well known,” said ENA Foundation Chairperson Amy Boren, MS, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN. “Her passion for advancing the specialty of emergency nursing is clear and she lights up when talking about the importance of her fundraising efforts. She is extremely deserving of this year’s Cornerstone Award.”
In addition to her efforts in Illinois, Kuska also served on the ENA Foundation Board of Trustees in various roles including chair, chair-elect, secretary, associate chair for the Fundraising Committee and as a member of the Scholarship Committee since 2012.
If that wasn’t enough, she also spends time teaching three-day car seat certification classes to first responders and giving presentations about teen driver safety.
The Cornerstone Award is given to an individual or organization – such as a corporation, non-profit partner, or ENA Council or Chapter – who has made significant contributions to the Foundation over the course of their lifetime. This includes ongoing contributions to a Foundation committee, sustained contributions on a local, national or global level, continued advocacy on behalf of the Foundation, and the significant donation of time, resources and funds to philanthropic activities benefitting the emergency nursing community and communities at large.
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