a foundation of gıvıng bridget cullen

story by | patricia carlson

Bridget Cullen is everything you’d think the wife of a professional athlete would NOT be. Sure, she’s personable, fit and pretty with thick blond hair and friendly eyes. Yes, she has two homes. One in Raleigh, North Carolina where she, Matt and their two young sons live when he’s playing hockey with the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes; another in the Fargo area where Bridget and Matt both grew up. And of course, she can afford many finer things in life.

But if you ask anyone who knows her, the perks of being a professional athlete’s wife have not changed Bridget one bit. She’s polite and gracious, offering me a cup of freshly-brewed coffee the minute I walk in her door. She’s modest, deflecting questions with a “who me?” expression and then joking that Matt is the real star of the family. And she’s strikingly ambitious and intelligent, serving as Executive Director of the Cullen Children’s Foundation, a non-profit that provides funding to children’s healthcare organizations who fight cancer in North Dakota and Minnesota.

That’s not to say that all NHL wives are the opposite of Bridget. Surely, the majority are not. But there is something refreshingly unexpected about Bridget’s mission to spend her life helping others.

Partnership

It’s Bridget’s generosity that Matt says he loves the most about his wife of five years. “She’s probably the most genuine and honest person I’ve ever known,” says Matt. “No matter who you’re talking about or where they come from it seems like everyone takes to her because she’s honest and genuine and you know exactly what you’re going to get.”

In a way, it seems Bridget and Matt are destined to be together and to have created the Cullen Children’s Foundation. They met in high school, a shared love of family and church between them. Parted ways for a few years as Matt’s hockey career skyrocketed and Bridget played point guard on the University of Minnesota at Mankato women’s basketball team. After graduating, Bridget took a graduate assistant coaching position at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois where she was encouraged to earn her Master’s degree. Early in her professional career, Bridget thought she wanted to coach women’s basketball at the Division I level. She says, ultimately, coaching wasn’t the right fit for her. She chose Human Service Administration with a focus on non-profit management. “Then it just stopped,” Bridget says. Until she and Matt got back together and two things forever altered their lives.

Matt’s early professional hockey career took him and Bridget to Italy. There, they met a 4-year-old boy fighting cancer. The couple dipped its toes into fundraising there, holding a concert to raise money for the boy’s family. “It was an obvious thing to do,” she says. They explored the idea of starting a foundation but nothing stuck. Until they returned to the States and found the fight against cancer had hit home. Matt’s younger brother Mark, also a professional hockey player, had discovered a suspicious mole on his back. It was an aggressive form of skin cancer – caught just in time. Doctors removed the mole and lymph nodes and Mark is now healthy. That was all the motivation Bridget and Matt needed to plunge into philanthropy. “I always knew I wanted to be in non-profits, and then with these two things happening and being with Matt, it all just fell together,” Bridget says. “It just made sense.”

The couple’s wedding was their first fundraiser. “We didn’t ask for any gifts. We said if you want to donate to our foundation, we’d welcome that,” she says. Terry Cullen, Matt’s father, says he was proud his son and daughter-in-law wanted to start a charitable organization, but admits he was surprised at the timing. “Just before your wedding?” he remembers asking them. “But I was so impressed. At a time when all the focus is on you, I thought it was remarkable to be thinking about others,” Terry says. Fifteen-thousand dollars later, the Cullen Children’s Foundation was a surprise success.

Mission

In its fifth year the foundation is having a huge impact. The Cullen Children’s Foundation has grossed more than a million dollars. Bridget says the foundation has donated nearly $400,000, not including a separate endowment set up in case they can’t hold their yearly celebrity golf-tournament fundraiser. As modest as she is, Bridget is quick to give all the credit to the people of Fargo-Moorhead. “This community is just unbelievable; givers, all of them,” she says. “The first year we wanted to raise $50,000. And we raised $200,000,” Bridget exudes, eyes wide. “And so every year we want to do better and better and better.” It’s working. Last year, the Cullen Children’s Foundation collected $350,000 in donations.

The foundation is expanding its mission and reach, too. Its basic charge is to increase awareness of children’s healthcare. All of the funds go directly to organizations throughout North Dakota and Minnesota. “Every year we get more and more applicants from places like Detroit Lakes, St. Cloud and the Bismarck area,” Bridget says. “We funded 8 different organizations last year.” The Cullen Children’s Foundation donates money mostly to children’s healthcare organizations that fight cancer in some way. Bridget says the pressure to succeed is immense. “It’s really easy to have a fundraiser and say I’m going to donate the money to whatever. But we love being a part of every decision and being hands on.” Not one to rely on past achievements alone, Bridget is already ambitiously planning the next steps for the Cullen Children’s Foundation. “We’re at the point now where we need to create a strategic plan and set goals for the next five years,” she says. “It’d be too easy to stay where we’re at.” They’re still working out the details of what the foundation should look like several years down the road but Bridget says they’re exploring expanding the fundraiser roster to include a winter event.

Bridget is hitting her stride as Executive Director. She oversees a Board of Directors [her father-in-law Terry, sits as treasure] and a larger army of volunteers who hit the ground year-round seeking sponsorships and donations. She writes grants. She coordinates all the travel and accommodations for celebrities who appear at the foundation’s summer golf tournament fundraiser. She coordinates and organizes the silent auction and concert. She also makes time with Matt to visit sick children in hospitals as well as the organizations that the foundation helps. “She’s dedicated and she does it all for the right reasons,” Matt says.

“It’d be easy to just run the foundation and not get involved in the kids lives, but that’s not Bridget. I’m so impressed with how much she cares everyday,” he gushes. Her father-in-law agrees. “She’s a livewire, a go–getter, she’s full of energy and anxious to do things and help,” Terry says. “Bridget’s always taking on more than she should, but it’s all for the right reasons.

Oh, and did we mention that she does nearly all of this while living thousands of miles away and raising two young sons? “When you get home [to Fargo] it’s like something hitting you in the face because it’s so immediate,” Bridget says of how quickly the final arrangements need to be completed for the foundation’s summer fundraiser. Here’s how Bridget explains her typical day:

“I wake up with the kids…take Brooks [3-years-old in September] to pre-school. Then Wyatt [9 months] wakes up and eats before going back down for a nap for like 2 ½ hours… that’s my time to get my phone calls and e-mails done and make my list of all the things I need to do in the community. Then I pick up Brooks and get my list of things done and then come home and they nap…I then have 2 ½ more hours to do it all over again. And then at night I lay in bed organizing all the documents that we need!”

At least she’s learned to take weekends off. “Last summer, when I was pregnant, I worked 7 days a week and I was fried!”

Legacy

The reasons Bridget and Matt work so hard as philanthropists and parents are twofold. One, they’re passionate about helping other families in the community cope with something as traumatic as cancer. “We are so blessed in this life and it is extremely hard to watch children lose their battle with cancer,” says Bridget. “We’re so thankful [to have the life that we do].” Matt has said that witnessing his brother’s battle was a wake-up call that spurred him and Bridget into action. The couple says they are doing exactly what they were meant to. “I love it, it’s my passion,” says Bridget. “Running it is a lot of work, but the best part is going on hospital visits and being hands on… I could do that for the rest of my life.” The other reason Bridget and Matt spend their lives giving back is that it helps them be better parents and stronger spouses to one another. A running theme in their home is to never take anything for granted. “That’s the one thing my mom always said is the best thing you can do for your kids is to love one another,” says Matt. “It’s a task when you have kids and very busy life. We work hard at it. Bridget’s very good at it and does a lot of little things to keep it fresh.” Bridget echoes Matt’s sentiments. “We always feel like if we’re strong together then that will be everything.”

They certainly lead by example. Although Brooks and Wyatt are a bit too young to grasp the spirit of philanthropy they’re being raised in, Bridget and Matt say the seeds are planted everyday. “Giving back is just who we are,” Bridget says. “I want Brooks and Wyatt to be passionate about something and give back, too. It doesn’t have to be cancer research, but whatever they do; they need to learn not to live life just themselves.” how can you join Bridget and Matt’s team and make a difference? volunteer – your time participate – on a committee contribute – a donation

To make a monetary donation to the foundation send to: cullen children’s foundation po box 594 west fargo, nd 58078-0594

[Checks can be made payable to Cullen Children’s Foundation]

For more information visit www.cullyskids.com or contact Bridget at bridget@cullyskids.com

Coming from someone who could choose to live a luxurious life filled with fancy things, it’s comforting to know there’s people like Bridget Cullen who give more than they take. And that’s advice any of us would do well to follow.