::for a good cause BY Caurie Miner Putnam I photo by linda Dow hayes
Wanda Polisseni’s face lights up when she talks about two things: her family and animals. The two cannot be easily separated from Wanda’s remarkable life. “Animals helped me more than I can express in words,” said Wanda remembering the tragedy that hit her family in 1983. “Every minute I spent with them lifted me up.” In 1983 Wanda and her husband Eugene Polisseni’s daughter Kimberly was killed by a drunk driver. Kimberly was 18 and had just graduated from Fairport High School. I wanted to crawl in a dark hole and never come out,” Wanda said. “But I had other children to take care of and live for. I had to keep going.” “Wanda found a measure of comfort in animals and, ultimately, advocating for other children on behalf of her late daughter. Kimberley wanted to be a police officer since the age of nine and planned to earn a degree in criminal justice. Building off of Kimberley’s passion Wanda and Eugene founded the Polisseni Law Enforcement Training Center in Rochester which provides training to police officers on all aspects of missing and sexually exploited children. “We had to find a way to make Kimberly’s life meaningful,” Wanda said. “The Polisseni Center allows her to still have an influence on protecting children.” “Wanda also became involved in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – the umbrella organization for the Polisseni Law Enforcement Training Center. She has served on the board for many years. In 2001 Wanda again faced enormous loss with the death of Eugene. She continued to pour her energy into remembering both her daughter and husband with the establishment of the Polisseni Foundation. The foundation – which she runs with her children Gary, Gregory, and Valerie Wilcox – gives grants to support education, civic development, and human services in upstate New York. “The whole family is involved,” said Wanda who has five grandchildren she adores. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” And family, to Wanda, also includes her animals. “My passion is my horses,” Wanda said. “My love for them is innate and something I have had my entire life.” “Wanda grew up on a farm in Yates County where she spent much of her girlhood tending to animals. Her family boarded Standardbred horses and Wanda fell in love with them. ““I told myself that one day I’m going to own a thoroughbred and standardbreds,” said Wanda, who purchased her first two thoroughbreds and five standardbreds in 2004. “Wanda’s horses race internationally and she owns one of the top harness horses in the country. But while she says she loves the challenge of racing, her greatest love is the horses themselves. “I love them so much,” Wanda said. “When I go into the barn to talk to them there is no place else I would rather be.” “And, in true Polisseni form, Wanda’s love for horses extends to protecting them as well. Wanda was instrumental in founding the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program’s Purple Haze Center in 2006. The center, which was named for Polisseni’s Purple Haze Stables, adopts out retired thoroughbred horses to protect them from potential slaughter. “Purple was Kimberly’s favorite color and Kimberly’s passion is so intimately entwined in Wanda’s too. “I feel it is my responsibility to help find homes for these horses,” Wanda said. “Just like children, animals cannot protect themselves. It is our job to protect those that bring us great joy. For information on::the Polisseni Foundation visit polissenifoundation.org 26more november 2011 rochesterWomanMag.com
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