Appleton man devotes life to helping children

By Kara Patterson
Post-Crescent staff writer

APPLETON — Community volunteer and diversity champion Scott Peeples of Appleton is a true people person.

Over the course of his adult life so far, he’s foster-parented infants, run a home for neglected and abused children, facilitated a youth group for teens with and without disabilities, and co-organized cultural activities for diverse populations.

“It seems like a natural path my life has taken,” said Peeples, who soon will complete his first year as director of the after-school YMCA/Horizons 21st Century Neighborhood Learning Center for children in kindergarten through sixth grades.

“Rather than saying Appleton isn’t a diverse community, it’s doing things to foster the diversity we do have,” he said.

As one of the Rotary Club of Appleton’s 2004 Charles and Patricia Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Award recipients, Peeples was honored for the depth and breadth of his consistent service, according to Bob Pedersen, the club’s recognition committee chairman.

Peeples, 39, who is a co-founder of the local multicultural group Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, has centered his life, both personally and professionally, around fostering a welcoming and supportive environment for everyone in the Fox Valley.

“He’s a quiet and effective leader who gets the work done,” Pedersen said. “You’ll never see Scott just tooting his own horn.”

Peeples’ care for others, much of it carried out in partnership with his wife, Mary, also is a family affair.

The couple’s daughters — Maria, 11, and Jenna, 4 —eagerly are awaiting the seventh visit of their “summer sister,” 11-year-old Kenyetta Fiffer. She’ll stay with the Peeples family this summer through Project Self-Help and Awareness, a statewide cultural exchange promoted locally by Toward Community that connects Wisconsin families with children of black families from Mississippi.

The couple in 1998 opened their home to Jason McNeil, now 31, who has Down syndrome. Peeples first mentored McNeil during his decade-long involvement in coordinating programs for people with cognitive disabilities through the Arc of Outagamie County.

“I think he gives the helping hand to people in distress,” said Ram Shet of Neenah, a fellow Toward Community member who has known Peeples for about eight years. “We had a few cases of minorities who had problems where businesses have not treated people well, and he helped them.”

During weekdays at Horizons Elementary School, Peeples oversees after-school care and clubs for about 120 children who also receive tutoring help. A good number of them speak a language other than English at home.

“I really feel good I’ve been able to put my passion for diversity to use here,” Peeples said.

During February, which was Black History Month, Peeples talked with children about historical figures like Spike Lee and Rosa Parks.

But Peeples said it doesn’t take a special occasion to bring alive the concepts of fairness and equality in the classroom.

“We sat down with a few girls once and talked about the importance of not speaking Spanish in front of a couple of boys, because they felt like the girls were putting them down,” Peeples said. “It’s talking about respect going both ways. Each individual deserves the same amount of respect.”