giving back
it’s crucial to me to leave places that I venture better than when I found them.
Like all children, the Hood family’s 19-year-old daughter Alaina outgrew baby changing tables years ago. However, she still relies on her family to change her.
Thanks to advocacy from her parents, a bill to secure funding for adult-sized changing tables in public rest stops headed for the Tennessee state house.
I met the Hoods for a story as they kept their fingers crossed the bill would pass.
The story was shown in the state house during the deliberations and now powered, height-adjustable adult changing tables are going in family restrooms in all the state’s welcome centers and rest stops, and at each TN state park. Additionally, $1 million in grant money is available for businesses and local municipalities to apply for funding to install the tables in their restrooms!
The simple addition of a bathroom that works for families of adults with disabilities is a game-changer in improving their lifestyle.
The Hood family kindly nominated me for Arc Tennessee’s Statewide Public Awareness Award and in 2022, I was honored to join them in attendance to receive it.
Disability is the only minority anyone can join at any time. The strength of families like the Hoods will never cease to amaze me.
Watch our full NewsChannel 5 story below:
I started volunteering with Court Appointed Special Advocates while living in Columbia, Missouri, and continued that work when I moved to Lexington, Kentucky.
While in Kentucky, my volunteer role expanded as I became the Communications Chair for CASA of Lexington’s largest fundraiser, Bourbon and the Bayou.
In Tennessee, I joined Nashville CASA on their Red Shoe Party Committee to help raise funds for children in Davidson County and continued to tell CASA’s story on NewsChannel 5+.
Some stories tug at your heartstrings more than others.
One in early 2020 did that for me when I met John & Tricia Collier in Kentucky. Less than a year before I met them, without knowing it, I had met their son Finn. Since that time, their 7-year-old died of Congenital Heart Disease.
In February 2020, I was tasked with telling Finn’s story and honoring his legacy for Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.
That story started a relationship between Finn’s parents & myself to continue to help others understand just how crucial heart health is, creating a partnership with the American Heart Association.
