The “Why” behind the “Mission”

A lot of people have asked me why I started Resilient Roots & Wings Foundation. To understand the mission, you have to understand the "why" behind my heart.

A few years ago, my family’s world was turned upside down. I lost my brother in a way that no family should ever have to experience. His death was ruled a homicide, but for a whole year, we lived in the dark.

For that first year, we believed a story told to us by an inmate who called us from prison. He told us he was there—that he tried to save my brother’s life during an overdose. We clung to that small comfort. But the truth that eventually came out was a shock we never saw coming: The person who called us claiming to be a hero was actually the person responsible for my brother's murder.

Navigating that kind of grief, betrayal, and the "what ifs" of addiction is a heavy path to walk. But as I looked around our community in Wayne and Holmes counties, I realized I wasn't the only one carrying this weight. Most importantly, I saw the children left behind in the wake of these tragedies.

Children who lost their fathers, mothers, or siblings to the same cycle of addiction and violence. Children who are now being raised by grandparents or in kinship care, wondering if they are still special, if they are still seen, and if they will ever have a "normal" birthday or Christmas again.

I couldn't change what happened to my brother. But I can change the story for these kids.

I started this organization because I want these children to know that even in the middle of a family tragedy, they are worth celebrating. When we gift a birthday or a Christmas, we aren't just giving a toy—we are giving them a moment where they can just be a kid again. We are replacing a small piece of their hurt with a memory of joy.

In his honor and in response to our loss, I founded Resilience Roots & Wings Foundation to carry forward a legacy of support, healing, and hope for families touched by similar pain.

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