- This month on The SPARK, our theme is "Expanding Services to Increase Impact".

We'll learn more about a nonprofit celebrating 100 years of service to the Mid-South with a focus on Driving the Dream and addressing our region's most critical issues, a nonprofit expanding to Shelby County to change the way foster care begins, and an organization providing education on suicide prevention, employee wellness, and brain health.

We'll also share a special moment from our SPARK Awards 2022.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity, and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting the positives, encouraging engagement, and leading by example to power the good.

Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The SPARK.

- (male announcer) Additional funding for The SPARK is provided by United Way of the Mid-South, ECOP, The Memphis Zoo, My Town Movers, My Town Roofing, My Town Properties, and by Meritan.

- Have you ever been excited by a new idea?

Inspired by watching someone lead by example?

When we talk about creating change, we start by sharing the stories of everyday heroes who are making a difference in their own way so we can learn and do the same.

I'm Jeremy Park, and this is The SPARK.

They're a nonprofit celebrating 100 years of service to the Mid-South with a focus on Driving the Dream.

We're here with the President and CEO of United Way of the Mid-South, Dr. Kenneth Robinson, and let's start out, 100 year legacy.

Give us some background for United Way of the Mid-South.

- Well, it's really amazing, but it really, literally was 100 years ago, 1923, when several businessmen borrowed $410,000 because they had the idea of coming together, collectively, and giving grants to high-performing nonprofit organizations.

A hundred years later, a century later, United Way of the Mid-South has been an extraordinarily important critical factor in improving the quality of life of Mid-Southerners by mobilizing and aligning resources to address priority needs.

We've done that consistently and that's been the story for 100 years, Jeremy.

- You serve at an intersection between the corporate sector, nonprofits, obviously, individuals and families, lifting them out of poverty, access to resources.

So talk about the model.

- Unlike many, many foundations, we are a public, charitable, and exclusively charitable foundation.

And so we have access to all of those sectors that come together to understand th at we have relationships over scores of years with all of these nonprofits.

And the model of United Way, historically, had asked workplaces, CEOs of companies, to allow us to have access to their employees to be able to tell the story and to say we can help facilitate your own personal and private philanthropy by allowing you to donate to the United Way and allowing our small army of very skilled and knowledgeable volunteers to vet community-based organizations and to determine what they're doing, how well they're doing it, and to make a brand promise to you that we will place your dollars in the best places, the greatest good for the greatest number.

That's been the model.

But of course, Jeremy, you know well that workplaces have changed, particularly over the last few years with the impact of the pandemic.

- So let's talk about Driving the Dream, because we have some exciting news to share, but dive into Driving the Dream.

- What we came to recognize is that, in order for those families to really advance, to move beyond what is often multi-generational poverty, they were going to need more than one program, one service, one agency.

And so Driving the Dream was birthed at United Way to help people who have dreams but have no mechanism, no means, they had no structure to get from where they are to where they dreamed to be.

What we have done is taken our historic relationship to the nonprofit community, we've built a network of almost 130 agencies.

They share their clients, they share common tools, they share measurement in an integrated database, and we have built a system of services, a network that literally has been proven to advance people from crisis and vulnerability towards economic stability and socioeconomic independence.

We call that Driving the Dream because we are facilitating it, we are pushing it, we've built the system, we are driving their dreams, and the Department of Human Services in the state of Tennessee just gave us $18.2 million, Jeremy, to build and grow our network of agencies, our care coordination hubs, so that there is a no wrong door.

There is a one door access for an individual or a family walking into one of our Driving the Dream agencies.

We serve them and then we ask them, Jeremy, "What else do you need?"

And we are able to collectively work on their behalf.

We're able to seamlessly connect the dots between all of those agencies and provide over 203 different programs and services.

We can really, holistically, provide wraparound services to the whole family, to the adults and the children.

- So talk about how we, as the community, can help further your efforts.

- Oh, one of the things we would just say is please advocate for the United Way of the Mid-South.

It is almost a generational thing.

When you've been around for 100 years, people seem to remember what United Way was, but we are not your father's, grandfather's, or great-grandfather's United Way.

We are in the process today of not only making excellent transactions, making grants for those organizations, but tell your neighbors, engage yo ur sphere of influence.

Tell them that we are now in the business of transforming lives and that donations are still critical.

Donations allow us to support those agencies that are doing extraordinary services.

Donations are critical for us to have the infrastructure at United Way of the Mid-South to superintend, to manage this network.

That comes only from the generosity, the personal benevolence of your audience.

Give, advocate, volunteer, engage your neighbors, and talking about and supporting United Way of the Mid-South.

- The last question then is the easiest one.

Where do we go to carry this conversation forward and to get involved?

- You can go directly to our website at uwmidsouth, no punctuation, .org.

Uwmidsouth.org If you know individuals that need the services of Driving the Dream, there is a toll free number, 844-444-4211.

844-444-4211.

Send someone to us, refer someone you know in your church, your synagogue, your mosque, someone who you know in your community, perhaps in your family, get on the website, volunteer, and you'll see a place where you can give.

- Well, Dr. Kenneth Robinson, thank you for all you and your amazing team do.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you, Jeremy.

Appreciate you.

[upbeat music] - They're a nonprofit expanding into Shelby County to change the way foster care begins.

We're here with Virginia Roberts, Isaiah 117 House Expansion Coordinator for Shelby County.

And let's start out, you have a personal storyline tied to the foster care system that we're gonna dive deep into.

So give us a little bit of your personal storyline.

- Absolutely.

Thank you for having me.

So we became foster parents about seven years ago and, after having several children through our home, we ended up adopting our youngest through foster care.

And so we had five kids nine and under, and our case worker was ready to shut, close our home, but we said, "No, just wait.

We know the numbers."

I mean, for Shelby County right now, we have over 1,200 children in foster care and especially a lot of teens who need placement.

So we said, "You know, we can take a teen girl."

And it wasn't long before we got a call for two teen girls.

And when we got the call, we didn't know at that point that they had spent seven days in the DCS office, bouncing between that and multiple emergency respite placements just so that they would have a place to sleep at night.

And thankfully we were able to say yes.

But that is just a part of their story.

And their story would've been greatly impacted if they would've had an Isaiah 117 House to go to on that Removal Day.

- And so go ahead and talk about Isaiah 117 House because there's obviously the local piece, but there's also a larger piece of this too.

So give us the larger and then let's talk about the local.

- Okay, so this all began in northeast Tennessee in the heart of Rhonda Paulson and she took classes to become a foster parent as well.

And at that point, she learned about Removal Day and what that looked like for children.

And right now, what that looks like, is a child's taken away from their home, everything they've ever known, and then they have to go sit, often in a DCS office, while they await a foster placement.

And that used to just take a few hours, but now, due to lack of foster homes, that can take days and sometimes weeks for teenagers.

And so she just said, "This has to change.

We're gonna change the way foster care begins."

And it started just for Carter County in East Tennessee and the community rallied together, built a house, and really changed that community.

And then, you know, Sullivan County called and then Washington County called and now we are in 8 states and there's 15 open homes that are serving children in 42 counties just like Shelby County that are in process to get homes open and serving children.

- So talk about where we are in the process and, ultimately, it's not just gonna be one home, it's gonna be multiple homes.

So give us an update.

- So Shelby County, unfortunately, because our numbers are so large, we are going to get to start with two house locations.

And we kicked off in April, we're kind of in an expansion awareness phase, but we actually already have a Midtown house that's near Crosstown Concourse that's gonna be really close to the DCS office.

And just this week we found out that we have land that we're gonna be building a brand new house on in east Memphis.

And so that's the one that the community's really gonna come alongside and contractors, subcontractors, build the house and then we'll need the community to help be the volunteers and to take care of, basically, the heartbeat of the home, which is the volunteers.

- Talk about the importance of this because, as you've personally experienced yourself, and then, obviously, as you're illustrating for the audience, for a child to be removed from their family and to have to sit in an office, a cold, sterile office, where they don't really have TV, restroom, shower, food, versus being put into a home environment where they can watch TV, take a bubble bath, have their own bed, be around individuals who care and love on them, profound difference.

And so talk about the heartbeat of Isaiah 117 House.

- Yes, I mean, you did a great job describing it.

It's the difference between sitting in a office that feels a lot like the DMV, I think we've all had that experience, but it's a child's worst day.

They often feel, just, alone, they're scared, they feel unloved.

And so they get to enter our red door and be lavishly loved on by volunteers all day.

And so they, you know, they get to choose what they want to eat, they get to have a bubble bath or take a shower, they can go play outside.

They have choices on a day that they don't have any other choice and they just feel so loved.

And the stories that come out of our homes are just beautiful.

They're life changing.

And so we really seek to reduce trauma for those children on Removal Day.

Another piece of it is that we come alongside the caseworkers, because the caseworkers are working so hard, they have an impossible job.

They're having to do all of their job on top of watching children who are awaiting placement.

So we get to help lighten their load and then, once they do find a placement, we come alongside the foster family saying, "Yes."

And we say, "What do you need, to say yes?

"Do you need a bed, do you need car seats, "do you need formula for a week?

We've got you covered."

And the community fills up a giving room.

The children get to go kinda shop, get whatever they want, what they need, all brand new items.

So they just really feel extra loved on that day.

- So how can the community help your efforts?

- Every month, the third Tuesday of the month, we are having expansion meetings at White Station Church of Christ at 6:30 pm to 7:30.

And so you can come and really join our team and find out ways to help get involved there.

And that'll be until November.

We have different fundraising events, we have awareness events, and you can follow us on social media to find out specific ways to get involved.

And then, eventually, we'll be signing up volunteers, once we have houses built and we'll need people to help love on those children to give to the, you know, the Giving Room and all.

There's lots of different levels of ways to get involved.

- We'll wrap up with contact information and where we can go to raise our hand and get involved, so mention the website and where else we can go.

- Yes, so you can go to isaiah117house.com and then Shelby County, you can click on our link there, and follow us on social media to find all the local updates.

- Well, Virginia, thank you for all you do, greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- All right, thank you.

[upbeat music] - The SPARK Awards annually recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the community.

The 2022 Nonprofit Award for organizations with a budget between one and $5 million went to Mentor Memphis Grizzlies of the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation.

[triumphant music] - I am Tiffani Morrow Smith, Senior Manager of Mentor Memphis Grizzlies.

And the mission of the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation is truly to harness the power and promise of sport to transform lives and, in particular, we do that by focusing on youth mentoring.

Much of our work is really to support existing youth development and youth mentoring organizations throughout our community, primarily through training.

We provide best practice training to ensure that they have all of the tools and resources that they need to serve people, young people, well.

We also provide technical assistance or consulting, we help to incubate new mentoring programs, and, in some cases, we also provide funding because we know capacity building is so important for the organizations that we serve.

Sometimes we think mentoring is so insignificant, we underestimate the value that it can really have in a child's life.

I think about a young man who was really having a challenging time adjusting to high school.

He was really trying to figure out his way and really lacked self-confidence.

Because of his mentor and their relationship, the mentor found out that there were some simple things like learning how to shave that were really challenging to him, right?

He didn't have someone that had facial hair like he did and was able to show him that simple act, right?

And so that mentor spent time with him, you know, brought in the shaving kit, took him to the restroom, and they had that special moment together, something very significant to a young person, but perhaps seemingly insignificant to an adult.

And so sometimes it's just those little things that really matter for our young people and adults can make a difference in a huge way as a result of that.

We were super honored to host the inaugural Mentoring Matters Summit of Tennessee.

And we had an amazing experience.

We had a Youth Day, exclusively fo cused on the things that mattered to young people.

And so the gratification that we saw, particularly from those young people.

You know, I can recall a moment wh ere we were cleaning up and a young man was waiting for his ride to come and he said, "This was the best day ever," right?

And I was like, "I'm done!

This is it, right?"

Like, this is what I do this for.

You know, something that you think can be so insignificant can really change a young person's life.

There was also a young man who was, like, "I didn't think I could do this."

He was very shy and reserved.

But he felt so confident, so empowered, such like a strong leader as a result of having the opportunity to get up and share his perspectives in front of adults.

He said it was truly a life-changing experience.

Being able to see young people grow and develop, become professional athletes, work at major organizations like Google, go to the colleges of their choices, become chefs and entrepreneurs, it's just so special to see the impact that we've been able to have in those young people's lives.

And so I look forward to many more success stories coming out of our mentoring program.

[triumphant music] - They're an organization providing education around suicide prevention, employee wellness, and brain health.

We're honored to be with Dr. Justin Dodson.

He is the owner and primary therapist with Navigating Courage Counseling and Consultation.

Let's start out, you have a chance to work with men, especially, diving into their health and their wellbeing, their mental health, especially.

Give us a little bit of background on the organization and your efforts.

- Absolutely.

So Jeremy, Navigating Courage Counseling and Consultation started in August 2020, during the pandemic, and I saw it as a way to meet the need of society where adult men deserve safe spaces to feel seen, heard, and challenged.

And I started just seeing a couple of clients here and there after work to provide those safe spaces and it has grown exponentially since then.

And so I just love the ability to be able to touch lives more directly without any outside forces, where you just get to lock in, one-on-one in therapy.

- What are some of the common issues that you're seeing coming out of the pandemic?

When you look at where we are right now, what are some of the main challenges that you're seeing men come in with?

- Yeah, a lot of my clients present with issues of depression, anxiety, sex and porn addiction, thoughts of suicide, interpersonal relationships, concerns of how to express themselves.

So a lot of men are looking for an increase in their emotional intelligence, their ability to manage and cope with sustainable, healthy skills.

A lot of people are using unsustainable, unhealthy coping skills to mask those automatic negative thoughts that we have that we tell ourselves every day.

And so those are a lot of the presenting concerns that I see with clients and I like to use a different, an array of theories and interventions to be able to combat those issues so we can see a decrease in those symptoms.

- Give us an idea, because obviously, it's a long-term journey, so it's not a simple fix, but give us an idea, when you talk about some tips, how do you start to reframe those daily habits and get someone going in the right direction?

- Yeah, so I think it starts with managing expectations.

A lot of people enter the therapeutic relationship thinking that it's a quick fix or a one-stop shop, when in reality, my role in someone's life is just a small part.

And so I try to start with awareness of knowing that you need more than just me in your life to help decrease the symptoms that you don't want to see.

So where is your trainer?

Where is your gym?

Where are your friends that you like to talk finances with?

Where's your therapist and your physical therapist?

And so it starts with awareness and then looking at using a couple of assessments to look at where clients are in terms of the symptomology that they're experiencing.

And so what we're gonna do is implement different interventions across time so that the less I see you, the better you're supposed to be getting.

And so I always tell people, "We will be in a relationship "for a while and then eventually we'll break up "because that means the less you see me, the better off that you are, and that means you're doing what you came to do."

And so using cognitive behavioral therapy as well as existential therapy, those are some theories that I like to implement, as well as collaborative problem solving and emotional focus therapy is where we usually fall in terms of therapeutic interventions.

- Switch over and talk about your work with other organizations around suicide prevention, employee wellness, brain health.

Talk about working in collaboration with other organizations.

- Yeah, so several years ago, I was trained and certified in QPR, which is Question, Persuade, Refer, which is a suicide prevention intervention.

And I've been able to educate organizations, whether it be medical students or employees of an organization on how to recognize the signs of suicide and how to intervene without being a therapist or a mental health provider in order to help someone get the help that they need.

And so I've been fortunate enough to travel across the Mid-South to be able to provide that training for various people, and they've seen definite benefit in it because we see a lot of suicide within the medical profession, within the law profession, people that are high-performing individuals, whether it be medical school or law school that die by suicide every year.

And so I see my role as education in terms of the community involvement and one-on-one therapy and coaching with clients.

- You and I have talked in the past and one of the things that stood out to me was, when you were talking about, you know, for those who aren't physically trained, but who are, you know, dealing with somebody, a loved one, a friend, relative, who is contemplating suicide, is to ask them directly, "Are you thinking about suicide?"

And I thought that was a really interesting comment.

Carry that into a couple of tips for those who are, you know, that could possibly run into someone that you care about and love, but you're not equipped, what do you do to be able to, you know, hopefully pull them in the right direction?

- So it's all about connecting people to resources, not being afraid to ask the question.

A myth and a misconception in the world of mental health is that if we talk about this thing directly, it's gonna put this idea on their mind and that's completely false.

Actually, people want to be asked and they want to talk about it because that reduces the stigma associated with the symptom.

Just like mental health, talking about mental health, telling your friends that you're seeking therapy and you want help, that reduces the stigma and the shame that prevents people from doing the thing.

And then we end up in a cycle of just continuing to not go for help.

- Wrap up with contact information.

So where can we go to carry these conversations forward?

- Absolutely.

I think that you can always create conversations within your own home first and take it out into the community.

My website is navigatingcouragecac.com.

There you can purchase a book that I published a couple of years ago that actually creates space for uncomfortable conversations, as well as people can message me and email me directly to find out more about one-on-one therapy and request a free consultation call, as well as book me for speaking engagements and to train their staff on suicide prevention and wellness.

- Well, Dr. Justin Dodson, thank you for all you do.

Greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thanks, Jeremy.

[upbeat music] - In this month's episode, we witnessed remarkable organizations that are expanding services to increase their impact in our community.

United Way of the Mid-South has been improving lives for a century, and as their Driving the Dream initiative expands, they'll be serving and impacting thousands of families with the support necessary to help them advance out of poverty.

By creating equitable access to vital resources, they're driving positive change across generations.

Isaiah 117 House is a beacon of hope for vulnerable children removed from their homes.

As the organization expands its services into Shelby County, it will be providing a safe space with caring volunteers, offering comfort and impacting the lives of children who await suitable placements.

Navigating Courage Counseling and Consultation is providing a safe space for adult men to be seen, heard, and challenged.

And they're working with other organizations to help prevent suicide and promote employee wellness and brain health.

We're fortunate to have these organizations and so many others that are addressing critical issues and transforming lives in our community.

Their expanding services serve as the spark to increase impact in our community.

So thank you for watching The SPARK.

To learn more about each of the guests, to watch past episodes, and to share your stories of others leading by example, visit wkno.org and click on the link for The SPARK.

We look forward to seeing you next month and we hope that you'll continue joining with us to create a spark for the Mid-South.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity, and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting the positives, encouraging engagement, and leading by example to power the good.

Lipscomb And Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The SPARK.

[upbeat music] [acoustic guitar chords]