- This month on The Spark, our theme is Focused on Empowerment.

We'll learn more about a nonprofit empowering families and helping them cope with, and fight back, against serious childhood illnesses.

A foundation helping to equip youth to deal with life's challenges, make good decisions, and empower them for a bright future.

And a new aviation program where college students can learn to take flight.

We'll also share a special moment from our Spark Awards 2021.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb & 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 & Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The Spark.

- (male announcer) Additional funding for The Spark is provided by ECOP, the Memphis Zoo, My Town Movers, My Town Roofing, My Town Miracles, and by Meritan.

- 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.

[uplifting music] They're a nonprofit, empowering families to fight back against serious childhood illnesses.

We're here with the Executive Director of the Chris Hope Foundation, the man himself, Chris Hope.

And let's start, Chris, with a little background in what led you to start the foundation.

- I found out that there was a need by listening to the founders at St. Jude.

I had a friend who had a son at St. Jude.

And when I would visit, I would hear all the different stories from the families that didn't deal with their child dying of cancer.

And realized then that there was a need, and especially hearing from a mother herself, about to lose her home.

And literally just a phone call away from losing it.

And it was at that point that I realized, you know, let's try to help her save her home.

And got with some friends, and we pitched in some money to help save her home.

And the reaction that I got after that, I mean, it was really heartfelt.

And at that point it was like, you know, we need to do this for more families.

So, you know, we went from, help her keep her home, to even getting families married, to gas cars.

And now we have created multiple programs to be there for the families, and try to be there for them when they need us.

- Talk about the number of families you had a chance to impact at this point.

- Oh, wow, I think we are, like, well over 3,000 so far.

I mean, this is our seventh year, you know, and that comes in various forms.

I mean, it can be anywhere from a $10 Amazon gift card, or fuel card, all the way up to a $1,500 or $2,000 mortgage payment.

So it comes in a variety of ways.

It's also been able to provide meals for the groups at the housing facilities.

I'm not gonna lie, it's been great, it's been wonderful to be able to give back and, you know, be there for them in a time where they're really taking on their biggest challenge, you know?

With their child fighting cancer, or any other kind of life-threatening illness.

- You mentioned gift cards.

You have a number of programs, though, including at home.

And so talk about some of the different programs.

- Yeah, the CHF Family House, that's my pride and joy.

That's one of the things that, man.

You know how sometimes you dream, you're like, "Yeah, we're gonna have a house, we could put families in it."

And for that to become a reality is huge.

And yes, I did put on the gloves, and the hard hat, and knock down some walls, and got dirty along with the other construction workers.

But yes, we got the home, because the families, during the COVID, the rules were very tight.

It was a limited number of family members who could be together at the Target House, and around the McDonald House.

And so we renovated a home in Midtown, and families got to come there, because, you know, it's unfortunate that the families who initially started staying there, their child was very critical, and they didn't want to be separated.

Mom didn't want to be here, and dad is somewhere else.

So the families were able to come together, stay doing the treatment, and be as one, versus being separated.

And it's been huge, I mean, the response we've gotten from those who've been there has been remarkable.

And to the point where we are looking forward to having a CHF Family House number two.

- There you go, nice.

- Yes.

- Carry that forward into Happy Hearts, and scholarships, and all the other opportunities.

- Oh gosh, Happy Hearts.

You know, it's funny, it's supposed to be Happy Hearts for them, but I think it ended up being Happy Hearts for me.

[laughs] So social workers are always talking about different things to help brighten the child's day.

So we have the kid of the month, who is chosen by a child life specialist at Le Bonheur, who takes them down to the gift shop, and let them buy anything that they want for $50 just to brighten their day.

They have some accomplishments they've made in the past week, or month, whatever.

So we reward them, that's a bit of a tongue twister.

We reward them for that.

Birthdays, there are patients who are there for a long time and they missed birthdays, or it may be known that it may be their last birthday.

And, you know, they reach out to us and we do something special.

We pick out their favorite character, have a special cake made, pretty much anything that the family wants done, we do it.

The scholarship program is something that literally came from...

Pretty much everything that we do we got from listening to the founders.

And something that a lot of of people didn't know, like I didn't, there are teens who lose their scholarships because they're going through treatment.

And of course that didn't sit too well for me.

So I was like, "Hey, you know, "for those who need help with scholarships, you know, let's be there to provide it."

Education is very big, you get a lot of support, financial backing when it comes to education.

And so, yeah, now we offer scholarships for those who apply, not who are approved, but those who apply.

Because we're gonna make sure that everybody gets funding for scholarships.

- This is a passion project for you, you are a volunteer.

So talk about what you do as your full-time day job.

- At 1:30 in the morning, I hop in a big brown UPS truck, and I go over the Mississippi River to Texarkana, Arkansas.

So yes, I am a UPS road driver.

I go and meet Dallas, Texas.

So pretty much if anybody order anything that's coming from Texas, there's a chance that I might be bringing it back to you.

So yeah, I start at 1:30 in the morning, I go to Texarkana, I meet Dallas, we swap loads, I bring Memphis loads back.

And I'm usually off around 10:00, 10:30, somewhere in the neighborhood.

And, you know, do the Superman, hop in the phone booth, off with the browns, on with the red and black for CHF, and go about my day.

You know, depending on what I have scheduled.

So yes, it's a pretty full day.

- But I think it's a powerful story of how one person can truly make a difference.

And to your point, kind of burn the candle on all ends, but do it for all the right reasons.

And there's no excuse, in terms of your title, your lot in life, whatever it is-- - Right.

- you can pour in and make a difference.

And so I just absolutely love it.

Talk about how we can help your efforts.

- Easily, you can learn a lot about us by going to the website at chrishopefoundation.org.

There, you can see the main opportunities to volunteer, to donate, see the different things that we have going on in the past.

Event sponsorship options, I mean, it's all there at ChrisHopefoundation.org.

- Well, I love everything you're doing.

I greatly appreciate it.

Thank you, Chris, for coming on the show.

- Ah, no problem, thank you so much.

[uplifting music] - They're empowering youth in a lot of different ways for a very bright future.

We're here with the Founder and the Executive Director of the S.O.

What Foundation, Summer Owens, and this starts with your personal story.

So give us a little bit of your background and your personal story, leading into what led you to start the foundation.

- Thank you so much, Jeremy, it's so good to talk to you, like, again.

[laughs] Yeah, my personal story is the whole reason why I started the S.O.

What Foundation.

And actually I wrote a book about my life.

In 2010, I published a book in 2010 about my life.

And at the time, my mission was just to help a few teen moms to see that they could be successful.

They could graduate from high school, and they could go to college, because statistically, most wouldn't.

And I wanted to show them that they could, but it turned into something else.

So after I published a book, a lot of people started reading it that weren't even teen moms.

And told me that I really had a story that would inspire people to be successful, no matter what their challenges were.

And that's where S.O.

What came from, S.O.

What, learning how to say "so what" to whatever your challenges are.

And so now what, to figure out how you can be successful in spite of those challenges.

And that actually started my speaking career, I started speaking to organizations, and schools, and colleges, all over the country.

But while I was doing that, I got the idea to start the nonprofit foundation to really help youth in Memphis, to really focus on Memphis.

And to be able to rally the community to support the organization, so that I could give more using my story.

And all the lessons that I learned from my life to help youth in Memphis.

And so that's where the S.O.

What Foundation came from.

- Let's start, you have a number of programs, but let's start with the STEP OUT Program.

So go ahead and describe that program.

- Yeah, so we came up with the STEP OUT program, which stands for Self-esteem, Teamwork, Exposure, Personal development, then Overcome, Understand, and Triumph.

And with that program, we work with youth throughout the year, starting with a summer camp, a two-week summer camp, where they use S.O.

What literacy life skills and character education curriculum.

Which is the basis for almost everything that I do, with that curriculum, it's focused on...

They read my story, and they go through the curriculum, where they learn how to become better readers, stronger readers, develop critical thinking skills.

And also get exposed to some of the cool opportunities that I had in Memphis.

So I went to the University of Memphis, my first job was with the Memphis Grizzlies.

My second job was at ServiceMaster.

And my last job in corporate was with FedEx, before becoming an entrepreneur.

And so I weave in visits to all of those places, which are core to Memphis, right?

But we expose our students to those opportunities with those amazing organizations here in the city during our summer camp.

Throughout the year, we have ongoing mentorship, and we have workshops, quarterly workshops.

At the end of the year, then at the following summer, we take our students on an exposure trip to Washington DC.

And the reason why they get to go to Washington DC is because when they're reading my book, they see that was the first place I flew to.

It was also the first place my son flew to.

And so I wrote, I was able to write about the experiences that I had as a 15-year-old, as a pregnant 15-year-old, in Washington DC.

And all the things that I was able to see, the sites that I was able to see.

And so we take our kids, our students, to Washington DC to see the things that they've read about in my book.

And that they've hopefully read about in history books too, as well as all the new and amazing things that are in Washington DC.

But the really cool thing about it is for all the students that we've done this for so far, it's their first flight.

They've never been on a flight before, so we buy them luggage, we buy them clothes, and we get them fully prepared to take this trip.

And then we take them on college tours, we go grocery shopping, we ride the subway, we just try to expose them to all kinds of different things.

And we call it "the exposure trip," because we want them to see that they can go places outside of their comfort zone, outside of their city.

They can do things that are not familiar to them, and they can figure out how to do a lot of different things.

And that's been really, really exciting for us, to be able to do that.

So that's our STEP OUT program.

- Well, and I think when you talk about empowerment, that's exactly what you're doing.

You're empowering them, literacy, life skills, confidence, character, exposing them to new opportunities outside of the area, travel, like all of these things.

What's been the feedback, some of the feedback from the youth?

- It's so exciting, because, and we recognize that it's unfamiliar for a lot.

So we had tears, [laughs] on the flight.

Some people were scared, and I was like, "We deal with that."

And like, because sometimes doing new things is scary, when you're not certain of what you're experiencing, what you're going through, and how to handle and process all those feelings.

So even in our workshops, sometimes we have some fear there, right?

But a lot of what we do is learning how to deal with those fears, and learning how to deal with challenges and change.

So sometimes we have to deal with that, but on the other side of it, it's joy and it's happiness.

And it's so beautiful to see the progress that our young people are making, and how they, when they come to us, a lot of them that were from 15 years old when they started with us, about how they're more confident.

And not only in their ability to do their schoolwork, and just the way that they carry themselves, but also in their ability to go places and do new things.

And I'm a parent, and so I know a very important part of what we do is making the parents happy.

And so it's a beautiful thing too, when we can not only see that our students are happy, and successful, and feeling better about themselves, and learning how to deal with their challenges better.

But also the appreciation that we get from the parents, because parents need help, our parents need help.

And so it really feels amazing when we're able to provide that type of support to the parents of these students.

And also to the educators, 'cause they're also students, and they're all in school.

And so the work that we do is also to help them to be better students and just overall better people.

- There are many opportunities between workshops, your book, all these other ways that we can kind of help spread awareness and also to, you know, your impact.

So talk about other ways that we can connect in, website, social media.

How can we follow your efforts and get involved?

- Thesowhatfoundation.org is the foundation's website, thesowhatfoundation.org.

And my website is summerowens.com.

- Well summer, thank you for all you do, and appreciate you coming on the show, thank you.

- Always a pleasure, thank you, Jeremy, for everything you do.

[uplifting music] - "he Spark Awards annually recognizes and celebrates individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the community.

The 2021 recipient of the Nonprofit with a Budget between $1 to $5 million is Memphis Child Advocacy Center.

- The Memphis Child Advocacy Center is a private public partnership with a multi-agency team that responds to reports of child sexual abuse and other severe abuse.

Together, our child protection investigation team works towards safety, healing, and justice for victimized kids.

We will actually mark our 30th anniversary of service in this community next year.

We were the 14th child advocacy center in the country to open our doors based on this new model, which was about kids and families not having to go multiple places, and tell their story again and again.

Here at the Child Advocacy Center, we have the Department of Children's Services, the Memphis Police Department, the District Attorney General's Office, cycles through here on a daily basis.

Along with our partners from the Crime Victims and Rape Crisis Center, all local law enforcement, all of these agencies are a part of the team in investigating the cases from their jurisdictions.

And we never quit serving, even for those first two weeks when it was so scary, there were so many unknowns, but we were still here for our families dealing with trauma of abuse.

Stewards of Children is a evidence-informed child sexual abuse prevention and response training for adults.

It uses really effective real-life stories of adults talking about what happened to them as kids.

We've been working toward a tipping point goal of training at least 5% of the Shelby County adult population.

The idea behind that is when we reach that many people, which is about 35,000, we will begin to see a real change in community norms, around the protection of kids, and the prevention of child sexual abuse.

We are at approximately 80% of goal.

And we will make it there in the next couple of years, I hope.

We, of course, like most other nonprofits, had to move our in-person fundraising events to virtual.

The first of those for us with our chef celebrity gala, which is our biggest fundraiser of the year, typically raises over $200,000.

We actually had over 70% of our sponsors continue their sponsorship for their gala table, for a party that was online and not in-person, not the big fun party with dancing and great food that they normally get to attend.

And again, we are virtual this year, and again, we have over 70% of our sponsors continuing that sponsorship.

So, you know, of course, part of what that tells me is that yeah, people love a fun party, but they also really believe in the work that we do here.

I think about the dedication of the staff, who had to be here to do those forensic interviews, to provide that advocacy support, again, during some very scary days of unknowns.

And I think that this award is all about them, and their sacrifices, and their dedication to the kids.

So I wanna thank our staff for all that they've done through the last year-and-a-half.

[soft piano music] - They have a new aviation program where college students can learn to take flight.

We're here with Dr. Aaron Jagers.

He is the Department Chair for Technologies and Engineering with Southwest Tennessee Community College.

And let's start out, give us a little background, a little context overall, when you talk about Southwest Tennessee Community College.

- First of all, good evening, and thank you for having me on this show.

About Southwest, we have two main campuses, one in our Union Campus, which is downtown.

We have our Macon Cove Campus, which is off Sycamore View.

And we also have three centers, we have the Whitehaven Center, the Maxine Smith Center, which is in East Memphis, and we have our Gill campus, which is located in Frayser.

We are an open access open enrollment institution, which means that all you need is a high school diploma, or a GED, in order to get into our programs.

We offer high quality programs, a very affordable education.

We have general transfer programs that lead the bachelor degrees.

We have career educational programs that leads to jobs.

Our associate degree programs, which are two-year programs.

And since the pandemic, everybody lives has changed by the pandemic, and the industry.

And our students have mentioned to us that we want short-term accelerated programs.

So now we have accelerated short-term certificates that a person can get in 21 months or less.

Overall, we have 110 programs.

The job placement rate for our graduates in our career programs is 98.5%.

And the different modalities that we have for our students, we have, of course, the traditional modality, which is in class.

We have the streaming, which is video conference.

We have a hybrid modality, which is a mix of traditional streaming and online.

And we have strictly online classes.

The thing that makes Southwest unique is that we value and incorporate industry input into all of our programs.

The faculty expertise, all of our faculty, from our adjuncts to our professor, are experts in their field.

Also, everyone on this campus, from faculty to support staff, is interested in every student succeeding, regardless of major.

From the first day of class, to graduation, and on to the workforce.

We don't just push curriculum, we also focus on helping our students get jobs, whether it's through internships, apprenticeships, or simply the different industries, just reaching out to us, seeking for talent.

- You have a new exciting program, so go ahead and dive into the Aviation Operations Technology Program.

- Well, with our Aviation Operations Technology Program, it's a brand new program that we have on campus.

And we had a soft launch this spring with our first cohort of students.

And I think if those students are watching, thank you.

And we have three concentrations, we have the pilot concentration, we have the flight dispatch concentration, and we have the flight administration concentration.

We are the first community college in the state of Tennessee to have this type of program.

- You see in the news, especially around travel, there's a shortage of pilots.

There's a shortage of air traffic controllers, dispatchers, all these different things that revolve around, not just the travel industry, but logistics, you think FedEx.

And so it's a huge opportunity, 'cause when you think about becoming a pilot, it can be a very expensive proposition to go into that career field.

And so on this end, you're doing two things.

You're solving a challenge, in terms of workforce development, but you're also opening access.

And so I think it's extremely exciting, but valuable what you're doing.

Talk about it from that lens of both the workforce, but also opening access for students.

- There was a great resignation and retirement in the aviation industry.

Those individuals that did their 30 to 35 years, now they're playing golf, or on the beach somewhere now.

So at Southwest, we are trying to help meet their needs so we won't have those flight cancellations.

And when I talk to people in the aviation industry, they are cued on diversity, and they want to be more diverse, they're reaching out to us to be diverse.

And in order to be diverse, we wanna put more people and give more people opportunity and resources to be pilots, to be flight dispatches, and to be in the aviation administration space.

So with that said, we are meeting the diversity need, we are meeting the shortage need.

And to be honest, we can't, Southwest Tennessee, cannot solve the whole problem, but we are gonna solve some of the problem.

- Highlight one or two other programs that you wanna make sure that everyone knows about.

- Well, two programs that I can talk about, we can talk about our Mechatronics Program, which is our advanced manufacturing.

And the individuals that come out of their program would be maintenance technicians.

And they can probably start off at $48,000, and probably end up in the next three years of $100,000.

So that is a very lucrative industry to be in.

And we have partnerships with the University of Memphis, we have partnerships with FedEx, Nike, KTG, Smith & Nephew.

So the industry has, when we made that program, the industry has came in and gave us a hug, and said, "Hey, we like this and we want this."

And they are hiring our graduates.

Another program that we can highlight is our Computer Information Technology Program, which we have four different concentrations.

We have a program in concentration, we have a networking concentration, we have a cyber defense concentration, and a system administration concentration.

And one of the highlights of last year is that we served over, we had 15 apprentices working in the local companies around the Memphis area doing IT.

And I think we had six or seven of them actually get hired right after the apprenticeship.

So we are very proud of those two programs as well.

- Wrap up with where we can go to learn more.

So, website, social media, where would you direct us to learn more about Southwest Tennessee Community College and all of your amazing programs?

- All right, the first mode is a traditional phone call, would be 901-333-5000.

And I have to sing it so y'all won't forget it.

♪ 901-333-5000 ♪ All right, and then we have www.southwest.tn.edu.

- Well, Dr. Jagers, thank you for all you, and your amazing team, do, thank you for coming on the show.

- All right, thank you, thanks for having me.

[uplifting music] - Empowerment is defined as the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.

So when we talk about being focused on empowerment, we're spotlighting the nonprofits, schools, and organizations here in our community that are helping families, youth, and adults, take control of their lives and their futures.

We're fortunate to have organizations like the Chris Hope Foundation, to erase the financial and emotional burdens families face when their child is in treatment and fighting back against serious childhood illnesses.

To have the S.O.

What foundation, helping youth learn to say "so what" to their challenges.

And so, now what, to improve their situations.

And then schools like Southwest Tennessee Community College, and their new Aviation Operations Technology Program, are focused on empowerment through continued innovation, and their opening access to new career possibilities and opportunities for students.

When we're focused on empowerment, we're focused on strengthening our community's future.

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 you'll continue joining with us to create a spark for the Mid-South.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb & 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 & Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The Spark.

[uplifting music] [acoustic guitar chords]