CHRIS'S CHARITABLE CHAMPION

CONGRATULATIONS Mrs. Martin The 1st recipient of the Chris's Charitable Champion.

You are an angel on this earth and we admire you so much. You represent exactly what this award is about.

In January 2012, Mrs. Martin visited a friend that was recovering from a double mastectomy. She noticed a beautiful "prayer shawl" someone had crocheted for her friend. As Mrs. Martin was admiring the prayer shawl her friend commented about how much she loved it but needed something larger to cover her when she had visitors.

Later that day, Mrs. Martin decided to pull out her old sewing machine, bought some fabric and batting, and made her first lap quilt. She had no idea where this would lead! She started making more lap quilts to give to friends who had recently had heart attacks, strokes, been diagnosed with cancer, or discovered they needed surgery.

People started giving Mrs. Martin the names of friends and family members who were going through health problems or other difficulties, expecting new babies, celebrating birthdays, and facing other life events. Becky also does missionary work in Honduras and began given several away in Honduras when she is there visiting the mission field.

Mrs. Martin hit a milestone in 2018 when she made her 1000th quilt. She is currently working on number 1086! She has sold very few of the quilts; when she does sell a quilt, she uses that money to help with expenses (fabric, batting, postage, and machine maintenance).

Mrs. Martin goes above and beyond her giving as she tries to choose fabrics which reflect the person's personality who is receiving a Hug and Prayer quilt

Mrs. Martin will never know many of the people who have received a quilt, but we can rest assured she has touched many lives through her Hug and Prayer Quilts ministry.

Congratulations Mrs. Martin and thank you for being a blessing to others. It is an honor to recognize you as the 1st recipient of the Chris's Charitable Champion award.

I would like to nominate my friend Glinda Ward for your "Chris's Charitable Champion" To me she is an awesome champion and I wish I had her energy and drive. I am nominating her for all she does for Oklahoma's low-income community. 

Every Monday night at around 9pm you will find her at her local Panera Bread picking up their bread donation. And sometimes she is there on Thursday nights as well. On Tuesday and sometimes Friday she will take the bread to the different missions in town giving it out until she has no more to give. That way all the missions have bread to feed the homeless for breakfast. Then Glinda comes to Love Link to work 5 or 6 hours each Tuesday and Friday. Glinda and I clean up and price all the donations given to us to put into the Thrift Store. The money made from the Thrift Store goes to buy items needed in our Food Pantry.

Each day when Glinda is home and the afternoons she volunteers, she helps out her elderly neighbor Mrs Pat who lost her husband about 3 or 4 years ago. Each morning she or her husband Steve makes sure Mrs Pats newspaper is on her porch so she doesn't have to go out to get it. Glinda takes Mrs Pat to any and all doctor or eye doctor visit. She did help her to take Mrs Pat's dogs to the vet up until Mrs Pat lost both of her dogs for illnesses. Glinda always cleaned up the dog poop in the back yard and put the trash to the curb so Mrs Pat would not have too. She still does the trash for Mrs Pat and takes her mail to her. And they would take turns dipping water out of some hole when it rained to prevent the water from entering the house, until that was recently fixed. I really never understood what it was for anyway.

Recently Glinda and her husband Steve bought 8 new panels of stockade fencing to replace Mrs Pat's old fence. And Steve replaced it all by himself. And if all this is not enough Glinda is MMI President at her Church. She has all these meetings and stuff to attend. She is responsible for buying the items needed to make crisis kits to send out when a disaster strikes somewhere. The church refunds some of the money but she buys a lot of it out of her own pocket. And if anyone at church needs help with anything Glinda and her husband Steve are always the first to offer help. Glinda had to leave Love Link a bit early yesterday because someone needed a ride to the grocery store and other errands since their car broke down. And the other day Glinda's husband Steve found an elderly lady at the 7-11 and she had no way home and no money for a taxi so Steve took her home. Glinda and Steve are always doing kind things for others and for animals they find on the streets. Even finding the time last year to come over and mow my grass because I was in the hospital.

And Glinda always finds time to take me out to eat 2 or 3 times a month and won't let me pay even for my own food. And she also finds the time to call me almost every day to check on me. They are an awesome couple that I am proud to call my friends and they just recently celebrated their 43 wedding anniversary.

Thank you very much for allowing me to nominate her. I do believe she deserves to be recognized for the good she does for the city!!!

Sharon

Our recipient of Chris’s Charitable Champion for the month of July is, Denise Negron. Mrs. Negron is originally from Puerto Rico. She graduated from the Caribbean University of Puerto Rico then began work in the automotive industry.

In 2000, after the birth of her son, Alejandro, Denise became a stay at home mom. Soon after, the family moved to Broward County. Denise now lives in Wellington, Florida with her husband, Felix, and two children, Alejandro and Gaby.

Mrs. Negron’s son, Alejandro, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. The diagnosis was devastating to Denise and her husband, Felix. To make matters worse there was not much information about autism and almost no resources available at the time. They felt lost and frustrated but decided to act and do what they felt was best for their son.

Due to the challenges that this condition presents and the lack of information about it at the time Mrs. Negron decided to volunteer for the local chapter of Autism Speaks.

Ms. Negron became the Palm Beach County Co-Chair for their signature event, Walk Now for Autism Speaks, as well as the spokesperson locally and in Puerto Rico.

In 2012 Mrs. Negron was hired as a Community Development Associate for Autism Speaks. Due to her determination, passion, and commitment, she raised $1.2 Million and increased Autism Awareness Month through the Light It Up Blue campaign.

Mrs. Negron’s other accomplishments include the development of the Autism Awareness Clubs and the Anti-Bullying & Autism presentation in Palm Beach County schools. She also worked for the Access Point Project, Inc. as a Development & Outreach Coordinator. Currently Mrs. Negron is a Teacher’s Assistant at Cambridge Schools for pre-k students.

Mrs. Negron has spent over a decade advocating and providing information, resources, and support to families affected by autism. She was also a Woman of the year nominee by “Wellington – The Magazine” In 2012, and in 2016 was nominated for her Esperanza Award by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Palm Beach County.

What Mrs. Negron would like us to know about Alejandro is that, “although he is on the Autism Spectrum he has so much to offer. Alejandro is an amazing young man full of love and very funny. He participates in Special Olympics in Track and Field and bowling. He loves NASCAR, video games, music, playing his guitar, and listening to pastors.

Alejandro recently graduated from Wellington Community High School and now we are looking forward to having him in a vocational program to learn about living skills, employment, and job training.

We are super proud of him. He changed my world in a better way, he showed me how to see the world from another perspective, to see how important the little things are and be grateful in many ways.”

Mrs. Negron is committed to positively impacting the lives of all special needs children, both young and older. When she is not advocating or raising funds for those with special needs, she enjoys nature, exercise and, more than anything she loves cooking for her family and friends.

Congratulations Mrs. Negron. Your dedication to helping others is exactly what Chris's Charitable Champion is all about.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyTiNl3fCkU&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2A1aC1WRMv9QTHMKNsGs51YV826OAGkVtTRA04nUPM0Mw2pTLMFo6U-VA 

This month’s recipient of our Chris’s Charitable Champion award is Mrs. Jodi Davis. Mrs. Davis is the mother of two daughters, one with autism. She is a former elementary school teacher but became a stay at home mom when she was having a rough pregnancy with her first child, Teagan.

Teagan was diagnosed with autism at 20 months in 2003 while Mrs. Davis was about 5 months pregnant with her second daughter, Genelle. Even though Mrs. Davis was an elementary school teacher, she did not realize how delayed Teagan really was. Mrs. Davis states, “Once I mourned the diagnosis, I knew I had to help my child. So, I researched on the internet, asked the doctors a ton of questions and learned from the therapists while they were working with my daughter.”

Mrs. Davis states, “Learning how to positively parent my children is one of my best accomplishments. My true passion is helping families look at autism positively. I started Blooming with Autism because I felt that so many families could not afford the necessary private therapies or therapy items for their child diagnosed with autism; such as an iPad, speaking device, speech therapy or occupational therapy, to name a few. This is imperative for their development. 

I have also written and published a children’s book called, “Tag’s First Day at School.” Tag is the initials of Teagan.  This book helps children deal with their anxiety. 

I started Blooming with Autism in 2010, because I felt and still feel that a child with autism needs to be exposed to many different types of therapy in order to bloom. My daughter was a child that spun, no eye contact, tantrums continuously, covered her ears with loud noise, covered her eyes if she was over-stimulated, spoke when she was 4, potty trained not too much longer after that, rocked to calm herself and many other typical characteristics of autism. Being exposed to so many different types of therapy, she is doing extremely well.  Families who cannot afford these priceless therapies need support to get them. Their child can bloom as well! 

In 2018, I had to change my mission because I was giving out $2,000 grants per child, but not enough donations were coming in. So now we give iPads. This helps immensely with communication. I feel every human needs the capability to communicate. 

As we continue spreading the word about Chris’s Charitable Champion, we are so blessed to be meeting so many people like Mrs. Davis, who reach out to help others in their community. Thank you, Mrs. Davis, for your dedication to those with Autism. 

Find out more about what Mrs. Davis does for the autism community. Follow the links in the chat. 

Blooming with Autism

Mission and Vision Statements

​

Our mission is to ensure that all families have the tools available to them so that every child and 

adult can bloom!

Our vision is to provide iPads to individuals with autism that otherwise cannot afford them; in order to help them become independent adults.  

Blooming with Friends

Our Mission We want children on the spectrum to have an opportunity to make friends.

Peace and Love Boutique Facebook: Peace and love boutique. Dedicated to kid friendly businesses 

🧩 www.bloomingwithautism.org

🧩 www.bloomingwithfriends.org

👗 www.peaceandloveboutique.com 

Lloyd Coker from good ole Douglasville, Georgia receives our Chris’ Charitable Champion award for his outstanding work in his community.

Lloyd is one of the most unselfish and giving people I’ve ever met. Doesn’t matter if it’s volunteering with the Special Olympics, World Changers, Disaster Relief, Mission trips to Guatemala, Cincinnati, or anywhere he feels he can be of help. 

On several occasions I have seen Lloyd stop everything he was doing in order to help someone. He has given his last dime to feed someone. Given his shoulder for someone to cry on. Lloyd is always putting everyone above himself.

He has been a great support to those with special needs, and their families. Both he and his wife strive to makes the lives of those with special needs better. Not only through the Special Olympics but also through their Sunday School Class.

We know a lot of people out here who could be worthy of this award, but Lloyd is on another level when it comes to his love for God and his helping and caring nature.

It is our honor to recognize Mr. Lloyd Coker as the newest recipient of Chris’ Charitable Champion. Your willingness to reach out to others in your community is admirable and we thank you. 

To nominate yourself or someone you know, please email Joyce Lombard at bjlombard@lombardbrosgaming.com with the following information:

Name of nominee:

Reason for nomination/charitable deed(s) done:

Phone and/or email address to contact the nominee should they be selected:

Photo, press release, school recognition, or any other information which supports your nomination of the individual

Recipient will be announced on the Lombard Bros. Gaming Talk Show

https://www.youtube.com/c/LombardBrosGaming