Channeling Grief for the Greater Good

Last week I went to a fundraiser luncheon called "Value Me," put on by the Beth Dillinger Foundation.  I knew about the foundation through "Beth's Closet" they have created at Ready for Life.

This is a closet set up not only for kids who need clothes, who have aged out of the Foster Care system, or who may be homeless, but also for the 90 little kids they have brought into the world.

Ready for Life has created a Mommy and Me program supporting these young moms who have had no real role models of their own. And due to this program, and the support from the Beth Dillinger Foundation, their needs are being met and they are keeping their children.

They are breaking the cycle and parenting these children the way they wish they were parented!

The luncheon showcased this closet, and 4 other locations they created, to help kids in need.  They also have a Nourish to Flourish campaign to help feed the chronically hungry in Pinellas County, as well as a scholarship fund to help kids with tuition to go onto college.

But when I dug deeper, what I found were 2 loving parents that were challenging their grief for their beautiful daughter Beth, who was a cheerleader, homecoming princess, University of Florida graduate, and engaged to be married when she passed away at 31 years old.

Beth was so focused on helping anyone who was sick or hurting, "she was the queen of the dollar store, getting something little for someone to know she was loved."

Today, although Beth is no longer here, she lives on because of her parents and the organization they created to help others in her memory.  And there are so many grateful girls and boys who wouldn't have been helped without the Beth Dillinger Foundation.