Using Your Gifts for a Greater Good: Wendy Sadusky and Renee Feder

Episode Transcript
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Charles Bender (00:02):
Hello and thank you for tuning in to Ambassadors
of Hope.
I'm your host, Charles Bender.
We're so excited that you'vetuned in to hear from local
South Florida leaders who aremaking a difference in our
community and region through ourcharity Place of Hope.

Lisa McDulin (00:18):
Hi, my name is Lisa McDulin.
I'm the South County Directorof Advancement for Place of Hope
.
I'm delighted to share aheartfelt forward for this
episode as part of our Women toWatch series on the Ambassadors
of Hope podcast.
Throughout this series, youwill have the privilege of
meeting some remarkable women,many of whom have the cherished
role of being what we call anangel mom.

(00:39):
What is an angel mom?
Well, this woman beautifullyencompasses the qualities that
are drawn from Proverbs 31, afamiliar passage and a source of
inspiration that encourages usto speak up for those who cannot
speak for themselves, for therights of those who are
destitute, speak up and judgefairly, defend the rights of the

(01:00):
poor and the needy.
As we delve into the stories ofthese exceptional individuals
and women, we are reminded ofthe immense value of their
contributions.
They hold a special placewithin our hearts and within the
broader mission of Place ofHope.
In the epilogue, the descriptionof the wife of noble character
from Proverbs 31 paints a vividpicture of dedication, strength

(01:24):
and compassion.
This series will shine a lighton women who rise early, work
diligently and bringimmeasurable goodness to their
families and their community.
They are like ships bringingsustenance from afar and like
skilled traders, ensuring theirefforts are not only fruitful
but also serve a greater purpose.

(01:45):
Our featured women embrace theethos of industriousness and
generosity.
They exemplify the idea ofstrength and commitment, from
overseeing tasks with vigor toensuring that their endeavors
positively impact those who areless fortunate.
Their outstretched hands to theneedy embody the core mission

(02:07):
of Place of Hope.
Thank you for joining us onthis journey.
As we celebrate theseincredible women within our
Women to Watch series, theirstories are sure to inspire an
uplift, reminding us all thetransformative power of hope.

We want to give a special thanks and shout out
to our presenting sponsor,Crypto Capital Venture.
Crypto Capital Venture acts asboth a startup recruiting firm
as well as one of the largestcrypto communities in the
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If you're interested in crypto,you can join over 300,000
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(02:46):
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Thanks so much, Dan and ourfriends at Crypto Capital
Venture.

Thanks for joining us today on another episode of
Ambassadors of Hope, a podcastby Place of Hope.
I'm Lisa McDulin and in thisheartfelt conversation, Charles
Bender and I have the privilegeof sitting down with two of our
beloved angel moms, WendySadusky and Renee Feder.
These women both will sharetheir experiences as dedicated

(03:20):
volunteers at Place of Hope intheir roles as angel moms over
the past several years, andtheir stories will definitely
underscore the profound impactof giving back and the
transformative power of service.
Interestingly, Wendy's personaljourney, including her role as
a caregiver for her nephew afterher sister's passing, will

(03:44):
beautifully exemplify howadversity can inspire compassion
and service to others.
And both Wendy and Renee.
They bring exceptional creativevision for all of our signature
fundraising events and they'revery mindful stewards when it
comes to reducing expenses andjust creating the most beautiful

(04:06):
and inviting environment andatmosphere for our guests to
enjoy and be a part of, whateverthe event is that we're doing.
We're so grateful for theircreativity and their ideas and
their resourcefulness.
These ladies' commitment toPlace of Hope not only reflects
their deep empathy, but it alsoserves as a beacon of

(04:27):
inspiration for others in thecommunity.
Their collective efforts,marked by the joy of giving,
illuminate potential forpositive change and the
importance of fostering anurturing environment for those
in need.

Wendy Sadusky and Renee Feder.
Thank you guys for being heretoday.
You know we've told you alittle bit about what
ambassadors of hope is, becauseyou both are ambassadors of hope
and you're ambassadors forplace of hope, so shouldn't find
it strange that you're some ofour first guests to be on our
show.
The whole purpose of this showis really to show the community

(05:08):
examples, strong examples, ofleaders that are involved with
place of hope, just doing greatthings for the both of you, you
know, for a period of years nowin different kinds of leadership
, and so we're thankful for youguys to be here today to share a
little bit.

Wendy Sadusky (05:24):
Thank you, happy to be here, yes.

And one of the many things you guys have been a
part of is starting up andkeeping it moving is our angel
moms down primarily in the SouthCounty operations of what we do
.
And so obviously, lisa, thatwas one of your brainchild
things that you guys came upwith, so maybe tell us on our
listeners a little bit aboutangel moms.

Yeah, so we started angel moms Gosh it'll be
10 years next spring Just as away to create awareness in the
community about the work thatplace of hope does, to raise
financial support, raise upvolunteer, give the women in the
community opportunities toengage with our mission and
tangibly serve our youth.

(06:08):
And it's been a really greatthing.
And I think when you walk onthe campus, you take a tour, you
come to any of the events, youcan definitely see the
handprints of women and theirinfluence all over what we've
done in Southern Palm BeachCounty for sure.

Anything you guys want to say about angels of
mom, why it's special to you.
That's the angels of mom.
Angels of mom Okay.

Renee Feder (06:34):
I think the people we volunteer and work with are
just so special and everybodyserves with such humility and
grace and it's just so fun to bearound all of them and I think
we feed off each other and webecome even better and bigger as
a whole.
A lot of synergies amongst us.

I think synergies is a great word.
I think also another word wouldbe attraction.
Like your group, people areattracted to be a part of it.
They learn who's on there, theycome, maybe experience
something real quick at a lunchand learn or whatever.
However we introduce, andpeople want to be a part of your
group because you're all justawesome and you can do so much

(07:13):
good.
Let me read this scripture.
It's 1 Peter, 4, 10 and 11.
It says each of you should usewhatever gift you have received
to serve others.
That's what we're talking abouthere today service as faithful
stewards of God's grace in itsvarious forms.
If anyone speaks, they shoulddo so as one who speaks the very
words of God.
If anyone serves, they shoulddo so with the strength God
provides, so that in all things,god may be praised through

(07:35):
Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory and thepower forever and ever.
Amen.
It's a big part of the reasonwhy we do what we do, what
drives place of hope as a whole,and our ambassadors and our
angel moms.
So how do you guys perceive theconcept of using your
individual gifts and talents asinstruments to serve others?

So I early on, found a talent for design and
making people feel welcome andgood with having a nice
surrounding.
No matter what your income isor your stage of wealth or

(08:18):
poverty or everybody deserves tohave something nice to look at
and be around.
I went to interior designschool.
I found early on that that waseasy for me and easy way for me
to give back, and so I use thattalent in broad areas.

(08:39):
When my children were little, Istayed home and I sewed, did
sewing.
I sewed curtains.
I sewed, you know, headboards.
I made all kinds of things forpeople's homes that couldn't
afford an interior designer.
I had retired from interiordesign Back then.
It was a $10,000 deposit justto have us walk in the door.

(09:01):
I use my talents through thechurch group and the women that
were serving on the mothersuplifting mothers board.
So it's always been a part ofmy life too.
It makes me feel good whenpeople feel good about their
surroundings, whether it's at anangel mom brunch and trying you
know, renee and I trying tomake that the best we can on a

(09:22):
budget or within their home.
You know just new bedding.
You see it at Place of Hopewhen you turn your places around
and you redo them.
So I feel like the talent thatGod gave me I have to use in a
way that serves people that areotherwise unable to have that

(09:42):
part of their life which I thinkgives them confidence, gives
them a safe place, makes themfeel special, and it's instilled
.
It was instilled in me young,with my mother and my
grandmother, and you know I'mhappy to use my talents to serve
.

What a great example too, because, like you
know, you think, a lot of peoplethink, oh well, what can I do
to provide for?
You know, abused, neglected,abandoned children, homeless
moms.
Okay, everybody thinks, oh, Ihave to be a social worker.
No, you don't.
We're trying to create place,we're trying to create home, you
know, we're trying to create anenvironment of dignity, you
know, and so that's a greatexample of how to do that.

(10:21):
You know, I'll never forget,years ago, when we first opened
the first home for Place of Hopeand there was one social worker
who actually came there were alot of them, but one who went
out of her way to tell me howthis beautiful environment is
not realistic for a lot of thekids that you serve, Trying to
say basically that we were likecreating a Disney world of home
life when it's not like that forthem.

(10:43):
And I basically looked at herin an ambassadorial sort of way
and said you know that she waswrong, because, you know, we're
not.
We're all about showing whatlife can be about outside of
some of the traumas andtraumatic events and things,
circumstances that they've beenin or are in, so that they have

(11:03):
something to lean forward to,right, I mean, that's what
you're talking about.
You give them hope, you givethem dignity, they see what it
can be like, and then the Placeof Hope way is what that?
They have to go after itthemselves.
They have to figure out how toget there, just like everybody
else does, right.
But it can be done, and we andyou, you prop them up with those
kinds of things to show themhow nice it really can be and
how good it can be.
How about you, renee?

Oh gosh, I think Place of Hope has definitely
been a wonderful place for me tohave an outlet for creative
sources.
Wendy and I have so much funworking on decor for events and
sometimes we set the bar toohigh and we roll our eyes like
how in the world are we going toaccomplish this?

It's amazing.

It always works out and we say we're never going to
do this again.
But of course the next year wedo it again.
We set the bar even higher andwe just have so much fun and we,
we laugh at each other.
We even have fun at Home Depotgetting our supplies.

We always have some great stories to share with
people.

But it's so interesting Sometimes you may
bring what you think are talentsto the table and then
organically, just things justfall into place and you realize
maybe you have talents that youeven realize you have and you
know, just working with thegirls, I remember one time I
loved to cook and a couple of mygirlfriends like to cook and I
think Janine and Karen and Iwere doing a cooking class,

(12:20):
trying to teach some of thesingle moms a smart way to cook,
like buy a lot of chicken onSunday nights, cook a lot of
chicken, make your broccoli and,and then you can use the
leftovers for salad andsandwiches.
The next day or Tuesday night,take the leftover chicken, chop
it up, add it to some mac andcheese and throw your leftover
broccoli in there and you canhave three days of meals cooking

(12:42):
.
You know one time and it was sointeresting One of the ladies
you know, when you're workingwith them like that and they
were cooking with us, and thenconversations just start to
organically fall into place andshe was asking if you know we
were married, if we hadboyfriends, and and then she
started talking about herrelationships and just talked

(13:03):
about how she had a boyfriendand who was so wonderful, the
first wonderful male person shehad in her life.
But she just felt so unworthythat God would bless her with
this beautiful relationship andshe was afraid she was going to
lose it and she just feltunworthy and it was so wonderful
to see how we could encourageher and follow up and make sure

(13:26):
she was, you know, on a greatpath and that she was worthy of
this wonderful relationship andit was a gift from God.

That's awesome so just getting to know the
girls working hands on hand withthem has really been a blessing
, see, and I you know, our hopetoo and with this is that, as
you guys, as ambassadors, andthose two examples, which are
intertwined and and individualas well, like, we'll just really
speak to someone who'slistening, because, I mean,
that's how you know it's, it'sthe body that moves forward

(13:54):
together and all the pieces andthe hands and the feet and all
that that make it even possiblefor us to do what we do at Play
Soap over all these years, butnot just to do it, not to check
the box, but and and make surethat DCF's happy and so forth.
No, it's, it's about seeing thechange lives.
It's about seeing those littleseeds planted about like you're,
you are worthy and, by the way,that word goes for both

(14:14):
examples it's we give themtogether a beautiful place to be
and to reside and it's safe,with dignity and so forth, and
it's okay, you know, and you'reworthy of it, right.
And then you talk aboutrelationships and all the
experiences prior have beenmaybe negative, right, and she
said that was the first one youwere able to speak life into her
about.
It's basically like release it,you're, it's okay, you can.

(14:37):
You can have a successfulrelationship even though you may
have seen nothing but messed uprelationships prior.
You didn't have to say thatpart, but it's like that's
what's, that's what's beingrelated.
I love it yeah.
Lisa thoughts.

I mean, I think too, um, this is a great
opportunity for you all toencourage any other women that
might be listening, um, to kindof dust off what maybe they've
put up on a shelf.
I think a lot of times womenhave a tendency they have kids,
they get super busy or they havea career and they sort of just

(15:12):
get lost and maybe they thinkthey don't have time to serve.
They don't have.
They don't have time to do thatthing that they like to do.
And I think that one of thethings that we all always
encourage our angel moms and ourvolunteers to do is work where
you're in your strength zone sothat it's easy for you to serve.
It doesn't seem like such achore, and I think that's one of
the things that both of you doso well is you work where you're

(15:35):
the strongest and you have somuch fun doing it.
I mean, I, I I'm marvel everytime I see Wendy up on a ladder
or with a drill or with you know, with you guys, with your
toolboxes, just um, it's, it'sjust incredible, but it's, it's
an encouragement to other peopleto try to figure out well, what

(15:56):
talents and skills do I haveburied deep inside of me that I
could be using, whether it's tohelp you guys out, because we're
never going to let you go whenit comes to planning an event.
Thank goodness we only have twobig ones, because and we trust
your ideas we know that you'regoing to use the resources so
well, you're going to keep thebudget in mind, um, but there's.

(16:19):
I think that there's so much tobe said about the influence
that you have on other youngwomen and other women in the
community who maybe are notstepping up and using their
gifts like they could be.
So I'm just so grateful forthat in both of you, because you
do such a great job of usingthe gifts that God's given you,
so so amazingly, to help others.

Thank you.

I think there's another piece that's sort of
buried in there like a nugget inthat.
Um, we was mentioned justindirectly that you know that
multiple years of engagement aswell, I think really speaks
loudly to people.
We've really been blessed withthat a place of hope, more than
most charities, where greatpeople that get involved stay
involved.
You know it's not a hundredpercent right, but folks like

(17:04):
you two that that engage at ahigh level but yet it's year by
year by year.
But we see it because theorganization is benefiting from
it.
But a lot of other people seeit too.
Um, it doesn't get talked aboutlike hey, this is their fourth
year of this or fifth year ofthis.
But people know because theycome there and they, they see,
they see the repetitive naturein a good way of excellence.

(17:25):
You know, and then they knowyou guys are behind the scenes
doing it.
So there's there's that elementtoo that's so invaluable.

You have the core group of angel moms that I was
not part of.
I feel like a new kind of thenewer, old angel mom.
I mean, I've been around for anumber of years, but not as many
as, like the core group, whichis goes right along the lines of
attraction, like when I metsome of these women and they

(17:52):
introduced me to place of hopeand I was like, wow, like, I get
to volunteer with you ladiesLike and the, the, the joy that
they have in volunteering hasnow, you know, passed down to it
.
We just keep getting larger andlarger and more women and more
incredible women, um, and it's,you know, that, that core group

(18:17):
that you started with 10 yearsago, nine years ago.
They're still very involved andthey are still, um, such a
magnet for angel moms and forplace of hope.

Yeah.
I think, it's so much fun to umsharing our talents and
teaching other people.
Like you know, we have ourevents.
We have the smallest shoestringbudget for decor I think I've
ever experienced in my 35 yearsof volunteer work.
Are you working me?

here.
Is that what you're doing?
You're doing increased budgets.
We want our profits to go inthe right places.

But we can do a lot with our talents and Wendy and
I have so much fun.
We get on the flowers wholesaleand we're busy setting up but
we train the other volunteers tomake these floral arrangements.
They say I can't make a floralarrangement.
We're like yes, you can.
It's like math, it's a great,but one flower here, but one
flower there, and to see thesmiles on their face.
And now they say, oh mygoodness, I went home and I, in

(19:14):
my own floral arrangements, youtaught me how it's so easy and
right to see all the smiles ontheir faces.

So in the set, the set this year with the
backdrop and the fishing lineand the diamond pattern, and a
couple of the women were like,like, are those your tools?
Where did you get that?
And I'm like, yeah, there aretools.

And you could do it too.

And they helped, a lot of them help.
The first time they ever, youknow, put an L bracket on a
backdrop.

Handle the drill yeah.

Yeah, handle the drill.

We're witnessing in Home Depot.
It was so fun, that waswonderful.

Yeah.
Getting to tell people whatyou're doing and why we did I
thought we were twins andthey're like what are you girls
doing with all this wood andstuff?
I love it.

So we told them and fancy.

Fancy was impressed.
That was her name in Home Depotchecking us out.
Her name was Fancy.

I love it.
You know.
The other thing about that isis cool.
So we're going to talk aboutlike conveying the very words of
God, but you're in that you'realso conveying the principles of
God too, because if you thinkthrough, it's so easy, if you
will, for a charity to put anevent together where they go out
and they hire these bigproduction companies and that's
not to get me in trouble withany production companies, but
you, you know you could hirethese companies that come in and

(20:32):
do all that.
Well, guess what?
You're eating into the net sideof the event the profit, which
is the part that goes to run thecharity, if you're responsible,
so as a charity.
But yet you guys do all thatpart which saves so much money
too.
And so we always look at the endto say, okay, how well did the
organization or the event netright, all the leadership wants

(20:53):
to always know.
The organization needs to know,because that's what actually
feeds and provides for youngpeople.
But at the same time, I meanit's so much better as a result
of that kind of sowing andgiving.
And that's a principle I meanbecause that's where we're being
stewards as well.
And it's hard, I get it.
I know it's a lot, but you guysdo it, and you do it every year
, so I'm grateful from thatperspective.

(21:15):
And so the thing I wanna talkabout is, according to that
scripture that I read 1 Peter 4,10 through 11, there's an
emphasis on speaking as ifactually conveying the very
words of God and serving withthe strength God provides.
Share a time when you guys haveseen those kinds of principles
and action, either in your ownlife or in the actions of
someone you know, or with angelmoms.

(21:35):
How do you think embodyingthese principles contributes to
bringing glory to God as well?
So that might've been oneexample of it where we're being
stewards, but it might be like,hey, you got to talk to what was
the lady's name at home Depot?

Fancy.

Fancy.

I mean, to me that's seed planning, it's the
little things that again drawthe attraction.
So I don't know who wants togive a shot at that.
Just some of the things you'veseen, these principles and
action, when you convey the verywords and the service.

I think just bringing our friends in and
getting the ripple effect ofbringing more friends in, but
just bringing them in for theright reason, Bringing them in
at the right timing and justtalking about place of hope and
letting it be their decision tocome in and come on board and
just seeing the fruits offriends' involvement and their

(22:32):
ripple effect for the communityhas been really incredible and
just to see God's hand throughall of that has really really
been remarkable.

Yeah, I love it because none of us are really
doing it for us.
We're not doing it for our own.
We're doing it really for theglory of God, which is what
that's all about.

You can feel that .
You can feel that with thewomen it's.
You may have a day where you'relike it's not my best day, I'm
not having my best day and Ivolunteered to do this and I
have to show up.
And the strength that the women, the strength that God gives
you just to go to show up.

(23:08):
And sometimes you don't feellike you wanna show up, but if
you've committed to show up,we're gonna show up, and God
always reveals a blessing in theshowing up.
It's so much easier to say no,I'm not gonna go, no, I'm not
gonna go.
And it's so incrediblyimportant to say yes to doing

(23:29):
something that is just for theglory of God, because what you
get back from it is tenfold.
In the giving of God, thereceiving you get is tenfold and
I think the encouragementamongst the angel moms, just the
exponential effect of that.

We encourage each other so much and I think it
just attracts more angel moms toget and want to get involved
Because, remember, it's sowelcoming, so welcoming and
encouraging.

And that's place of hope as a whole, whether
it's angel moms, or our board ofdirectors or CEO council or
whatever it is.
Maya, there was a quote.
We gotta write it down.
You made a quote, you werepreaching and you said God
reveals a blessing in theshowing up.
That was good.
I like that.

We gotta write that one down.

That was really good, Wendy Sadusky, yeah Put it
on the chalkboard.
Share with us a little bitabout just generally speaking
doesn't even have to be obviousbecause you were, I'm certain
you were doing cool things evenbefore place.
Open your journey ofvolunteering and how you just
got and started, like whatcatapulted you into getting
started with, just generallyspeaking, serving others.

Well, my parents were always very involved in
church volunteer work and theywere involved in the JC's and
the ELCS clubs.
They were always volunteering,helping neighbors.
We were in brownies and GirlScouts.
There's volunteer work and Ithink the first event I chaired
I was so excited back in the daywhen Jerry Lewis Telethon, the

(25:03):
Labor Day.
Telethon and I wrote to theradio station in Minneapolis and
I got my packet came in themail and we used to.
I hope it's one of thosecarnivals.
I think I was probably in fifthor sixth grade.
Oh wow, that's awesome Reallyyoung and yeah, it was really.
Those were really remarkable.
I think that was when ourvolunteerism started, but it was

(25:23):
a part of our life.
It was a part of our familylife growing up.

That's good, wendy.

A little bit along the same lines.
I don't wanna say it wasvolunteering that I witnessed my
parents, but my father wasowned a blue collar company and
he had a lot of very poor peoplework for him and he would hand
out Thanksgiving turkeys,christmas hams to everybody.
He would show up Friday nightat jail and bail them out and

(25:52):
these were his workers thatlived in the slums in
Philadelphia that he would havehis worker go pick them all up
in the morning, bring them outto the job site, lay the
pavement, do their thing andreturn them home at night.
He tried to get away withpaying them on Mondays so they
could possibly make it throughthe end of the week, but a lot
of times they got in trouble onFriday night.
So I witnessed that growing up,my father doing a lot of.

(26:17):
If somebody didn't have a heaterin their house he would pay and
have a heater put in their home.
So it wasn't necessarilyvolunteering, but it was caring
about humanity and caring aboutthe people that were in his
circle that he relied on to gethis job done.
He would have to help them sothey could show up for him.
And I guess for me it was afterI had children and started to

(26:44):
get involved in the schools.
That's when I really startedvolunteering, because I ended up
staying home with my children.
My husband traveled quite a bitso I couldn't work anymore, so
I used the time that my childrenwere at school volunteering at
school, and I mean everythingfrom set design.
One year I had to run the playbecause the director of the play

(27:08):
got sick and I was like what?

I don't know how to do this.

So now I know how to direct a play.
So it's all like I said, if yousay yes to something, you
always get something well inreturn, and it's something I
love to do.
I love to give, I'm a giver,that's the way I show my love.
So to give in circumstancesthat help a multitude of people

(27:35):
really, really gives back to me.

Those are great examples.
So yours, it was happening inyour family.
You learned from it directly.
Yours was happening in adifferent way.
In your family.
You were like gleaning fromwhat you were seeing.
And then now look at the bothof you and we're sitting here
talking about being ambassadors.
Right, you're giving, throughyour giving and your service,
the opportunity for others whomay not have had either one of
those sort of scenarios in theirlives to see it in action and

(28:02):
wanna be a part of it too.
That's kinda cool.
I like that.
So all right.
So now switching over to placeof hope.
So what led you to becomeinvolved with place of hope and
why does place of hope resonatewith you?
And, as I've already said,multiple years for both of you.
Now you guys have stuck with usand, like Lisa said, we're not
letting you go anywhere anyway.
So we know where you live, weknow how to find you and bring

(28:24):
you in if necessary.
But what led you allindividually to become involved
with place of hope specifically?

Well, I think my girlfriend, Janine, had been
trying to get me involved for afew years, but I was really busy
with my children.
They were in two differentschools and on the PTA and
involved with all their sportsand some other charities and I
think when things, as the kidsgot older and some free time
opened up, janine kept quietlytugging me along not so quietly,

(28:51):
but I think the timing was justright and I knew if Jean was
involved it had to be a reallyquality organization.
She and her husband were bothinvolved and I knew she would
only really be involved with anorganization that was really top
notch and financially sound andreally had a heart to give back
to the children.

(29:11):
So I jumped in back then andit's been wonderful.
It's been a wonderful ride.

And, of course, as you know, janine's a member
of our board of directors atPlace of Hope and I mean, that's
that's exactly what we'resitting here talking about.
The attraction for you was.
A big part of it was throughher and knowing that, like you
said, she's she's not gonna beinvolved in something that isn't
working.
Accomplishing things, and sothat was an attraction too.

Yeah.
So I knew right off the bat theorganization had a lot of
integrity and a lot going forthem and they were expanding
into both her tone at the time.

Yeah, you jumped on board early, wendy.
What about you?

So I was introduced at one of the
luncheons.
I was invited by Nikki Pepperto a luncheon and I Was.
I was blown away by the womenin the room, by the message of
the Of the speaker and her visitto the place of Hope campus.
I had not been on the campussince it was the boys.

The haven I used to buy flowers from them.

They used to sell in patients and I used to go
out by my flowers and so Ihadn't been on the campus.
But I then went and took a tourand I just felt I felt safe and
hope in that Community.
That you guys started there andthe leadership like looking
into the actual Way that in thatplace of hope is run the

(30:41):
leadership you guys have isamazing and I I just really
wanted to be involved and themore I got involved the more I
wanted to stay involved and thatthe more I met incredible
people to channel myvolunteerism with and you know
I'm it's been, it's been apleasure to help with every

(31:06):
cause that is over at place ofhope.
I I just think it's begins atthe top.
You know your leadershiptrickles down and it's apparent
in every part of place of hopewell, and you guys are part of
that.

I e ambassadors.
I mean that's what people lookin at.
It's one thing to look atLisa's role or my role or Maya's
role and others, and thatshould be solid, because we owe
that back to Anybody thatinvests, but at the same time,
it's it's really all about thoseof you who step up too, because
you're out in the community.
You are those ambassadors.
People are looking at youalready because they want to
hang out with you, and now theysee what you're doing with your

(31:39):
time like that, so that you'reyou all make that they want.
You know one big circle, youknow, without any openings in it
.

Yeah, the camaraderie is still fun with
the angel moms, but it's alsojust so rewarding when we get to
hear the stories you know, fromthe children and the young
adults that have lived there,and hear their stories of their
background stories and wherethey are today and how place of
hope is, really held their handand given them a hand up.

(32:09):
Yeah, but they've really justAchieved so much and they're
living.
So many of them are living suchfinancially sound and
responsible lives, you know, andhaving children of their own,
starting their own families now.
So the success stories areabsolutely incredible and it
just speaks to the organization.

We love it when.
So, if so, if it's a youngperson is with us under 18,
they're in the state system andand they leave one of the things
that the system does theyrequire an exit interview that
we have with totally hands-offfor us, right?
So, whether they were with usthree months, which is rare, or
if they were with us whateverten years, which is also rare,

(32:52):
whatever, whatever that timeframe is, you know, they're able
to just basically spill it allout there as to what was, what's
good about place but what's not.
And there's some, there's somereally pointing questions in
there.
You know, like when you cameinto care, did they ask you what
your favorite color was?
Did they take an interest inyou?
Did they feed you right?
You know, like all these things, that if a young person was

(33:13):
upset upon, leaving or theycould really make it up.
And it always goes back to likethe fundamentals, the stuff you
all, as angel arms, provide inthe sense of like beautiful
Environments and coming aroundthem as mentors, of tutors and
cooking with them, and just allthat stuff.
That's what comes out.
It what comes out is is the,the family time, the fact that
the cottage and the other girlsin the cottage showed up at my,

(33:36):
my chorus Thing that I just didat school, or my sporting event
or whatever it is.
That's what you know reallymakes it beautiful and Continues
to be that for them, you know.
So what do you?
What would you say you know inyour Particularly as ambassadors
, but as angel moms and whateveryou're working on for place of

(33:59):
trying to bring more people.
And what would you say foryounger women in the community
that Feel overwhelmed with busyschedules and kids activities
and other commitments that theyhave?
What advice would you have toencourage them to start
volunteering and serving earlyin life?

I think the younger you get your children
involved in something like that,the better it is instead of
Constantly running around.
I did it.
I had three children home aloneall week by myself, while my
husband was away, and I couldhave them in every single event,
knowing they're going to be atrack star, baseball star,

(34:34):
rowing star.
They were all going to be allof that.
But they towed along with me toall of the volunteer things
that I did, and at that time itwas at their school, but it
didn't necessarily revolvearound school hours and they
came with me and I sketched outsets and they painted them on
the floor and I would go overand fix the lines if needed.

(34:55):
But having them come along andtaking pride and Seeing that
their time, you know they're notgetting paid for it, they're
not getting anything extra outof it that they know of until
they see the production or theysee the finale, or they meet a
friend that they otherwisewouldn't have met.

(35:15):
If you bring your kids along tothings that you want to do,
that your heart's tugging on,you're then teaching them and
you're planting the seed for itto go on, for them to continue
when they get older, even whenthey're in high school.
You know you see a lot of kids.
It's the same children everyyear in the high school classes
that run everything.
It's like Make room for theothers to come in, invite

(35:38):
somebody else in to try, becauseif they don't try they're not
gonna know.
And that, I think, is one ofthe things about place of hope
that I think is so incrediblefor the people that live there.
You're giving them a touch ofwhat their life can be like and
showing them a way to do it whenthey wouldn't have seen that
before.
And if we don't do that to ourchildren, who are privileged

(36:01):
enough to be involved in everysport, if we don't show them,
there's something else thatmakes you feel good.
It's not just about Winning atsomething, it's about giving to
others, it's about showing up.
I think that it's it.
You're doing a big service toyour children and your young
ones when you bring them alongand they see what you're doing.

Yeah, it's like mutually beneficial if you think
about it right, You're doingsomething great, but you're
benefiting from it, but thenyou're really benefiting someone
else.
I mean for to take thoseenergies and, you know, invest
in our kids lives, whether it'syou individually or with your
kids, whatever showing up, youknow it's like for our kids to
have somebody show up at theirgame have multiple people show
up at their game.

(36:42):
First of all, most of the kidsin our care, under 18 never even
got to play sports prior tocoming.
Well, for whatever the reasonswere the family unit they were
in or the foster home they werein prior or whatever just it
wasn't an option.
And then they come and we getthem engaged.
And then, on top of that, Imean, I mean, what's the whole
point?
Right?
We're all, we all desire these,these strong ties and
relationships in life, andthat's how you build

(37:02):
successfully from there.
And yet you know, and peopleshowing up at these kids games,
and that's what they talk abouton these exit interviews how
people came and how I had myfirst birthday party.
You guys are a part of doingthose too.
It's like never had a birthdaycake, can you imagine?
Like and this is a commonrecurrence.
This is something that not justhappened in 2001.
I mean, it happens all the time.
We get kids that come into carethat have just, not to mention

(37:25):
what they show up with theclothing that shouldn't even be
worn any longer.
It's, you know, all needs to bereplaced, and then you put them
in a Palm Beach Gardens or aBoca school.
They got to have the rightstuff to write so that they feel
good about themselves.
And and that's, if you didn'thave, if you don't have those
kinds of things, those corerelationships and those those
things that make you feel likeyou're, you know, at least

(37:46):
you're starting off at somedegree of equality when you're
jumping into a new school orwhatever you imagine what it
would be like.
But you know, without all thatand we knew, we do know, because
statistics show what happens toa lot of these kids.
But then when you bless themwith these, these things,
especially the relational part,it's like the springboard for
the future.

But Any thoughts on that?
Yeah, I think I know.
One thing that our kids lovedto do when they were younger was
have Hosts a lemonade stand inthe neighborhood and we would
oftentimes donate the money toBoko Helping Hands.
But we would make the childrentake the money to Boko Helping
Hands and they experienced itand they saw that these are such

(38:24):
wonderful people.
But it was humbling because mychildren saw that that could be
them Not having enough food toeat and it really taught them
just to be thankful and to giveback.
And I know my daughter, katie,used to bake brownies Every
Thanksgiving for all the GeorgeSnow scholarship kids said they
give them their little carepackages that they send to them

(38:45):
in college for their studypackages.
So every year she used to bakethe brownies for George Snow for
their little goodie bags orgoodie boxes they would send to
college.
I like that part too becausethey're gone.

They've moved, they're in the middle of
pursuing their goals andeverything that everybody helped
set them up for right, but thensomebody has to check in on
them.
They need to come back to aplace and that's one of the
things we've strived for overthe years is that you're always
with us, you're always part ofthe family.
If you need to come back, andduring spring break, we're going

(39:16):
to find a place for you to be,we're going to find a place for
you to stay.
You're never let go from here.
You know one of the thingswe're starting right now that
you guys are going to interfacethem together at some point.
I'm so pumped about this.
We're starting a youth advisorycouncil at Place of Hope, and
you made me think of it a minuteago when you were talking about
something about when theybecome successful and on their
own and going to school andhaving their own families.

(39:38):
But talking to some of theseyoung people right now and
especially, I can't believe someof them are 30 already.
They're in their 30s and theywere here when they were like 10
or whatever, but anyway,getting them to be involved in
this youth advisory council.
To what?
Just to again provide moreinput on.
So what do you think aboutPlace of Hope?
How are we doing?

(39:58):
Was it like when you were here?
Have you seen what it's likenow and what could we do better
and what could we do more ofwhat was great for you?
And just hearing those stories,I don't even know how I got off
on that.
I'm excited about it.
But we've got to interface theangel moms with that, because
you also mentioned about stories, talking about hearing their
testimonies and so forth.
But I think those kinds ofthings, definitely somebody

(40:22):
doesn't have to get involved anddo 20 hours a week.
I mean, obviously, if you'rerunning in 100 different
directions, there's so manyupsides.
Again to the examples you guysshowed about just seeing your
kids, seeing what you'reprioritizing and seeing the
benefits of helping somebody whoreally needs a hand up and most
of the time at no fault oftheir own that they're in these

(40:42):
circumstances, as we know.
So I know early on when my kidswere little they were over at
Place of Hope picking weeds andpainting houses and all that
kind of stuff.
And they loved it.
They enjoyed it.
Maybe they didn't always enjoyit like the day of if it was hot
out or whatever, but there'sgood learning that goes on with
that.
So I love the idea of includingthe kids as well where possible
.
So share a little memorableexperience from your time

(41:08):
volunteering that truly touchedyour heart or reinforced the
importance of using your giftsto serve others, just like one
really cool example that you'dsay, oh I'm so glad I did this
because or I remember when wetalked about this and it really
seemed to impact that young ladyor whatever, just, or a couple
of them.

OK, so I would probably say one of the most
memorable things for me at Placeof Hope and interaction with
the well, there's two with thechildren was at the Angel Moms
brunch that was under the tentAfter COVID.

(41:58):
The first thing after COVIDthat we squeezed in there, which
was fabulous.
It was a really great eventMeeting Willa, baby Willa, with
her mom and her just talking.
This was the day before when wewere setting up and she was so
interested in being in there andseeing what was going on and

(42:21):
everybody's just passing thatbaby around.
I mean it was really specialfor me.
I love babies and they don'ttalk back yet and they're just
so precious and sweet.
That was really, reallymemorable.
And then, after the cabins orthe cabin was done, that

(42:43):
Catherine Moss redid.
When she redid all of that,seeing the children in there
starting to move in I thinkthere were two and there was a
third one about to show up andhow excited they were running
around the house looking ateverything that was redone and
that this was going to be theirroom.
And I mean it just was.
It was just such a sense of joyand they had such a sense of

(43:08):
peace.
They were so excited but youcould see that they felt at home
and they had peace about havinga place to live and a roof over
their head and somebody thatcared enough about them to put
all of that together.
That was really special for me.

I love it, I love it.
Yeah, I think bookending.

What Wendy said I'll never forget one time we
were taking a tour through thefacility this was early on and
the pride and joy that thisyoung girl had when she showed
me her rooms and her arms werein the air and she's like this
is my room and she had so muchpride in it.

(43:50):
It was the most beautiful,beautiful decorated room ever
and that bed was made withmilitary corners with such
precision.
The pillows were lined upperfectly and just the care they
took in their room, with thematching towels and the lamps,
and it was just coordinated likean interior designer.
When it in decorated.
It was so gorgeous and I'm notsure she ever thought she would

(44:14):
have a place of her own.
And it was so gorgeous and shedeserved it and it gave them
such pride to think, yes, theycan have this, they can achieve
this and they deserve it.
And it was just beautiful tosee her with her hands in the
air, just with that big smileand that joy, with her beautiful
, beautiful room that was herown, in her own bed.

And then what I love too is then the learning
kind of goes from there.
It's like sometimes they almostinherently know when they move
into this higher levelsurroundings that's like
everyone does, like you said,deserve to start from they
actually start to learn on theirown that, ok.
Well, if I want this tocontinue to look like this, I
got to take care of it right.
Then there's, of course, thestrategic part, where we come in

(44:57):
and we teach the independentliving skills, trainings and the
things about personalresponsibility and engagement
and so forth.
But it's amazing to see.
I can just tell you over theyears that we've had I mean,
we've had thousands of kids inour care residentially and yet
we've had very littledestruction at all.
And we're talking about kidswho have walked through

(45:19):
tremendous trauma in their livesboys, girls, all of it but yet,
overall, once you submerge themaround with God's love, great
people, awesome place to live, Imean they really get it.
And, like I said, I keep goingback to that word springboard,
but they really do.
They recognize that, wow, thisis awesome.

(45:40):
I never had this before and Ican have this on my own one day
when I leave here and that'sreal.
I mean, that's what we'reteaching.
It's not pie in the sky, thisis real deal, so, lisa.

Yeah.

These are two of your favorite ladies on the
planet.

They really are.
You've got to have something tosay here I know you do.
I would love for Wendy to sharewith us a personal story I know
that you had shared with me acouple of years ago, when you
lost your sister and youbasically took in your nephew,

(46:20):
and how that really resonatedand, I think, strengthened your
commitment to what we dospecifically in Boca, at our
campus, because we're takingcare of kids who are aging out
of the foster care system, whomight otherwise be homeless the
single moms, as you allmentioned, and kids who've had

(46:43):
unimaginable tragedy in theirlife, and that kind of hits
close to home for you.
Would you mind sharing withthat?

No, it does.
Actually we just had thememorial for my sister's passing
four years ago.
So my nephew Gabriel was 15when she passed away and his
father's still not in any kindof shape to take care of him.
So before she was sick withlung cancer and she knew that

(47:12):
she was sick.
So she put her ducks in orderand asked if Vince and I would
take care of Gabriel.
So we took him in and I thinkthat really at that point
strengthened my commitment toPlace of Hope because I saw what
would happen to him if therewasn't anybody to take care of

(47:36):
him.
And I had to.
I kind of walk through the shoesthat some of the kids have to
go through and who your socialworkers have to with, with the
DCF or with the, with the stateof Florida, trying to Get him
without adopting him, because Ididn't want to put his father in

(48:00):
a worse position.
Then he was in.
His father loves him, he justcan't take care of him.
So you know it was.
It was tough on us to try to beable to be his caretakers
without Throwing his fatherunder the bus.
So I saw a lot of what went onand what place of hope has to do
for these children that areunder 18 and you know it, it was

(48:24):
tough.
He was grew up in a differenthome and I think, because he was
15 and it was my sister, hethought we were identical and we
were gonna be exactly the same.
I have very different rolesthan my sister has and I know
place of hope has rules you haveto follow in order to stay and
it was.
I kind of felt like I waswalking in tandem, so it really

(48:44):
strengthened what I felt aboutplace of hope, the time I wanted
to spend at place of hope andthe volunteering I wanted to do.
And you know, I'm happy to sayhe's a sophomore in college
right now.
He's turned the corner.
He's doing wonderful.
We had, we had, a rough road,we had a lot of headbutting, but
he's, you know, he's doingreally well in school and he's

(49:08):
Grown into a very fine young man.
He's always been incrediblemanners and respectful, but he's
really coming into his own.
He has a lot of self-confidenceand I feel like he turned a
corner and it's nice to see thesame thing happening with the
kids that are a place of hope,the same age it's.
It's a hard when you don't.

(49:30):
You feel like you don't haveanybody.
Yeah, you know it's, it's ahard place to be.
So, yeah, I just feel like I,you know, I think it was five
years ago I went to the luncheonand then four years ago my
sister passed away.
So had I.
You know, it's a god thing I.
Not go into the luncheon, yeah,and then this happened to me and

(49:53):
I, you know, I really reallyfeel like he touched my hand and
gave me a place, an outlet forme and An outlet for place of
hope and an outlet for Gabriel.
It's just all you know kind ofwork together to help everybody
involved.

It's a beautiful story.
I think that one of the bestparts of my job is getting to
know people like you and and hmm, I'll get to hear it and as
those relationships develop, youknow you start to learn about
their lives and you start tolearn about maybe, something
that they've walked through some, because everybody's got their

(50:29):
stuff.
Everybody's got some kind oftrauma in their past.
Could have been, they gotbullied on the playground as a
kindergartner, but what's sobeautiful is to see people like
you guys take that and Then turnit into something really
positive and good To help others.
So that's the whole purpose ofthis episode.

(50:50):
It's just to encourage peopleto do that, because I think
that's why, you know, we gothrough things like this.
God wants us to take that andturn it into something good, so
Take over.

Well, listen, we thank you guys both one for
being who you are, two for beingambassadors.
A play at place of hope and justthe energy, the time, the
talents of treasure, all of itthat you guys have invested over
the years.
And we know I don't even thisisn't even a hope point because
we know that it's gonna be anexample for others when they
hear this, when they listen.
I know your friends are gonnahear it.

(51:25):
You're gonna help us push itout there at all your friends
and and I just think it'llignite something with people to
get involved To do more.
Because what I can tell you,probably what excites us the
most, is when we know we havethese stories and we know how
the we know we have the abilityto go do more.
You know, with our campaign weare stretching big time into
Building out all of our campusspace.

(51:46):
You know, whether that's inBoca or West Palm or now in
Stewart, we're gonna be builtout in a number of short number
of years and that just meansthat we're, you know, more than
doubling our current bedcapacity to just do more of this
.
And so we're just grateful forthe groundwork that you guys
continue to lay and just thankyou for your service and your
Ambassadorial qualities and wereally appreciate you guys a lot

(52:09):
.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Welcome to this segment entitled hope in action.
Today we are delighted tointroduce you to antsy, a
remarkable resident of ourvillages of hope program.
At villages of hope, ourmission revolves around
providing unwavering support anda central life skills
development to Emancipatedfoster youth and otherwise

(52:34):
homeless young individuals whoare in need of independent
living solutions.
Our dedicated efforts are aimedat fostering a nurturing and
proactive environment for ouryouth transitioning out of the
state's foster care system.
Anty's journey with villages ofhope spans two pretty
transformative years.
Her story is one of a waveringdetermination and inspiration.

(52:58):
She has embarked on aremarkable chapter by pursuing
her nursing degree at BrowardCollege of Nursing, all while
working and raising her belovedchild.
We take immense pride in heraccomplishments as she defies
the odds and forges a pathtowards a brighter future for
herself and for her son.
Ansys narrative embodies thespirit of resilience and

(53:21):
progress that defines theessence of villages of hope.
We remain committed toempowering young individuals
like antsy, offering them thetools that they need to shape
their destinies positively.
Thank you for joining us andcelebrating antsy's achievements
and the collective pursuit ofhope realized through action.

Thank you for listening.
Please be sure to subscribe andshare with your friends so you
don't even miss a thing, and ifyou really gained value today,
please be sure to give us afive-star review so, of course,
we can be put in front of morelisteners.
For details and show notesabout today's podcast and how
you can connect with and supportour guests, please go to
placeofhopecom, forward slashpodcast and please don't forget

(54:08):
to email us at poh podcast atpoliceofhopecom, and for sure,
follow us on social media.
Bastarders of Hope Placing HopeChild's Touch.

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