Episode #132: Feeney Talks with Christina and Tom (Empower)

#BeAGoodFriend and check out episode #132 of #FeeneyTalksWithFriends featuring  Christina Zarotney and Tom Atterrato.

It was great to talk with my #friends, Christina and Tom! 

Christina is a teacher and Program Coordinator for Empower. Tom is a Detective and Mentor for Empower. 

We talked about:

Empower in CT (minute 1)

Cara Belvin (minute 2)

Christina is a Program Coordinator (minute 4)

Become a volunteer and mentor (minute 6)

Tommy's story and involvement (minute 8)

Mentor’s role and responsibility (minute 11)

Formerly called “EmpowerHER” (minute 13)

Feeney reads Empower’s Shoutout (minute 15)

The 8 Anchor Regions of Empower (minute 16)

Our #friend, Katie Grenier (minute 18)

Podcast Sponsors (minute 21)

Christina’s 3 Keys (sponsored by West Hartford Lock) to being a Program Coordinator (minute 22)

Tommy’s 3 Keys (sponsored by West Hartford Lock to being a Future Mentor (minute 23)

Tommy and Christina’s children (minute 25)

Empower’s Luminaria Event at The Aqua Turf (minute 27) 

Bob Maxon (minute 31)

Brooke Viens at The Cove (minute 32)

Christina’s mentee, Abby (minute 35)

Tommy lost his mother when he was 12 (minute 35)

Christina lost her mother when she was 11 (minute 43)

The Mother’s Day Event at Gillette Stadium (minute 47)

The Falmouth Road Race (minute 50)

What makes Cara a good #friend? (minute 52)

Looking for event sponsors (minute 53)

Christina’s favorite teacher (minute 56)

Tommy’s favorite teacher (minute 57)

Podcast Sponsors: 

The Fix IV - www.thefixivtherapy.com

West Hartford Lock - www.westhartfordlock.com

Keating Agency Insurance - www.keatingagency.com

Goff Law Group - www.gofflawgroup.net

Parkville Management - www.parkvillemanagement.com

Luna Pizza - www.lunapizzawh.com/lunas-menu

PeoplesBank - www.bankatpeoples.com

Float 41 - www.float41.com

Maximum Beverage - www.maximumbev.com

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
All right, all right.
Feeney Talks with friends. Episode 132.
We got a great podcast here todaywith some wonderful friends
from the empower Group.
We're getting to know each otheron the podcast.
This is great.
Our missions really align.
So I'm very excited to talk with you.
They're a nonprofit.
We're here with Christina.
II. And Tommy.

(00:20):
How are you doing?
Pretty good,pretty good. Again, this is Feeney.
Talks with friends.
I use this podcast to talkto wonderful people in the community
that are doing great things.
And you guys have been doing great thingsin the community.
For how long now?
So, empower started back in 2013, but
it's actually hasn't been in Connecticutsince it started in 2019.
In Connecticut.

(00:41):
So it started off in Massachusetts,
and then we're the first stateafter Massachusetts when they expanded.
So third grade math is 12 years,but six years in Connecticut?
That's correct. Yep.
That's awesome. No.
And it started with Kara. Bevin. Belvin.
Yeah. Yep. Cara. Belvin. Yes.
Yeah.
That's I mean, we started off alreadysaying how our missions align.

(01:02):
I started thiswhen one of my students lost her dad,
unexpectedly by a heart attack.
Gabby Stone, who's nowgraduated from college.
Want to bring her upas a wonderful mentor?
Possibly.
And then the following year,one of my students, Rashad, lost his dad
in Hartford.
I was, a new dad at the time. My.

(01:23):
From a divorce family.
I knew who I wasnot to see my dad every once in a while.
I could never imagine never seeing himagain, especially as a child.
So I don't know.
Your Kara lost her.
The founder.
Kara lost her mother at an early age.
Very early.
Yep. You want to elaborate? Sure.
So Kara is actually from Southington,Connecticut. So.
And she was seven,I believe, when she lost her mom.

(01:45):
And actually, Tommy has moreof a personal connection with Kara.
So you want to share that?
So I've known Kara since I, I don't know,I was probably 4 or 5 years old.
We lived down the street from careand her family.
My sisterAmy was very close friends with her.
Kara lost her mom, kit.
I believe she was nine, to cancer.
And a few years later, when,my mom passed away, so we, you know,

(02:09):
kind of had that.And in common, growing up.
Yeah.
And then she knew how was the dealwith the loss of a loved one?
So what age did she finally want
to develop and form this nonprofit?
Was 2013, 2013.
So, I mean, at that point,she was married,
had kids, and she just knew she wanted toto give back because

(02:33):
for a very long time, she felt likeshe was the only one that she knew
that was going throughsomething like that.
And as somebody who's lost a mom to whenI was really young, I can relate to that
because you feel like you'rethe only person that I to this day.
I was like,
the only person that I know that lost hermom until I met everybody at empower.
And that was kind of likeKara always said,

(02:54):
she's felt like an alienon a her own planet.
Like she didn't have anybodythat she could connect with.
No one kind of knew what was goingthrough, what she was going through.
But in reality, there's a lot of peoplethat were just like her.
Yeah. Why do you think that is?
Is that just a personal inner thought,or do you know
people don't want to speak about itor it's just not out in the open?
I definitely think that there was a stigmaabout not speaking about it,

(03:17):
even though I was I was growing upand I, I was 11 when I lost my mom.
We didn't talk about it.
I mean, it was not something that,you know, you brought up with your family.
It happened and people knew about it.
But it's also hard to navigate that.
Like, how do you talk to somebodywho is 11 that did lose its parent?
Like, what do you even as an adult, like,you know,
some adultswould be afraid to say something

(03:39):
because they weren'treally sure what to say.
So I think that by changingthis kind of idea of like, it's okay
to talk about your grief and it'sokay to to know
that there's other people out therethat like you or that are like you.
And that's what empower does.
It connects girls and boysand helps them support them,
and it empowers them to say, it'sokay to talk about your grief.

(04:00):
Yeah. Wow. That's amazing.
Because I've heard so many people say,hey, I wish for friends.
Afeni, our mission is to help
children and families that need assistanceafter heartbreak or tragedy.
And a lot of people have lost
their parents were like,I wish this was around when I was a kid.
I hear that so many times.
Or, Afeni, I lost my dad

(04:20):
and I want to give back to your causebecause it truly hits home.
So I'm sure you hear that all the time.
I heard all the time.
And I also lived it, too.
You know, I,
I I've said I wish there was somethinglike this when I was growing up because
I always just thought it was normalnot to talk about the death of my mom.
And that's not that's not the case.

(04:40):
It's actually really importantto talk about it
and to connect with peoplethat are just like you.
So, yeah, I mean, I,I was a program coordinator.
Now I'm, I'm matching people,you know, with the same type of loss.
And I always say to the mentorsthat I'm match, I'm like, it's yes,
it's about the youth.
But also for the mentor, it's
something that you probably nevereven that you never even knew you needed.

(05:03):
And it's so powerful.
Wow. Let's
yeah, get right into becoming a volunteer.
There's thousands volunteersprograms over here.
You're looking for mentors, volunteer aged25 and older,
that has experienced a loss of a parentat any age.
And to become a mentor, you can go towe empower.org.

(05:23):
That's a very powerful.
Yeah. Please. You know, check it out.
We empower or. Empower.
We are empower. That or I get dot.
Org wonderful website.
It has your story the volunteersupcoming events I love the website.
I learned a lot about it.
And then we're just looking for.
Yeah, we're also looking for volunteers.

(05:46):
And if you know someone out there
that can be helped by this wonderfulorganization, please reach out.
Yes. Same. We are in power.org. Yep, yep.
So we any youth that has had parentloss mother father both.
Sometimes it's both we service youth 6 to 24.
And it's very simple to enroll them.

(06:06):
Anybody can enroll them.Somebody from school can enroll them.
A counselor can enroll them.
A guardian could enroll them.
And they just goright onto the website to enroll,
and then they get, processedover to the program coordinators.
And then we do meet and greetswith the family, so we get to know them.
And then we also dothe same thing for mentors.
If you are interested in being a mentor,same thing.
You can enroll on the website.

(06:27):
And we do, you know, meet and greetswith the mentors.
And then it's a little bitmore comprehensive for the mentors.
You know, we make sure we dobackground checks and we reference checks.
And, there's a, you know,training that they have to go to.
But and then we just then we kind of once
all that happens, then we kind of look at,see who would make the best match.
And we don't just match to match,

(06:48):
which is somethingthat's really important to know too.
We really take into consideration,likes hobbies.
You know,sometimes type of loss is important.
But that's all taken into consideration.
Geography is also taken into considerationbecause, you know, it is Connecticut.
It's a small state,but it's still a far dry
if if you're, you know,in the eastern part of Connecticut

(07:10):
and you're being matches, I mean,in the western part of Connecticut.
So that's really important, too.
I know I was going to say you just don'trandomly put people together.
There's backgroundand it's a data driven decision.
It's a data driven decision.Yeah. Teacher talk a teacher talk.
And then how did you get involved, Tom?
So like I said earlier,I grew up with Cara.
Cara was a good friend of mymy sister Amy.

(07:33):
Cara lost her mom.
We had moved away.
Karen. Amy,you know, kind of stayed in touch.
They were still friends.
And then, being in law enforcement,
I'm a detective in, here in Connecticut.
And, I have, we had a call
where a child lost their parentto suicide.

(07:54):
And unfortunately, a few years later,the mother passed away,
for medical conditions.
And, you know, knowingthat what Cara was doing for first for
in power, in power for her, for girls,I reached out to her and said, you know,
I have this girl
that lost, you know, both of her parentsnow, and yet they have a son.
She has a brother as well.
And I'd really like to seewhat we could do.

(08:15):
And at that point, Cara had said,you know, I'm trying to work.
We just got some donations in, and they'regoing to work with, boys and girls now.
So, when she told me that,I was like, I'm in.
You know, if I can help, volunteer.
If I could become a mentor.
You know, you really have to want it.
You want to want to be there, and,you know, like we were talking earlier,
you have to go through that

(08:36):
process yourself, and there really wasn'tanything for us back then, you know?
And I don't think that it just
wasn't talked about and
people didn't know how to approach itwith with the young, young kids, you know?
Yeah.
I can remember when I was young, again,I was 12 years old,
and we, my, my father brought usto a counseling session.

(08:58):
And when the counselors crying with you,when you're supposed to help you,
it's like, what do you. You know.
So I was kind of turned off to, to any type of, therapy at that point.
I actually,
you know, seek the support through,through school, through school counselors.
And they were great. And Iif I needed to talk to them.
So I was able to to work through it.
Then, you know,you know, and again, you're talking,

(09:22):
that there's a stigma about it.
And, you know,I've always had that perception,
somebody always hasit worse off than you.
I was like, you know, why did this happen to me?
You know, why?
Why did I lose my mom?Why did you know? We we have.
Why do we have to go through this?
We have such a beautiful family.

(09:43):
And the following year, school,I had a friend that lost
both of her parents.
So that made me realize, hey, you know
somebody always has it worseoff than you do.
You know, people go through families,go through some tragic events in life,
but there's always somebody therethat's struggling harder or, you know, or
dealing with harder, harder stuff doesn'tmean that yours is any less tragic.

(10:05):
But, you know, you kind of putthat into perspective and it helps you.
So, through all of that,
I talked to Cara and said, hey, listen,anything that I can do in Southington,
anything I can help with sponsorship andand being a mentor, and volunteering it.
Just think it is a great cause.Have you been a mentor?
I am scheduled as a mentor,but I haven't yet.

(10:25):
Okay.
Fortunately, like with this young boythat is in my neighborhood.
I don't want to say I'm a mentor to him.
I'm there for him.
I talked to him here and there, but,
talking with, empowerand and Cara and Christina and everything.
I think it's too close to hometo to be right there with him.
The to serve the purpose of whattheir mission is.

(10:45):
But I'm like, whenever I get a match,I'll take a match on.
And, we're trying to do other events,which I'm sure we'll talk about,
you know, at some point.
But, I'm just trying to be there forfor whatever they need.
Yeah. And for a mentor,you need a one year commitment.
Yep. So 40.
Six hours a month.
46 hours a month, one year commitment.We look at.
And obviously we we always hope thatyou'll stay in that person's life forever.

(11:09):
But we basically monitoryou for that one year.
We do a little check ins, you know,I'll either text you or I will look, call
or have a little zoom calland just kind of check in and see how
everything is going with the match.
And we decide to base.
Do they go to they go to the movies,the park, sporting events.
They can do any.
Yep. Anything like that.
So they it depends on like the mentor

(11:29):
and what they likeand what their hobbies are.
I have mentors that go on hikes, you know,and they do the whole,
you know,they spend four hours at a clip together.
And I have some mentorsthat like to space it out.
And they do like two hours hereand they'll go grab coffee
and then they'll do the two hoursanother week
and they'll go to like,you know, they go biking or something.
So, there's lots of different thingsthat have to do.

(11:49):
The mentors get a stipend for events.
It is all volunteer driven,so it's all volunteer.
Yeah. But we do events.
So sometimes if we're hosting an event,
we had a cooking class,for example, in Southington,
and all the mentors and the menteesare invited, and that's a free of charge.
So all of our events that we doare always free of charge to the families,
and everything we dois free of charge to the families.

(12:10):
And, but that's also a free of chargeevent for the mentors, too,
so they can come to that eventand they can.
We had like 15 girls there and mentors.
So we all does a cookoutand made pizzas and brownies.
And it was like a really great time.
And it just to look around the roomand know that like everybody in
that roomis the same as you is so powerful. Yeah
I love the empower.

(12:31):
Do you, do you know the originwhere we got?
We all know what the word means,but like why and how.
So it started off as empower her.
So when it first started becauseit was just for girls of mother lost
when Cara first started it.
And then once it changed overto all youth, it changed us to empower.
So I have a feeling it'sprobably the same idea that you're kind of
like leading towards, likebeing empowered to like, share your story.

(12:56):
No, I love it.
And there's currently 52kids enrolled in Connecticut. Yep.
So that's boys and girls.
And then we have over about 15 matchescurrently.
Right now we have some matchesafter the one year mark.
But we stay in touch with them.
Can I,
can they extend the mentorship
after a yearor you just kind of hang out on your own?
Right. So you're just not monitoredso much by us.
But you would they?

(13:17):
I have a lot of matches that arestill very active, and they still,
they're still they're still, you know,hanging out and doing great things. So.
Yeah, man.
You build that connection, you know? Yeah.
Especially, like Christina saying,you know, going out
with somebody for, for five hoursa month or two hours in a day.

(13:37):
It it's not that you're just talking aboutthe grief that you're dealing with.
You're there to support them,you know, in any way that you can.
I know another, one of our good friends,Jeff, was a mentor.
And he tells us a storyhow he, you know, he helped the boy,
buy a car, and he was like, all right,show me some cars that you're looking at.
He knows a little bitmore mechanically inclined or whatever.

(13:58):
You know, and he's like,so it's not just about that.
It's about being there all around forthem, you know, as support in a friend.
Yeah.
You may or may not talk about
your tragedies together,or you may learn how to tie a tie.
Or fix. A car.
Exactly. It's not like required.
It's not likeyou have to talk about the loss.
It just kind of comes up organically,which we kind of like,

(14:20):
you know, we can encourage mentorsto be like, they're ready for it.
And you know that some things might,you know, mother's Day,
for example, or Father's Day, for example,might be difficult.
So kind of like how to navigatethose times or birthdays that come up.
So, I like to try to make surethe mentors know of dates
that are important to the mentee thatso they're they're

(14:41):
prepared for those tough conversationsthat could come up.
It's not that they're required.
Interesting.
Yeah.
Well, I have this shout outI'd like to read
what minute are we.
So we know the shout out
read my best 14.
Empower is a nonprofit,and its mission is to help kids, teens

(15:02):
and young adults who experiencedthe heartbreaking loss of a parent.
They provide a community of supportthrough one's life's toughest challenge,
empower host events that offer
peer support and a unique oneon one mentor program with positive role
models from the communitywho help teach that loss is survivable.
Empower serves over 700 children
and young adults with all activitiesno charge to the family.

(15:25):
Empower is active in eight regionsacross the United States and in London.
If you know a childwho can benefit from empowers mission
or you're interested in mentoring,please visit.
We empower.org to learn more
how to do that.
We are empowered.
Oh did I to keep jacking that up.
We empower. We are empower.

(15:45):
Yeah, it's the double letter for thewe in the E the power.
That'swhy yeah. I think making excuses for me.
But it's not that. It's me.
I appreciate that.
I teach reading third grade.
You know, I know how to read by now, but.
All right, speaking of which.
Now let's see. Let's test your knowledge.
Don't look out. Eight anchor regions.

(16:07):
We're in the southern New England.
I'll give you one.
In southern New England yetwe have Denver, Denver two, New York,
Washington, DC.
Area four Los Angeles five.
North Carolina six.
Chicago seven, and Southeast Florida.
Nice. Yeah.
Those are your eight anchor regions.
Why are those anchor regions?

(16:27):
Are they picked for a particular reason?
Do they have friends and network?
I'm sure like Kara's friendsare there to support her in these spot.
Or they're
they're just where they there'skind of like a lot of mentors and mentees.
Currently we also serve other placeslike I have some families
and like Rhode Island, for example,or even on based in Connecticut,
I still dabble a little bit in RhodeIsland.

(16:48):
Yep. The thing important to knowtoo, is like, as program
coordinators, we talk to each other too.
So I have somebody in Stamford right now,
so she might actually be a better matchfor somebody in New York.
You know, or I may havesomebody in, like Eastern Connecticut.
They might, be better offin somebody in Massachusetts.
So there's we have a network of peoplethat we are always there

(17:10):
to help each other.
And I might say, hey, I have a mentor,I have a mentee, and we kind of reach
out that way because,
I mean, ultimately our goal is to matchas many people as possible
and to make great matches.
So sometimes that happens acrossstate lines,
but think it's amazing.
And it's so wild.
I've we've never heard of each other.I know.
But our we're so close in our alignmentand our goals and missions

(17:33):
and I'm just excited to talk with you.Christina.
Thank you for being here, Tommy.
Thank you for being here.
For having us on.
This is a wonderful and we're gettingto know each other on the podcast.
That typically doesn't happen either.
And I also want to thank my friend, Katiefor setting this up.
I wish she could be here.Thank you, Katie, for thinking of you.
She's all right.
She's great.
Her husband?

(17:53):
Yeah, I know him yet.
You have it now. I have, like.
Yeah, now I better than Katie.Better that you. Don't.
But I have to shout out to Katie, too.
She is, an awesome mentor right now.
And she is, mentoring this young,
the young girl and they arehave such a an amazing connection.
And I've actually heard from the menteesfather as well and saying how

(18:15):
just amazingKatie is for their whole family.
So it's, it's it's just shows you how mucha mentor really can be is how Katie.
Lost her mom. Right?
She did at an early age.
She did? Yeah. Yeah,well I just yeah. So yeah.
Complete sense. Yeah.
So that's what saidyou need to meet my friend Eric because.
Her dad's kip,I think. And they have like,

(18:36):
oh, he must have remarried.
But anyway, Katiewould be here to explain.
To youwhat her. Husband, we call him Army Dan.
Okay.
Dan has been the.
Well, I was in the Army National Guard.
Dan was in the ArmyNational Guard, and we.
I don't know if there were two Dan's,but which Dan are you talking about?
Army. Danso shout out to Army Dan. He's our.
I was just busting them.

(18:58):
Katie. Yeah. No.
Wonderful person. Yeah.
Dan Outkick the coverage with that one.
Had some mentors like NancySohn is the reason we started.
Okay. Friends of Feeney.
She lost her husband, GabbySohn was the student.
Lost her father.
So I thought maybethose were two great podcasts.
Not podcast mentors.
Yeah, but Nancy was podcast five.

(19:20):
Gabby saw was podcast 27,and they talked about their experience.
Nancy from a wifelosing husband Gabby about losing a mom.
The John Milnor lost his dad, AlvinGilchrest lost their dad.
So just some people that have had lossand were previously on the podcast.
And Evan was like Evan specifically said,I mean, I wish this was here when I know.

(19:44):
And that'skind of like how it happens too.
It's it's like this ripple effectwhere you hear like you're like,
oh my gosh, I knowfive people that I've just talked to that
have had this happen to themand they would be great mentors or
I know this family who need some support,and that's kind of where it happens.
There's a lot of word of mouthand things like that that happen.
And it just it just you just never knowwho is going to be in their room

(20:05):
when you're having these conversations.
And I've learned toto really talk more about it,
which I didn't always talk about.
But now I do, because I'm realizingit could really be beneficial to somebody
who didn't know to even ask about itor to even share that information.
I mean, that's a common bond that
not many people

(20:26):
go through, or just it'sjust having something,
knowing that someone has been throughthat is a strong start to a relationship.
And I give you a lot of credit.
You both working full timeteacher, police officer, detective.
You know, people always say,where do you find time for me?
I'm like, well, it's a it's a busy time.

(20:46):
It's a serving a purpose for a good cause.
We could be busy doing nonsense, but we'retrying to help as many people as we can.
So, yeah, we're really excitedto partner, really excited to collaborate.
And again. Again.
I'm so happy that you're here.
Thank you. We are happy to be here.
This is great.We're excited to collaborate too.
And we have some sponsors I'd liketo shout out Keating Agency insurance

(21:09):
float 41 The Fix EvieLuna Pizza, Golf Law Group,
people's Bank Parkville Managementand West Hartford Lock.
I think that those ring a bell.You see any of those?
You know any of those.I know if you. Yeah.
Cop law firm. She's all she's all over.
I know her from all the billboards. Yeah.
That's brand.
Yeah. Brooke,thank you for your continued support.

(21:31):
She's wonderful.She's sponsoring our golf tournament.
She sponsors the podcast.
She was a podcast guest.
Good person, good heart.
And with West Hartford Lock.
What are three keysthat make you a great program coordinator?
Tommy, get ready, because three keys ona mentor is coming up next.
Three keys.

(21:54):
That one's a tough one.
Probably to be.
I definitely need to get to knoweverybody.
We definitely do that.
That's the biggest thingabout being program coordinator.
So being thoughtfulabout who you're talking to.
Knowledgeable about empower. Yep.

(22:14):
And I think opening up about your ownloss is really important
because that puts families at easeright away.
So I always start off with sharing my ownstory about my mom and losing my mom.
And that really helps.
Come on through.
You're fine.
Sorry.
You want to pop on?
Oh, okay.

(22:37):
Oh, no.
So, yeah. The personal connection. Yeah.
Being a knowledgeable content knowledgeand knowing.
Yeah. Thoughtful. Knowing the family.That's teacher.
Teacher. Yeah, yeah, it's too easy.
Yeah. Too good. Great job. Christina.
Thanks, Tommy.
Three keysthat make you a great future mentor.

(22:57):
I think number one, you have to want tobe involved in wanting to share your time.
Share your your experiences,sharing your loss, with your mentee.
Number two, being there for themoutside of the loss, you know, again,
like I told you, that it's really, not just about the grief.

(23:20):
It's about, you know, making, in my case,that young man grow up to be a strong
man, young woman, you know, young girlgrowing up to be a strong woman.
You know, and I think that,
those, thosecore values, you have to have that to,
to really put in the mentorship,to be there for them.

(23:42):
Yeah. That's only two. Really?
Well, I got to get another one.
I don't have a third, I think.
Phone a. Friend.
Yeah, right.
I think that, you know, again, I don't
I don't even want to saythat it's a passion.
It's really has to come from your heartto to do something like this

(24:04):
and to be therefor, like. A calling or, you.
Know, those are the those.
That's the reason why I'm here today.
You know, they asked what I would do.
Come and join Christinaand and it's absolutely I want to get
the word out there that that people,you know, that we're here for families.
We're here for kids.
A mother lost or father lost,you know, so, so I have a third one.

(24:24):
Yeah. I mean, I think passion. Yeah.
Yeah, definitely. Well, yeah.
Those are great.
Three keys I know I felt,
now I feel, I don't know,
I feel weird because I'm like, oh,my parents were divorced, right.
But you guys lost a parent.
So that's like, I, I empathize knowing how
it could have felt, but I could nevermay I say it all the time.

(24:47):
So I, I'm thinking of you, now and
and you know how challenging that mustand difficult that must have been for you.
But I think it's very powerfuland commendable that you're giving back.
So thank you again.
We're going to keep thanking youfor being here.
Thank you for having us.
Yeah.
And, no, I'm having a good time chatting.

(25:09):
Let's talk about your event.
Big event coming. Up.You have a big event.
Aqua turf. Aqua turf.
Great sponsors,great people at the Aqua Turf. Yes.
Southington, Connecticut.
Shout out to Southington.
Southington? Yeah. Are youfrom where you were born and raised?
All over, actually.
But I'm now down to the shoreline.
I'm in Old Saybrook, but I grew up inStafford, so up here a little bit.

(25:33):
And what do you teach?
I teach in Madison right now. And or.
No, Polson Middle School.
And then I'm alsoat the intermediate school. Brown.
Nice. Yeah.
Is hand the only high school.
Hands the only high school.
Okay.
Because one of my former studentsand neighbors, my neighbor Tom
Dominic Cork, Thomas Cork is a teacherat the high school, Madison.

(25:54):
He drives to Madisonevery day from West Hartford to drive.
Yeah.
And then Southington.
We did some shout outson, you know, aqua turf.
Sam the clams.
Is there a new brewery in Southington?
You got, I don't know if not New Kinsman Brewing.
Witchdoctor Brewing. Yeah.

(26:16):
What else do we have?
I think there's a seat.
That's your territory? Yeah.
I don't get out much anymore.
I got tickets, yeah.
Do you have children?
I do, I have two boys.
Two boys.
I have twin girls.
Yes. Two girls, two girls.
Girl. Dad.
Yeah. My my son's name is Eric.
He was very excited.
And he's beating another Eric.

(26:37):
Great name kid and proud.
I gotta say, even.
With a C or okay.
With a C, I. Like this guy.
Just like Eric.
Eric? Yeah.
Man. He's going to grow upto be a fantastic human being.
Oh damn it. Yeah.
So the the luminary.
Luminaria. The luminaria. Yeah, I know.

(26:57):
I need that hyphenated luminaria. Yes.
Event. Thursday, May 29th.
Aqua turf.
Yep. For sure. By Bob Maxon.
Except that.
Yep. So there are event.
The gala is on the 29th of May.
There's two parts.
So one is the luminaria, which is outside,which is open to the general public.
Or you can also purchase ticketsfor our gala event or.

(27:21):
Same day.
Same. Day.
So you kind of do the luminaryand then move in. You got it. Yeah.
I was that when you like a bagand put a flower in a.
Bag or so they do a candle. Yep.
So they align. It's very nice.
The gardens.
If you've ever been to Aqua Turfor anything, they have beautiful gardens.
Yeah.
So they line
all of the gardens with these bagsand has, your loved one's name on it.
It could be a memoryor an honor of somebody.

(27:42):
Okay.
And, rightwhen it gets to be right about dusk time.
If anybody's in the gala
that would like to go outto see luminaria,
they kind of like, ventureout to the gardens and they love it.
So yeah, it's it's it's a it'sabsolutely beautiful if you've never.
Yeah.We had Deb and Gary from for all ages.
They're another nonprofit.
They help partneringthe retiring community with young people

(28:03):
through pen pals.
But they do a, a luminary thingin Simsbury, I think.
But I think that's awesome. Beautiful.
This must be great for pictures.
It's beautiful actually.So. Okay. That's it.
Yeah, that's kind of like what it's onright there. We're going to have we're.
Going to get a nicer picture tothis is going to be right here. Boom.
Yeah. Stephania boom.
So and there's also living areain many other different places too

(28:26):
then I know there's this is nationwide.
Yeah.
So if you want different nightsdifferent nights different locations.
So there might even be one that you are.
Have you. Been to one outsideof the Connecticut. One?
I have not, I've only been to Connecticut.
Actually, this is actually Connecticut'sonly, second luminaria.
Boston is a is very big.
I know Washington DC was very big.

(28:47):
I was this. A real word? Luminaria.Did you guys make that up?
Yeah, I don't know. I it was a real world.
I only teach.
Third grade, so, And how many years?
This is the second annual.
So this is our third annual gala gala,but our second annual.
I'm doing luminaria in Connecticut.

(29:07):
Yeah.
And you could also be a sponsor.
And there's a sponsor sheet. Yep.
Get it in soon because it's May 29th.
May 29th. That's right.
Yeah. April's around the corner.That's right.
Definitely looking for sponsors. Yeah.
We got the champion, sponsor,trailblazer, legacy,
visionary, innovator,ambassador and friend.
So this is our only fundraiserfor the whole year

(29:28):
that we do for the state of Connecticut,in the state of Connecticut.
And, you know, as you mentioned before,all of our programing is free
for all of our families.So this is why it's really important.
It's also a lot of fun at the event to,
you know, like you said, BobMaxon is going to be our MC this year.
We have lots of silent auction items.
We have raffles.
Usually do, like,a text to give during the event as well.

(29:49):
And of course, I mean, the foodand the appetizers are, top notch. Yep.
So we have been to a couple proms,couple of weddings, aqua turf.
They know how to do it.The food is amazing.
And thank you, Aqua Turf,for being such generous sponsors.
It's 630 to 10 May 29th.
Yeah. Doesn't really say cost per ticket.

(30:10):
So it's $75 for one ticket.
Or you can get two tickets for 100.
Oh, you can also buy a tableof ten for a thousand.
Nice.
Yeah.
It's all.
And you can also buy your luminaria bagsto their $25 for, a bag for a limo.
Okay. Yeah.And you can do that all on our website.
There's a link right there.That's amazing.

(30:30):
Well, I'm going to check my schedule.
Well, we're going to attend.We're going to write you down.
I really appreciate the invitation.
This truly means a lot.
Both to me and I are both on the committeefor that too.
So we're working on planning that take.
So when we start like November.
November this year,we started. For something in May. Yeah.
For something in May. Yeah. So we've been.We do a golf tournament.
You start.

(30:51):
Yeah. Nine months before the event.
I mean there's so much in like Juneprobably not.
So much probably the day after the last.
The day after the last one. Yeah.
It's been there done that.
So getting the date setwe actually get that date.
So we're like all right get this.
Month's full speed ahead.
Just be the head. Yes.
All right $25 a bag, $75 a ticket or,
100 for two. Yep.

(31:13):
Bob, Max is funny.I like him a lot. He's great.
Yeah, I think his wife's in education.
Yeah, it could be wrong.
Had drinks at one of themat Frieda's in Mex.
And, it's a Mexican restaurantin West Hartford.
Funny guy. Yeah.
So, yeah, he we're very we're very excitedto have him on board this year.
How is he as a meteorologist?
What do you think his percentages are, ishe is he a good one?

(31:34):
I mean, I think he's pretty good. Yeah.
They're Connecticut'smost reliable weather team, right?
Oh, he's our sponsor, right? Yeah.
I think he's one of the bestmeteorologists that ever. Yes,
I love it.
Bob. Maxon,we got to send this clip to Bob. Max.
Bob, Max. And you're a good friend. Yes.

(31:55):
Be a good friend.
That's our motto.
Be a good friend. Hold the door.
Pick up trash is not yours.
Give compliments,be charitable and host events. Bob.
So thank you, Bob.
And, this is greatand I hope to be there.
I'm going to check the schedule.
Maybe Matt could come too.
This is Matt.He's on the board of directors.
We want Matt.
He's going to need a picture of you.

(32:16):
After he.
Does the, our thumbnails.
Have you collaboratedwith any other podcasts?
Not that,excuse me, podcast or nonprofits.
So we've done a little work with The Cove.
And Connecticut. They are,
kind of the same
idea of the mission is about parent loss,but they're more therapeutic.

(32:37):
We're not therapeutic.
So, I've worked with, BrookeFine's over there,
who's a program coordinator,and we've kind of talked a little bit,
kind of like, you do what I don't do,and I do what you don't do.
So I'll send you families.You send me families. Nice.
So that's been a great partnership.How long is that collaboration?
We're going a little bit over a yearnow, so. Yeah.
And where's the cove out of.
They have like 4 or 5 different locations.

(32:58):
I think there's one.I'd actually at a West Hartford.
I know there's onetwo down in Madison area.
So they're all overthe state of Connecticut.
So it's really nice. So.
So, Brooke, maybe Brooke Vinescould be a podcast guest.
So that would be a go.That would be a good guest.
Be a good friend.
Be a friend of Feeney. I'll,I'll share your info.
Please do.
Well, that's.No, there's always strength in numbers.
And when there's a collaboration piece,that's when you reach

(33:21):
more people and your cover andbases that, like you said,
you do the mentorship,
they do something else,and you come together for a common good.
So thank you for that. Yeah,
I know because it says,
oh, 1 in 12
children experienced death of a parentor sibling before the age of 18.

(33:42):
Yeah. Geez. That's like.
Startling for. Real.
Like, yeah, that's so real. For real.
Yeah.
So it's very importantthat you empower does.
Yeah.
And I mean,
we just started talking about itand even you're like,
oh, I know what this personand that person and that's kind of like
it's it's just it's there'sso many people that are impacted by it.

(34:04):
So when you really start to likelook at it, you're like, oh wow.
There's a there's a lot more people.
There's there's people that are just likeme and that's really the whole point,
you know, like to really letother people know that they're not alone.
Yeah, you're going to get through thisand it's survivable.
I think it's the biggest thing
a lot of you think, I don't know howI'm going to survive this.
And it's like when you get somebodylike Tommy as your mentor and you're like,

(34:27):
oh, you're amazing.
You know, like, I'mgoing to you're going to be okay.
And it's you're, you're it's survival. So
I yeah,
I was actually I was partnered,I was a mentee and a mentor.
I'm still a mentor, I should say to that'show I started in power.
And it was actually during Covidwhen I was met with matched up
and we were did,

(34:47):
my mentee actually lives in New Mexico.
So we did it.
We were one of the first virtual matches,because that's
what we kind ofhad a pivot during like Covid.
And we did.
We matched.
I'm, matched with Abby in New Mexico,in Albuquerque area.
And we still talk.
And, you know, I just I'll send herthings like, now it's, you know, it's
been a few years now,but she's from Southington originally.
Okay. So I've actually met her in persona couple times.

(35:09):
She's come to our,gala event a couple years ago.
I know her grandmother.
She's in Southington,
but it's kind of funnybecause it's like you don't really notice,
you know, how much you're going to have,like, an impact on something.
Yeah.
She's texted me
maybe a month ago and said, hey,I did that thing that you told me to do
where I was having a really hard day,and I wrote a letter to my mom and I.

(35:32):
We're a little bit of a time difference.
So I was sleeping when she texted.
She had texted it and I woke upand I would just started, like, crying
because I'm just like,you just don't know what you like,
how much of an impactyou're going to have.
And sometimes they're teenagersand they don't tell you.
But that moment when I was like,it was all worth it,
like every,every little bit that I do. And I'm like.
You probably said it like way before.

(35:54):
It took some time to process, way beforeit was like she.
Did it when she was ready. Yeah.
And when she was.
She knew you.
She heard you and she. Heard meand she shared. Yeah.
It was just wow.
It was amazing. Validating it. Yeah. Firm.
But that's amazing.
I love the personal story.
So thank you for sharingthat. That's great. And,
yeah,because everyone handles it different.

(36:15):
But your advice worked for you.
And then maybe she had time to processand then she tried it.
So no, I worked in a group of students,
when I was at collegeat southern Group of ten kids.
And, you know, that was 30 years ago.
And I'm still in touch with maybe 2 or 3so that that bond lasts forever.
So I know the strength on that.

(36:36):
It was a single family homeand, you know, lived in the Church Street
cell projects,in and out of incarceration.
But we're like, I'm there for himif he needs me.
So I just know that that bond forever.
He's like my exactly like a kid.
My child almost. Yeah.
But the connection is great.
So, like,

(36:57):
yeah, that's.
We need more of that in this world.
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah.
I told her she's stuck with me forever.
Yeah,whether she likes it or not, you know.
How old is she now?
She's a senior in high school right now.
So that's a you know, navigating that too.
Like how do you do high school graduation
and you know, and there's going to be timeand I, I recall that too.
Like how do you navigate things like that.Big milestone moments.

(37:19):
You know, getting engaged,you know, buying a wedding dress,
having your baby like,so there's like things that like,
she doesn't even know she's going to needand just to be like,
somebody who's gone through thatand to navigate that is.
That's how you're going to be her personfor all those big milestones.
Right?And I'm so happy to be her person. Yeah.

(37:40):
That's great touching.
Like getting the feelsand getting the feels I love it.
Get the the chills.
I don't want to get personal,
but would you like to sharehow that was for you,
how you navigated losing a loved one,and how if empower

(38:01):
was there for you when you were younger,how your path may have differed?
I don't know, Tom or,Christina like to share.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And maybe personally,like how you lost that person.
If you don't mind sharing that, too.
Yeah.
So, my my mother, Marilyn, passedwhen I was 12 years old.
Unfortunately,

(38:23):
my parents had bought a house, built a house down there.
And when they built the house, my father worked
for a corporation for many,many years, lost his job.
And two days later, my mom passed away.
Massive heart attack.
You. No, my dad used to saynever sick a day in her life.
She was the entertainment one.
She always want to entertain,have people at the house and everything.

(38:44):
And it was, so I and my sisterAmy and I were.
We're on vacation with our our cousins,
when it happened.
So my oldest sister, Jen, was there.
Unfortunately, I had to go through andhelp my dad with everything that happened.
We got a call the next dayand went home to find out,
and your, you know,your whole world's upside upside down.

(39:06):
You know, again, at 12 years old,I sometimes
think, like, if I was older, what would you do?
What would I have done differently?
And the first thing I would've done
was said,hey, dad, let's get rid of this house.
You know, this house is, you know,
nice big house that he was able to buyand afford to build in.
And now you basically got two incomeslost, you know, and,

(39:27):
and even at that,we don't need this big space anymore.
Let's try and, you know, so there'sa lot of different things involved in it.
And, like I had said earlier, is that the,
the, the grief going through the,like the therapy of it,
again, I was I was 12 years old,and this woman's there trying to
help us process this,and we're passing the tissues around,

(39:48):
and sheshe can't even really hold it together.
And so that kind of scarred mea little bit.
It kind of put me at like, well,if this how this lady doesn't
seem to be able to help herself,
how she going to help me, you know,and not that I discredit,
you know, therapy andand going to talk with somebody I talked
with someone with my workbackground and, and everything.
Just at that time,you didn't have anybody,

(40:10):
didn't have anybody elsethat was going through it.
So I want it to be with my, my,my buddies, you know?
And my dad was like, basicallygiving us money to go to the apple
harvest festivals in town and,you know, to get our minds off it.
That's what he knew.
You know, the best to do. Yeah.
Staying busy.
It was like. A yes,they busy. Go, hey, go to the movies.
Can we do this? That. So,

(40:32):
it wasn't until I was a
little older till I was like,okay, I need to.
I need to process this, you know,and I did
speak out more about itto friends, family, things like that.
And then, really through my careerin law enforcement, starting to deal
with, different calls, nature's of calls.

(40:53):
You know, it was like,okay, you know, there's
there's a saying,you know, that bucket is going to fill up.
And if you don't empty that bucketyourself, it's going to overflow.
So I'm big and peer supportwith the police department with, you know,
dealing with officers with the tragic,you know, events and situations and stuff.
So that just reallywhen I started to learn like hey,

(41:16):
I need to take care of myself,you know so
started seeing a therapist outand talking and talking about it more.
And that's just it.
Like, if I had that knowledge to knowthat, hey, people are there for you,
you know, there's somebody that knowswhat you're going through.
I learned at a very early age,okay, I lost my mom, like I said.

(41:37):
And then it was like, poor me,why did why did this have to happen to me?
And, you know, a year, year anda half later, I was like, wow, like this.
This girl just lost both of her parents.
So it's not, you know, I have it bad.
Yeah, somebody else has.
It has worse situations, you know.
So it it's a good program to to.

(42:00):
So say you didn't have.
Sorry to go so you can have the womanpassing around tissues crying.
So you had to empower a mentor therefor you.
Yeah. How do you think your path.
So I really think thatthat would have changed
my maybe not my perspective on on it fromfrom what had happened.
But yeah, I think realizing like,okay, like

(42:21):
I don't know you may saying this right.
Like I can normalize this, in normalizing,I mean, like
unfortunately it's it's part of life.
It's what happens, right?
Yeah.
Nobody wants it to happen,
but it is a part of life that, you know,the cards that you're dealt, if you will.
And, you know, this is how.
Hey, listen,there are ways to cope with this.
You are not, you know, as Kara says,you are not alone in this grief.

(42:45):
And how you strategically plan mentorswith mentees.
I think they would have matchsomeone up with you.
So that's what they we try to do is we.
Maybe like sports,they would have gone to a sports guy.
More specific to, a boy that lost a mom.
So I will be a mentor to a boythat lost his mother.
Yes. Yeah.
You try and do the same age,but I mean, if that if the boy was older,

(43:08):
the boy's younger.
At least you're relating to.
I'm a, man.
Or, you know, I was a young boythat lost his mother as well, so I could.
I could say I relate.I know what you're going through.
Yeah. You know.
Because.
Yeah, as a mentee, like, what do you know?
Right. Exactly.You don't know what I'm going through.
Well, yes, I know exactly what you'regoing through, so that's very strong.

(43:30):
Yeah.
Wow. Yeah.
Thank you for sharing person. Yes. No.
No problem. And.
So kind of the same similar.
But, I was 11 when I lost my mom.
It was sudden.
She went to bed, was fine,and she just never woke up.
It was, And she died of a heart attack.
Enlarged heart. So like a heart attack.
We didn't know she was sick.

(43:50):
My brother was eight, my sister was one,and my dad was by himself
navigating three kids under 11and it was, you know,
I basically just kind of stepped upright away into being that mom role.
And, my sister, you know, was being one a baby.
There was, you know, I was in sixth grade,

(44:12):
which it's interestingbecause now I'm a sixth grade teacher.
So if you wonder, like,did that have some sort of impact
on where I landedand I mean, I, I relate to those kids.
I know those kids, you know very well.
I know what it's like to be having that,
you know,to not have somebody at that age.
And I think it was hardbecause we just never talked about it.

(44:34):
And I think that it
and I always thought it was not okay totalk about it, like I just felt like I was
it was like almost likeI was embarrassed to talk about it.
And I think that for all I know,for a very long time,
I didn't talk about it,probably like 27 years.
I really didn't talk about itlike like I am now.
Like,this is like mind blowing that I'm here

(44:54):
having this conversation with you,because that just never happened.
And until I found in power and actuallymy husband found it for me, it was
I was just when it started in Connecticut,it was right around Mother's Day.
They were running a piece on the newsand he yelled to me,
you had to turn the TV on.
And I turned the TV onand I saw it, and I was like,

(45:14):
it was like, I've been waiting for thismy entire life.
Like, where has this been?
And as soon as I saw it, I was like,I need to be involved in this immediately.
And I applied right away for a manto be a mentor that day.
And I just I couldn't wait to, like,I wanted to be somebody, somebody,
you know, and I just, I just knew thatI could help somebody because

(45:37):
I needed I needed to
as much as I wanted,you know, it was for me to in a way, and
to now be here and talking about my momand just about how it was a it's
okay to talk about grief and it'sokay to talk about loss is in powerful.
And it's just that'swhat we want to be with the power.
And I, I say all the time, man,I wish somebody could have told me,

(45:59):
hey, you're going to get through itlike it's survivable.
And to be able to turn to a girland say that to them,
you're you're going to be okay.
You're going to get through this.
You know, there's kind of don'tget me wrong, there's going to be days
that are terrible and that are really,really tough, but you're going to be okay.
And yeah, that's just.

(46:21):
Yeah, you can't hear inner voicesand us talking.
This here helps us.
Yeah.
This here
knowing that people are going to hearand say, hey, listen, we're out here.
You're not alone.
We're here to to help you with awith a mentee or get him become a mentor.
Like it's therapeutic for ourfor us as well.
Yeah.We're not a therapeutic organization.

(46:42):
We're there for people.
But it really is like it's like a two waystreet to talk, talking to your mentee
and in talking to other peoplethat have dealt with this,
it takes a little bit of thatweight off to say, yeah, you're not alone.
And yeah, listen,we're all helping each other.
Yeah. Carelessly. They share the weight.
Yeah, we share the weight with each other.Share the weight.
Yeah. Like it.
And that's.
We are in power.org.

(47:03):
Yes we are in power.org.
Beautiful website,beautiful things going on.
Let's talk about the importance of.
So I didn't really realize itbut now it's like the Mother's Day event.
Yeah. Everyone.
That's a huge day for someone that losttheir mom because it's a reminder.
And sowhat goes on at a mother's day event?

(47:25):
Because their annual and they they seemto bounce around at different locations.
Yeah.
So the last last yearwas at Gillette Stadium.
This year is also going to beat Gillette Stadium.
And they anybody with any type of motherloss, can come.
So it can be a boy of mother lostor a girl
motherlost can come to the event free of charge.
And they have a whole day'splanned event starts

(47:48):
really early in the morning and goesall the way to the after the afternoon.
The. That's actually how it started.
Kara actually originally started withthat was her kind of like, seed idea,
where she was like, hey, I'm going to takea couple girls away for the day
on Mother's Day and just have a good daybecause Mother Day is terrible, right?
Like it's the worst day.

(48:09):
And it's not just Mother's Day anymore.
It starts in like April when you see
all the commercials for Mother's Day,and it's like the stores have all
what are you going to buy your mother?
And it's like,
or you're your teacher or you're at school
like, oh,we're going to make a poem for your mom.
It's like it's just in your faceall the time.
So her idea was, I'mgoing to take these couple girls,
we're going to go to a hotel,we're going to get pampered.

(48:30):
We're going to I'm going to teach themhow to do their hair
and their makeup, thingsthat they might not know how to do.
And just have a good time.
And yeah, we can talk about momif that comes up, but I want it to be
just like I want to lighten their load,
like kind of,you know, share, share the load for them.
And that's how it started.
So now this is like the the anchor eventis the Mother's Day retreat.
And then when we expanded

(48:50):
from Empower Her to empower itnow became a Father's Day retreat too.
So same kind of idea,still held at Gillette on Father's Day.
Do you go insideGillette or around the outside?
So there's I'm trying to think,I actually didn't go to the Gillette.
We used to have one in Connecticut,for the past couple of years.
And then last yearthey moved it to Gillette.

(49:12):
Being a mom, it's hard to go to GilletteStadium on Mother's Day, too, because I,
you know, I have my own two kids now, but,I know there is.
They've opened updifferent sections of Gillette.
Like, I know they went into,like the museum area and they are
they have huge rooms.
They're the home.
Base of we are inpower is in Massachusetts, correct?
Correct. It's in Massachusetts.

(49:32):
And there's a, you know, Massachusetts.
It's a very large chapter.
So that's where they are doing.
That's where Kerry's from originally.
Kerry's from Southington originally,but now she's in Scituate, Massachusetts.
Yeah.
So yeah.
So the most at most
there's a lot of like I said,the chapter for Boston is rather large.
So they do it in that Boston area.

(49:53):
But anybody from empower can go.
So we're actually this yearI'm trying to get some girls to come up
you know to on that dayto actually our new
and Jeff Campbell who is amazing.
He said he drive a vanof all the girls up.
So, we're, we're going to seeif we can get a bunch of girls
from Connecticutto go up this year to to Gillette.

(50:14):
So it's a long day. It's powerful day.
But it's it'sone of those bucket filling day
is for sure when you leaveand you're like, that was amazing.
And you can look at you like everything.
Everybody. I'm not alone.
Not alone.
It's like key because I've heard itmany times that you felt alone.
But now when you're surroundedby so many people.
Yeah. Not alone.
Loss is survivable.

(50:35):
Yeah. Losses survive. Okay. Yeah.
And what's the running events?
I knowyou do a couple running events. Yep.
So they get so you can sponsor. Sponsor.
I think there's a Falmouth road racethat they do.
So anybody at any race can always sign upto be like team and power.
And you pledge to like, I think I.
Might say Falmouth race.
Maybe.
Yeah the cap Cape Cod, Cape Cod.

(50:55):
Yeah.
That won the road race. Cape CodI think it's you know.
Yeah I think it's a 10-K. Yes.
I think it's reallyI think it's a, I think it may be a.
Ten or a half marathon.
I don't think it, I don't know up to half.
But it doesn't matter.
If I beat my cousin. Rich,that's all that matters.
Reach and I beat you 2010 twoI think it's been a while.
I'm going to Cape Cod in a couple of.

(51:15):
Weeks during springbreak. Break? Yes. Can't wait.
Falmouth.
Yeah, but any road race.
So you,you just you sign up to be an a power
and be pledged moneyand then they actually set you shirts
and things like thatto wear to you for the race.
Oh, nice. Yeah.
And now, speaking of swag,I got some stickers I'd like to give
you be a good friends. Our motto.
And while we were doing this, Kiara,

(51:36):
you know, I said earlier,pick up trash, hold the door.
Be, charitable.
What makes Cara who started this?
What makes her a good friend.
Man? She's everything.
I mean, she's why we're here today.
Sitting here, and she took a risk.Thank you.
She she really, you know,
she knew what she wanted,and she said, you know, I'm going to

(51:57):
I'm going to take a risk on this.
And her husband was, you know,super supportive. You know, he's great.
He was like, okay, like do it.
And ever since then,she's just never looked back.
And she's drivenand she knows what she wants.
And she sees how much she helps.
And she committed full time to this.
Or does she have like another job?
I believe this is no full time.This is it.

(52:17):
This is full time.
This is this is her her jam.
She does it.
She does it well. So. Yeah.
She's. Yeah. Well. Thank you.
We have a little something for you too.
Oh. All right. So thank you for having us.
This is great.
Power and power.
Of teachers. You know, teachers needs to.

(52:39):
Empower.
Yeah.
I love the choice.
And power is definitely.
It's, like catchy.
And it gets the point across.
We're empowering.
Any. Thank you for this.
You're welcome. Thank you for having us.
Any things that you think I missedor things that you'd like
to share?

(53:02):
Recommendations,
closing remarks, sponsors, sponsor.
Our event coming up and and,at the Aqua turf in May.
May 29th.
We're always looking for sponsors.
All the proceeds go to, to help usdo these events and, and,
the mentorship program,we're trying to do,
as we get more mentees in the boys, I'mtrying to get, yard goats games.

(53:27):
You know, you get these,you know, kids to go to.
Hey, let's go to a baseball gameor let's go to a Wolfpack game.
Yeah.
You know, do a pick up, wiffleball game, things like that, you know?
Great.
So, we're trying to also lookfor, mentors.
If you're 25 and older,you've had experience of, of,
mother loss or father loss, and you would,you know, interested in become a mentor.

(53:48):
We're really looking for mentors as well.
We're always looking for volunteersfor our events, too.
If you haven't experienceda, you know, a loss of a parent,
you could still help out with,volunteering for some of these events.
We're always looking for peopleto help us out, so everything's there.
We are in power.org. Right? Right.
We are empowered.

(54:09):
Yeah, yeah. And I mean,I mean, it's just a ripple effect.
So that's the best way we get our mentors
and our mentee is is just by word of mouthpodcasts like this.
So thank you for having usand I look forward to partnering with you.
And yeah, our mission is aligned.
So it's please.
Like and share it on social media.
When we post it out.

(54:29):
It's going to be on YouTube, Spotifyand all the streaming platforms.
Put it on your website,share with friends.
And just some questions.
You hit one on the head.
But do you know someone who's 25 years oldor older?
So we're looking for mentors.
Do you know any youth
that have experienced, tragedyso that they could be a mentee?
And we're looking for companies to donateand be a nonprofit.

(54:52):
And and this was important.
I felt like just talked about a lot.
I mean, you don't have to wait.
You don't have parent loss. It's okay.
We have volunteers at a variety ways.
Oh, no. I thought you're going to say,you're not alone.
I thought that I started to read,but I read that wrong.
But yeah, you are not alone.
But if you don't have parent loss,you could still volunteer, right?
So we have some peoplethat are really passionate about,

(55:13):
you know, Cara'smission and empowers mission.
And they don't personally
have that parent lost connection,but they still want to give back.
And we have a lot of volunteersthat help run our programs.
But I mean, it takes a lot to run a galaor even like a small event,
like a cooking class or like a, you know,a wiffle ball tournament like that.
It takes planning.

(55:33):
And those people or,you know, we're volunteer driven
and without the volunteers,we wouldn't be able to do what we do.
So and we always want to we want to serveas many possible youth as possible.
And so we just want to get out thereand help as many people as we can.
Yeah.
All right.
You heard it here. First.
Become a volunteer, become a mentor.
Don't forget, this is a nonprofit.

(55:54):
And their mission has helped kids, teens
and young adults who have experiencedheartbreaking loss of a parent.
And they do this through communityservices.
One on one over 700 people in over
700 childrenand young adults in Connecticut.
Huge event coming up
nationwide.
Sorry.
But no no no no no.
Open nationwide. Yep.

(56:15):
There's that reading part again.
Over 50 in Connecticut.
Over 50 and. 52 in. Connecticut.
Yeah that's right. Yeah.
But you knowand you know Tommy's waiting for a mentor.
So it's like, you know, we could havea lot of mentors and and a lot of mentors.
So, you know,we're always looking for both.
So and I have to do as a teacher for 21

(56:36):
years, quicklybefore we go, who's your favorite teacher?
You have a favorite teacher I do.
Her name is Mrs. Knight.She was my fifth grade teacher.
I loved it, she read the BFGand we got to drink hot chocolate.
It was like the best. Yes.
Mrs. Countryman, first grade.
This is country right off.
Right off the half.She was just an awesome teacher.
I never forget her. Yeah,and now she's one of my neighbors.
She's actually, like to the street.

(56:57):
Down she comes walking throughthe neighborhood.
What, you send it to her to.
Send it to her? Absolutely.
Favorite teacher.
Well,thank you for being such great teachers.
You leave a lasting memoryfor you, for students,
I hope to be someone's favorite teachersomeday.
21 year teacher, 16 year old, 16 yearvet of the, You're on the job.

(57:18):
Oh, yeah.
That's that's cop talk for you.
Working to see.
But again,I can't thank you enough for being here.
Wonderful.
Learning more aboutwe are empower.org again.
Bob Maxon is going to be there May 29th.
We're going to get him on the podcast.
Let's say we usually end by saying
be a good friend,but let's say empower first.

(57:41):
And then be. A good friend.
All right 123 empower.
Be a good. Friend.