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All right, all right.

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Feeney Talks with friends. Episode 132.

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We got a great podcast here today
with some wonderful friends

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from the empower Group.

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We're getting to know each other
on the podcast.

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This is great.

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Our missions really align.

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So I'm very excited to talk with you.

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They're a nonprofit.

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We're here with Christina.

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II. And Tommy.

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How are you doing?

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Pretty good,
pretty good. Again, this is Feeney.

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Talks with friends.

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I use this podcast to talk
to wonderful people in the community

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that are doing great things.

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And you guys have been doing great things
in the community.

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For how long now?

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So, empower started back in 2013, but

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it's actually hasn't been in Connecticut
since it started in 2019.

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In Connecticut.

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So it started off in Massachusetts,

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and then we're the first state
after Massachusetts when they expanded.

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So third grade math is 12 years,
but six years in Connecticut?

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That's correct. Yep.

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That's awesome. No.

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And it started with Kara. Bevin. Belvin.

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Yeah. Yep. Cara. Belvin. Yes.

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Yeah.

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That's I mean, we started off already
saying how our missions align.

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I started this
when one of my students lost her dad,

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unexpectedly by a heart attack.

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Gabby Stone, who's now
graduated from college.

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Want to bring her up
as a wonderful mentor?

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Possibly.

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And then the following year,
one of my students, Rashad, lost his dad

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in Hartford.

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I was, a new dad at the time. My.

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From a divorce family.

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I knew who I was
not to see my dad every once in a while.

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I could never imagine never seeing him
again, especially as a child.

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So I don't know.

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Your Kara lost her.

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The founder.

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Kara lost her mother at an early age.

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Very early.

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Yep. You want to elaborate? Sure.

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So Kara is actually from Southington,
Connecticut. So.

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And she was seven,
I believe, when she lost her mom.

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And actually, Tommy has more
of a personal connection with Kara.

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So you want to share that?

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So I've known Kara since I, I don't know,
I was probably 4 or 5 years old.

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We lived down the street from care
and her family.

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My sister
Amy was very close friends with her.

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Kara lost her mom, kit.

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I believe she was nine, to cancer.

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And a few years later, when,
my mom passed away, so we, you know,

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kind of had that.
And in common, growing up.

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Yeah.

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And then she knew how was the deal
with the loss of a loved one?

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So what age did she finally want

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to develop and form this nonprofit?

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Was 2013, 2013.

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So, I mean, at that point,
she was married,

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had kids, and she just knew she wanted to
to give back because

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for a very long time, she felt like
she was the only one that she knew

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that was going through
something like that.

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And as somebody who's lost a mom to when
I was really young, I can relate to that

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because you feel like you're
the only person that I to this day.

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I was like,

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the only person that I know that lost her
mom until I met everybody at empower.

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And that was kind of like
Kara always said,

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she's felt like an alien
on a her own planet.

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Like she didn't have anybody
that she could connect with.

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No one kind of knew what was going
through, what she was going through.

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But in reality, there's a lot of people
that were just like her.

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Yeah. Why do you think that is?

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Is that just a personal inner thought,
or do you know

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people don't want to speak about it
or it's just not out in the open?

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I definitely think that there was a stigma
about not speaking about it,

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even though I was I was growing up
and I, I was 11 when I lost my mom.

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We didn't talk about it.

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I mean, it was not something that,
you know, you brought up with your family.

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It happened and people knew about it.

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But it's also hard to navigate that.

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Like, how do you talk to somebody
who is 11 that did lose its parent?

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Like, what do you even as an adult, like,
you know,

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some adults
would be afraid to say something

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because they weren't
really sure what to say.

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So I think that by changing
this kind of idea of like, it's okay

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to talk about your grief and it's
okay to to know

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that there's other people out there
that like you or that are like you.

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And that's what empower does.

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It connects girls and boys
and helps them support them,

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and it empowers them to say, it's
okay to talk about your grief.

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Yeah. Wow. That's amazing.

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Because I've heard so many people say,
hey, I wish for friends.

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Afeni, our mission is to help

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children and families that need assistance
after heartbreak or tragedy.

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And a lot of people have lost

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their parents were like,
I wish this was around when I was a kid.

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I hear that so many times.

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Or, Afeni, I lost my dad

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and I want to give back to your cause
because it truly hits home.

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So I'm sure you hear that all the time.

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I heard all the time.

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And I also lived it, too.

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You know, I,

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I I've said I wish there was something
like this when I was growing up because

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I always just thought it was normal
not to talk about the death of my mom.

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And that's not that's not the case.

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It's actually really important
to talk about it

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and to connect with people
that are just like you.

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So, yeah, I mean, I,
I was a program coordinator.

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Now I'm, I'm matching people,
you know, with the same type of loss.

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And I always say to the mentors
that I'm match, I'm like, it's yes,

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it's about the youth.

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But also for the mentor, it's

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something that you probably never
even that you never even knew you needed.

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And it's so powerful.

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Wow. Let's

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yeah, get right into becoming a volunteer.

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There's thousands volunteers
programs over here.

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You're looking for mentors, volunteer aged
25 and older,

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that has experienced a loss of a parent
at any age.

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And to become a mentor, you can go to
we empower.org.

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That's a very powerful.

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Yeah. Please. You know, check it out.

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We empower or. Empower.

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We are empower. That or I get dot.

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Org wonderful website.

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It has your story the volunteers
upcoming events I love the website.

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I learned a lot about it.

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And then we're just looking for.

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Yeah, we're also looking for volunteers.

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And if you know someone out there

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that can be helped by this wonderful
organization, please reach out.

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Yes. Same. We are in power.org. Yep, yep.

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So we any youth that has had parent
loss mother father both.

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Sometimes it's both 
we service youth 6 to 24.

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And it's very simple to enroll them.

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Anybody can enroll them.
Somebody from school can enroll them.

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A counselor can enroll them.

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A guardian could enroll them.

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And they just go
right onto the website to enroll,

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and then they get, processed
over to the program coordinators.

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And then we do meet and greets
with the family, so we get to know them.

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And then we also do
the same thing for mentors.

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If you are interested in being a mentor,
same thing.

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You can enroll on the website.

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And we do, you know, meet and greets
with the mentors.

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And then it's a little bit
more comprehensive for the mentors.

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You know, we make sure we do
background checks and we reference checks.

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And, there's a, you know,
training that they have to go to.

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But and then we just then we kind of once

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all that happens, then we kind of look at,
see who would make the best match.

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And we don't just match to match,

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which is something
that's really important to know too.

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We really take into consideration,
likes hobbies.

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You know,
sometimes type of loss is important.

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But that's all taken into consideration.

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Geography is also taken into consideration
because, you know, it is Connecticut.

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It's a small state,
but it's still a far dry

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if if you're, you know,
in the eastern part of Connecticut

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and you're being matches, I mean,
in the western part of Connecticut.

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So that's really important, too.

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I know I was going to say you just don't
randomly put people together.

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There's background
and it's a data driven decision.

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It's a data driven decision.
Yeah. Teacher talk a teacher talk.

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And then how did you get involved, Tom?

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So like I said earlier,
I grew up with Cara.

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Cara was a good friend of my
my sister Amy.

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Cara lost her mom.

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We had moved away.

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Karen. Amy,
you know, kind of stayed in touch.

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They were still friends.

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And then, being in law enforcement,

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I'm a detective in, here in Connecticut.

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And, I have, we had a call

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where a child lost their parent
to suicide.

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And unfortunately, a few years later,
the mother passed away,

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for medical conditions.

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And, you know, knowing
that what Cara was doing for first for

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in power, in power for her, for girls,
I reached out to her and said, you know,

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I have this girl

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that lost, you know, both of her parents
now, and yet they have a son.

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She has a brother as well.

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And I'd really like to see
what we could do.

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And at that point, Cara had said,
you know, I'm trying to work.

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We just got some donations in, and they're
going to work with, boys and girls now.

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So, when she told me that,
I was like, I'm in.

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You know, if I can help, volunteer.

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If I could become a mentor.

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You know, you really have to want it.

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You want to want to be there, and,
you know, like we were talking earlier,

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you have to go through that

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process yourself, and there really wasn't
anything for us back then, you know?

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And I don't think that it just

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wasn't talked about and

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people didn't know how to approach it
with with the young, young kids, you know?

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Yeah.

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I can remember when I was young, again,
I was 12 years old,

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and we, my, my father brought us
to a counseling session.

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And when the counselors crying with you,
when you're supposed to help you,

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it's like, what do you. You know.

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So I was kind of turned off to, 
to any type of, therapy at that point.

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I actually,

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you know, seek the support through,
through school, through school counselors.

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And they were great. And I
if I needed to talk to them.

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So I was able to to work through it.

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Then, you know,
you know, and again, you're talking,

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that there's a stigma about it.

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And, you know,
I've always had that perception,

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somebody always has
it worse off than you.

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I was like, you know, 
why did this happen to me?

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You know, why?

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Why did I lose my mom?
Why did you know? We we have.

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Why do we have to go through this?

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We have such a beautiful family.

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And the following year, school,
I had a friend that lost

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both of her parents.

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So that made me realize, hey, you know

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somebody always has it worse
off than you do.

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You know, people go through families,
go through some tragic events in life,

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but there's always somebody there
that's struggling harder or, you know, or

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dealing with harder, harder stuff doesn't
mean that yours is any less tragic.

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But, you know, you kind of put
that into perspective and it helps you.

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So, through all of that,

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I talked to Cara and said, hey, listen,
anything that I can do in Southington,

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anything I can help with sponsorship and
and being a mentor, and volunteering it.

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Just think it is a great cause.
Have you been a mentor?

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I am scheduled as a mentor,
but I haven't yet.

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Okay.

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Fortunately, like with this young boy
that is in my neighborhood.

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I don't want to say I'm a mentor to him.

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I'm there for him.

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I talked to him here and there, but,

238
00:10:34,500 --> 00:10:38,204
talking with, empower
and and Cara and Christina and everything.

239
00:10:38,371 --> 00:10:41,974
I think it's too close to home
to to be right there with him.

240
00:10:42,475 --> 00:10:45,478
The to serve the purpose of what
their mission is.

241
00:10:45,711 --> 00:10:49,949
But I'm like, whenever I get a match,
I'll take a match on.

242
00:10:49,949 --> 00:10:53,119
And, we're trying to do other events,
which I'm sure we'll talk about,

243
00:10:53,185 --> 00:10:53,919
you know, at some point.

244
00:10:53,919 --> 00:10:57,256
But, I'm just trying to be there for
for whatever they need.

245
00:10:57,256 --> 00:11:00,092
Yeah. And for a mentor,
you need a one year commitment.

246
00:11:00,092 --> 00:11:00,993
Yep. So 40.

247
00:11:00,993 --> 00:11:02,194
Six hours a month.

248
00:11:02,194 --> 00:11:04,630
46 hours a month, one year commitment.
We look at.

249
00:11:04,630 --> 00:11:08,934
And obviously we we always hope that
you'll stay in that person's life forever.

250
00:11:09,168 --> 00:11:11,537
But we basically monitor
you for that one year.

251
00:11:11,537 --> 00:11:15,841
We do a little check ins, you know,
I'll either text you or I will look, call

252
00:11:15,841 --> 00:11:18,978
or have a little zoom call
and just kind of check in and see how

253
00:11:18,978 --> 00:11:20,379
everything is going with the match.

254
00:11:20,379 --> 00:11:22,481
And we decide to base.

255
00:11:22,481 --> 00:11:25,484
Do they go to they go to the movies,
the park, sporting events.

256
00:11:25,484 --> 00:11:26,118
They can do any.

257
00:11:26,118 --> 00:11:27,219
Yep. Anything like that.

258
00:11:27,219 --> 00:11:29,255
So they it depends on like the mentor

259
00:11:29,255 --> 00:11:30,890
and what they like
and what their hobbies are.

260
00:11:30,890 --> 00:11:33,893
I have mentors that go on hikes, you know,
and they do the whole,

261
00:11:33,959 --> 00:11:36,362
you know,
they spend four hours at a clip together.

262
00:11:36,362 --> 00:11:38,964
And I have some mentors
that like to space it out.

263
00:11:38,964 --> 00:11:41,701
And they do like two hours here
and they'll go grab coffee

264
00:11:41,701 --> 00:11:43,235
and then they'll do the two hours
another week

265
00:11:43,235 --> 00:11:45,671
and they'll go to like,
you know, they go biking or something.

266
00:11:45,671 --> 00:11:49,442
So, there's lots of different things
that have to do.

267
00:11:49,442 --> 00:11:51,510
The mentors get a stipend for events.

268
00:11:51,510 --> 00:11:54,513
It is all volunteer driven,
so it's all volunteer.

269
00:11:54,513 --> 00:11:56,148
Yeah. But we do events.

270
00:11:56,148 --> 00:11:57,817
So sometimes if we're hosting an event,

271
00:11:57,817 --> 00:12:00,419
we had a cooking class,
for example, in Southington,

272
00:12:00,419 --> 00:12:04,423
and all the mentors and the mentees
are invited, and that's a free of charge.

273
00:12:04,423 --> 00:12:07,426
So all of our events that we do
are always free of charge to the families,

274
00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,262
and everything we do
is free of charge to the families.

275
00:12:10,262 --> 00:12:13,466
And, but that's also a free of charge
event for the mentors, too,

276
00:12:13,499 --> 00:12:16,135
so they can come to that event
and they can.

277
00:12:16,135 --> 00:12:18,204
We had like 15 girls there and mentors.

278
00:12:18,204 --> 00:12:21,540
So we all does a cookout
and made pizzas and brownies.

279
00:12:21,540 --> 00:12:22,875
And it was like a really great time.

280
00:12:22,875 --> 00:12:26,145
And it just to look around the room
and know that like everybody in

281
00:12:26,145 --> 00:12:29,215
that room
is the same as you is so powerful. Yeah

282
00:12:30,216 --> 00:12:31,450
I love the empower.

283
00:12:31,450 --> 00:12:34,019
Do you, do you know the origin
where we got?

284
00:12:34,019 --> 00:12:36,722
We all know what the word means,
but like why and how.

285
00:12:36,722 --> 00:12:38,657
So it started off as empower her.

286
00:12:38,657 --> 00:12:41,994
So when it first started because
it was just for girls of mother lost

287
00:12:42,027 --> 00:12:43,662
when Cara first started it.

288
00:12:43,662 --> 00:12:48,067
And then once it changed over
to all youth, it changed us to empower.

289
00:12:48,067 --> 00:12:51,237
So I have a feeling it's
probably the same idea that you're kind of

290
00:12:51,237 --> 00:12:55,474
like leading towards, like
being empowered to like, share your story.

291
00:12:56,642 --> 00:12:57,243
No, I love it.

292
00:12:57,243 --> 00:13:00,279
And there's currently 52
kids enrolled in Connecticut. Yep.

293
00:13:00,813 --> 00:13:02,748
So that's boys and girls.

294
00:13:02,748 --> 00:13:05,017
And then we have over about 15 matches
currently.

295
00:13:05,017 --> 00:13:07,920
Right now we have some matches
after the one year mark.

296
00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:09,054
But we stay in touch with them.

297
00:13:09,054 --> 00:13:09,421
Can I,

298
00:13:09,421 --> 00:13:10,956
can they extend the mentorship

299
00:13:10,956 --> 00:13:13,726
after a year
or you just kind of hang out on your own?

300
00:13:13,726 --> 00:13:16,295
Right. So you're just not monitored
so much by us.

301
00:13:16,295 --> 00:13:17,263
But you would they?

302
00:13:17,263 --> 00:13:21,367
I have a lot of matches that are
still very active, and they still,

303
00:13:21,700 --> 00:13:26,138
they're still they're still, you know,
hanging out and doing great things. So.

304
00:13:26,772 --> 00:13:27,339
Yeah, man.

305
00:13:27,339 --> 00:13:29,675
You build that connection, you know? Yeah.

306
00:13:29,675 --> 00:13:33,279
Especially, like Christina saying,
you know, going out

307
00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:37,283
with somebody for, for five hours
a month or two hours in a day.

308
00:13:37,983 --> 00:13:41,453
It it's not that you're just talking about
the grief that you're dealing with.

309
00:13:41,453 --> 00:13:45,024
You're there to support them,
you know, in any way that you can.

310
00:13:45,024 --> 00:13:48,093
I know another, one of our good friends,
Jeff, was a mentor.

311
00:13:48,093 --> 00:13:51,530
And he tells us a story
how he, you know, he helped the boy,

312
00:13:52,264 --> 00:13:55,634
buy a car, and he was like, all right,
show me some cars that you're looking at.

313
00:13:55,634 --> 00:13:58,470
He knows a little bit
more mechanically inclined or whatever.

314
00:13:58,470 --> 00:14:00,573
You know, and he's like,
so it's not just about that.

315
00:14:00,573 --> 00:14:05,110
It's about being there all around for
them, you know, as support in a friend.

316
00:14:06,245 --> 00:14:06,545
Yeah.

317
00:14:06,545 --> 00:14:08,547
You may or may not talk about

318
00:14:08,547 --> 00:14:12,318
your tragedies together,
or you may learn how to tie a tie.

319
00:14:12,318 --> 00:14:13,252
Or fix. A car.

320
00:14:13,252 --> 00:14:15,120
Exactly. It's not like required.

321
00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:17,456
It's not like
you have to talk about the loss.

322
00:14:17,456 --> 00:14:20,459
It just kind of comes up organically,
which we kind of like,

323
00:14:20,492 --> 00:14:23,629
you know, we can encourage mentors
to be like, they're ready for it.

324
00:14:23,629 --> 00:14:26,832
And you know that some things might,
you know, mother's Day,

325
00:14:26,832 --> 00:14:29,869
for example, or Father's Day, for example,
might be difficult.

326
00:14:30,035 --> 00:14:34,473
So kind of like how to navigate
those times or birthdays that come up.

327
00:14:34,473 --> 00:14:37,810
So, I like to try to make sure
the mentors know of dates

328
00:14:37,810 --> 00:14:41,614
that are important to the mentee that
so they're they're

329
00:14:41,614 --> 00:14:44,617
prepared for those tough conversations
that could come up.

330
00:14:44,650 --> 00:14:46,018
It's not that they're required.

331
00:14:47,119 --> 00:14:47,853
Interesting.

332
00:14:47,853 --> 00:14:48,654
Yeah.

333
00:14:48,654 --> 00:14:51,657
Well, I have this shout out
I'd like to read

334
00:14:52,291 --> 00:14:52,992
what minute are we.

335
00:14:52,992 --> 00:14:55,861
So we know the shout out

336
00:14:55,861 --> 00:14:58,831
read my best 14.

337
00:14:59,131 --> 00:15:02,668
Empower is a nonprofit,
and its mission is to help kids, teens

338
00:15:02,668 --> 00:15:05,671
and young adults who experienced
the heartbreaking loss of a parent.

339
00:15:05,871 --> 00:15:09,408
They provide a community of support
through one's life's toughest challenge,

340
00:15:09,675 --> 00:15:11,310
empower host events that offer

341
00:15:11,310 --> 00:15:15,080
peer support and a unique one
on one mentor program with positive role

342
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:18,384
models from the community
who help teach that loss is survivable.

343
00:15:18,884 --> 00:15:21,520
Empower serves over 700 children

344
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:25,157
and young adults with all activities
no charge to the family.

345
00:15:25,157 --> 00:15:29,161
Empower is active in eight regions
across the United States and in London.

346
00:15:29,662 --> 00:15:32,531
If you know a child
who can benefit from empowers mission

347
00:15:32,531 --> 00:15:34,867
or you're interested in mentoring,
please visit.

348
00:15:34,867 --> 00:15:37,403
We empower.org to learn more

349
00:15:38,971 --> 00:15:40,773
how to do that.

350
00:15:40,773 --> 00:15:41,874
We are empowered.

351
00:15:41,874 --> 00:15:43,876
Oh did I to keep jacking that up.

352
00:15:43,876 --> 00:15:45,577
We empower. We are empower.

353
00:15:45,577 --> 00:15:49,682
Yeah, it's the double letter for the
we in the E the power.

354
00:15:49,682 --> 00:15:52,351
That's
why yeah. I think making excuses for me.

355
00:15:52,351 --> 00:15:53,852
But it's not that. It's me.

356
00:15:53,852 --> 00:15:56,522
I appreciate that.

357
00:15:56,522 --> 00:15:57,890
I teach reading third grade.

358
00:15:57,890 --> 00:16:00,893
You know, I know how to read by now, but.

359
00:16:01,126 --> 00:16:02,061
All right, speaking of which.

360
00:16:02,061 --> 00:16:04,029
Now let's see. Let's test your knowledge.

361
00:16:04,029 --> 00:16:07,099
Don't look out. Eight anchor regions.

362
00:16:07,199 --> 00:16:08,334
We're in the southern New England.

363
00:16:08,334 --> 00:16:09,034
I'll give you one.

364
00:16:09,034 --> 00:16:12,805
In southern New England yet
we have Denver, Denver two, New York,

365
00:16:13,372 --> 00:16:14,540
Washington, DC.

366
00:16:14,540 --> 00:16:17,076
Area four Los Angeles five.

367
00:16:17,076 --> 00:16:19,078
North Carolina six.

368
00:16:19,078 --> 00:16:22,081
Chicago seven, and Southeast Florida.

369
00:16:22,081 --> 00:16:23,816
Nice. Yeah.

370
00:16:23,816 --> 00:16:25,818
Those are your eight anchor regions.

371
00:16:25,818 --> 00:16:27,720
Why are those anchor regions?

372
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:29,421
Are they picked for a particular reason?

373
00:16:29,421 --> 00:16:30,889
Do they have friends and network?

374
00:16:30,889 --> 00:16:33,892
I'm sure like Kara's friends
are there to support her in these spot.

375
00:16:33,892 --> 00:16:34,460
Or they're

376
00:16:34,460 --> 00:16:37,696
they're just where they there's
kind of like a lot of mentors and mentees.

377
00:16:37,696 --> 00:16:43,202
Currently we also serve other places
like I have some families

378
00:16:43,202 --> 00:16:46,171
and like Rhode Island, for example,
or even on based in Connecticut,

379
00:16:46,171 --> 00:16:48,240
I still dabble a little bit in Rhode
Island.

380
00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,111
Yep. The thing important to know
too, is like, as program

381
00:16:52,111 --> 00:16:53,579
coordinators, we talk to each other too.

382
00:16:53,579 --> 00:16:55,848
So I have somebody in Stamford right now,

383
00:16:55,848 --> 00:16:59,852
so she might actually be a better match
for somebody in New York.

384
00:17:00,119 --> 00:17:03,288
You know, or I may have
somebody in, like Eastern Connecticut.

385
00:17:03,288 --> 00:17:06,392
They might, be better off
in somebody in Massachusetts.

386
00:17:06,392 --> 00:17:10,796
So there's we have a network of people
that we are always there

387
00:17:10,796 --> 00:17:11,597
to help each other.

388
00:17:11,597 --> 00:17:15,334
And I might say, hey, I have a mentor,
I have a mentee, and we kind of reach

389
00:17:15,334 --> 00:17:16,135
out that way because,

390
00:17:16,135 --> 00:17:19,138
I mean, ultimately our goal is to match
as many people as possible

391
00:17:19,338 --> 00:17:20,773
and to make great matches.

392
00:17:21,740 --> 00:17:24,743
So sometimes that happens across
state lines,

393
00:17:24,943 --> 00:17:26,879
but think it's amazing.

394
00:17:26,879 --> 00:17:27,846
And it's so wild.

395
00:17:27,846 --> 00:17:29,982
I've we've never heard of each other.
I know.

396
00:17:29,982 --> 00:17:33,719
But our we're so close in our alignment
and our goals and missions

397
00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:35,554
and I'm just excited to talk with you.
Christina.

398
00:17:35,554 --> 00:17:36,722
Thank you for being here, Tommy.

399
00:17:36,722 --> 00:17:37,656
Thank you for being here.

400
00:17:37,656 --> 00:17:38,857
For having us on.

401
00:17:38,857 --> 00:17:41,894
This is a wonderful and we're getting
to know each other on the podcast.

402
00:17:41,894 --> 00:17:43,762
That typically doesn't happen either.

403
00:17:43,762 --> 00:17:48,000
And I also want to thank my friend, Katie
for setting this up.

404
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,969
I wish she could be here.
Thank you, Katie, for thinking of you.

405
00:17:50,969 --> 00:17:52,271
She's all right.

406
00:17:52,271 --> 00:17:53,205
She's great.

407
00:17:53,205 --> 00:17:53,906
Her husband?

408
00:17:53,906 --> 00:17:56,208
Yeah, I know him yet.

409
00:17:56,208 --> 00:17:57,609
You have it now. I have, like.

410
00:17:57,609 --> 00:17:59,511
Yeah, now I better than Katie.
Better that you. Don't.

411
00:17:59,511 --> 00:18:00,846
But I have to shout out to Katie, too.

412
00:18:00,846 --> 00:18:03,482
She is, an awesome mentor right now.

413
00:18:03,482 --> 00:18:06,618
And she is, mentoring this young,

414
00:18:06,985 --> 00:18:11,090
the young girl and they are
have such a an amazing connection.

415
00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:14,993
And I've actually heard from the mentees
father as well and saying how

416
00:18:15,727 --> 00:18:18,864
just amazing
Katie is for their whole family.

417
00:18:18,864 --> 00:18:24,837
So it's, it's it's just shows you how much
a mentor really can be is how Katie.

418
00:18:25,104 --> 00:18:26,038
Lost her mom. Right?

419
00:18:26,038 --> 00:18:27,039
She did at an early age.

420
00:18:27,039 --> 00:18:29,808
She did? Yeah. Yeah,
well I just yeah. So yeah.

421
00:18:29,808 --> 00:18:30,709
Complete sense. Yeah.

422
00:18:30,709 --> 00:18:33,045
So that's what said
you need to meet my friend Eric because.

423
00:18:33,045 --> 00:18:35,881
Her dad's kip,
I think. And they have like,

424
00:18:36,849 --> 00:18:38,584
oh, he must have remarried.

425
00:18:38,584 --> 00:18:41,019
But anyway, Katie
would be here to explain.

426
00:18:41,019 --> 00:18:43,222
To you
what her. Husband, we call him Army Dan.

427
00:18:43,222 --> 00:18:44,456
Okay.

428
00:18:44,456 --> 00:18:45,691
Dan has been the.

429
00:18:45,691 --> 00:18:48,060
Well, I was in the Army National Guard.

430
00:18:48,060 --> 00:18:51,096
Dan was in the Army
National Guard, and we.

431
00:18:51,096 --> 00:18:54,099
I don't know if there were two Dan's,
but which Dan are you talking about?

432
00:18:54,099 --> 00:18:56,802
Army. Dan
so shout out to Army Dan. He's our.

433
00:18:56,802 --> 00:18:58,470
I was just busting them.

434
00:18:58,470 --> 00:18:59,404
Katie. Yeah. No.

435
00:18:59,404 --> 00:19:01,573
Wonderful person. Yeah.

436
00:19:01,573 --> 00:19:04,576
Dan Outkick the coverage with that one.

437
00:19:04,643 --> 00:19:07,646
Had some mentors like Nancy
Sohn is the reason we started.

438
00:19:07,746 --> 00:19:09,214
Okay. Friends of Feeney.

439
00:19:09,214 --> 00:19:12,284
She lost her husband, Gabby
Sohn was the student.

440
00:19:13,118 --> 00:19:13,952
Lost her father.

441
00:19:13,952 --> 00:19:16,855
So I thought maybe
those were two great podcasts.

442
00:19:16,855 --> 00:19:18,257
Not podcast mentors.

443
00:19:18,257 --> 00:19:20,526
Yeah, but Nancy was podcast five.

444
00:19:20,526 --> 00:19:23,829
Gabby saw was podcast 27,
and they talked about their experience.

445
00:19:24,062 --> 00:19:27,566
Nancy from a wife
losing husband Gabby about losing a mom.

446
00:19:28,167 --> 00:19:32,171
The John Milnor lost his dad, Alvin
Gilchrest lost their dad.

447
00:19:32,171 --> 00:19:37,409
So just some people that have had loss
and were previously on the podcast.

448
00:19:37,409 --> 00:19:43,315
And Evan was like Evan specifically said,
I mean, I wish this was here when I know.

449
00:19:44,716 --> 00:19:46,151
And that's
kind of like how it happens too.

450
00:19:46,151 --> 00:19:48,420
It's it's like this ripple effect
where you hear like you're like,

451
00:19:48,420 --> 00:19:52,024
oh my gosh, I know
five people that I've just talked to that

452
00:19:52,424 --> 00:19:55,894
have had this happen to them
and they would be great mentors or

453
00:19:55,894 --> 00:19:59,898
I know this family who need some support,
and that's kind of where it happens.

454
00:19:59,998 --> 00:20:02,634
There's a lot of word of mouth
and things like that that happen.

455
00:20:02,634 --> 00:20:05,771
And it just it just you just never know
who is going to be in their room

456
00:20:05,771 --> 00:20:07,339
when you're having these conversations.

457
00:20:07,339 --> 00:20:10,742
And I've learned to
to really talk more about it,

458
00:20:10,742 --> 00:20:12,177
which I didn't always talk about.

459
00:20:12,177 --> 00:20:16,315
But now I do, because I'm realizing
it could really be beneficial to somebody

460
00:20:16,315 --> 00:20:21,086
who didn't know to even ask about it
or to even share that information.

461
00:20:21,787 --> 00:20:23,222
I mean, that's a common bond that

462
00:20:24,256 --> 00:20:26,058
not many people

463
00:20:26,058 --> 00:20:29,261
go through, or just it's
just having something,

464
00:20:29,261 --> 00:20:34,233
knowing that someone has been through
that is a strong start to a relationship.

465
00:20:34,566 --> 00:20:35,601
And I give you a lot of credit.

466
00:20:35,601 --> 00:20:40,505
You both working full time
teacher, police officer, detective.

467
00:20:40,839 --> 00:20:44,109
You know, people always say,
where do you find time for me?

468
00:20:44,109 --> 00:20:46,812
I'm like, well, it's a it's a busy time.

469
00:20:46,812 --> 00:20:49,815
It's a serving a purpose for a good cause.

470
00:20:50,115 --> 00:20:54,453
We could be busy doing nonsense, but we're
trying to help as many people as we can.

471
00:20:55,254 --> 00:20:59,491
So, yeah, we're really excited
to partner, really excited to collaborate.

472
00:20:59,858 --> 00:21:00,626
And again. Again.

473
00:21:00,626 --> 00:21:02,961
I'm so happy that you're here.

474
00:21:02,961 --> 00:21:04,429
Thank you. We are happy to be here.

475
00:21:04,429 --> 00:21:06,431
This is great.
We're excited to collaborate too.

476
00:21:06,431 --> 00:21:09,901
And we have some sponsors I'd like
to shout out Keating Agency insurance

477
00:21:09,901 --> 00:21:14,906
float 41 The Fix Evie
Luna Pizza, Golf Law Group,

478
00:21:14,906 --> 00:21:17,976
people's Bank Parkville Management
and West Hartford Lock.

479
00:21:18,810 --> 00:21:20,545
I think that those ring a bell.
You see any of those?

480
00:21:20,545 --> 00:21:23,382
You know any of those.
I know if you. Yeah.

481
00:21:23,382 --> 00:21:25,751
Cop law firm. She's all she's all over.

482
00:21:25,751 --> 00:21:27,953
I know her from all the billboards. Yeah.

483
00:21:27,953 --> 00:21:29,488
That's brand.

484
00:21:29,488 --> 00:21:31,356
Yeah. Brooke,
thank you for your continued support.

485
00:21:31,356 --> 00:21:34,293
She's wonderful.
She's sponsoring our golf tournament.

486
00:21:34,293 --> 00:21:36,828
She sponsors the podcast.

487
00:21:36,828 --> 00:21:38,864
She was a podcast guest.

488
00:21:38,864 --> 00:21:40,966
Good person, good heart.

489
00:21:40,966 --> 00:21:42,968
And with West Hartford Lock.

490
00:21:42,968 --> 00:21:46,705
What are three keys
that make you a great program coordinator?

491
00:21:47,239 --> 00:21:50,242
Tommy, get ready, because three keys on
a mentor is coming up next.

492
00:21:50,375 --> 00:21:51,176
Three keys.

493
00:21:54,346 --> 00:21:55,147
That one's a tough one.

494
00:21:55,147 --> 00:21:58,150
Probably to be.

495
00:22:02,220 --> 00:22:03,955
I definitely need to get to know
everybody.

496
00:22:03,955 --> 00:22:04,856
We definitely do that.

497
00:22:04,856 --> 00:22:07,759
That's the biggest thing
about being program coordinator.

498
00:22:07,759 --> 00:22:10,996
So being thoughtful
about who you're talking to.

499
00:22:11,596 --> 00:22:14,599
Knowledgeable about empower. Yep.

500
00:22:14,666 --> 00:22:17,235
And I think opening up about your own
loss is really important

501
00:22:17,235 --> 00:22:19,771
because that puts families at ease
right away.

502
00:22:19,771 --> 00:22:24,643
So I always start off with sharing my own
story about my mom and losing my mom.

503
00:22:25,177 --> 00:22:27,612
And that really helps.

504
00:22:27,612 --> 00:22:29,147
Come on through.

505
00:22:29,147 --> 00:22:30,682
You're fine.

506
00:22:30,682 --> 00:22:31,950
Sorry.

507
00:22:31,950 --> 00:22:33,418
You want to pop on?

508
00:22:33,418 --> 00:22:36,421
Oh, okay.

509
00:22:37,222 --> 00:22:38,056
Oh, no.

510
00:22:38,056 --> 00:22:41,059
So, yeah. The personal connection. Yeah.

511
00:22:41,493 --> 00:22:46,164
Being a knowledgeable content knowledge
and knowing.

512
00:22:46,231 --> 00:22:48,467
Yeah. Thoughtful. Knowing the family.
That's teacher.

513
00:22:48,467 --> 00:22:50,535
Teacher. Yeah, yeah, it's too easy.

514
00:22:50,535 --> 00:22:52,871
Yeah. Too good. Great job. Christina.

515
00:22:52,871 --> 00:22:54,106
Thanks, Tommy.

516
00:22:54,106 --> 00:22:57,109
Three keys
that make you a great future mentor.

517
00:22:57,376 --> 00:23:04,950
I think number one, you have to want to
be involved in wanting to share your time.

518
00:23:04,950 --> 00:23:10,956
Share your your experiences,
sharing your loss, with your mentee.

519
00:23:10,956 --> 00:23:16,261
Number two, being there for them
outside of the loss, you know, again,

520
00:23:16,261 --> 00:23:20,699
like I told you, that it's really, 
not just about the grief.

521
00:23:20,699 --> 00:23:25,804
It's about, you know, making, in my case,
that young man grow up to be a strong

522
00:23:25,804 --> 00:23:30,108
man, young woman, you know, young girl
growing up to be a strong woman.

523
00:23:30,942 --> 00:23:33,345
You know, and I think that,

524
00:23:34,546 --> 00:23:37,649
those, those
core values, you have to have that to,

525
00:23:37,682 --> 00:23:41,887
to really put in the mentorship,
to be there for them.

526
00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:43,255
Yeah. That's only two. Really?

527
00:23:43,255 --> 00:23:47,893
Well, I got to get another one.

528
00:23:52,631 --> 00:23:53,999
I don't have a third, I think.

529
00:23:53,999 --> 00:23:54,800
Phone a. Friend.

530
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:55,367
Yeah, right.

531
00:23:55,367 --> 00:23:58,370
I think that, you know, again, I don't

532
00:23:58,503 --> 00:24:00,205
I don't even want to say
that it's a passion.

533
00:24:00,205 --> 00:24:04,142
It's really has to come from your heart
to to do something like this

534
00:24:04,142 --> 00:24:06,044
and to be there
for, like. A calling or, you.

535
00:24:06,044 --> 00:24:07,379
Know, those are the those.

536
00:24:07,379 --> 00:24:09,281
That's the reason why I'm here today.

537
00:24:09,281 --> 00:24:11,283
You know, they asked what I would do.

538
00:24:11,283 --> 00:24:14,319
Come and join Christina
and and it's absolutely I want to get

539
00:24:14,319 --> 00:24:18,390
the word out there that that people,
you know, that we're here for families.

540
00:24:18,390 --> 00:24:19,524
We're here for kids.

541
00:24:19,524 --> 00:24:23,962
A mother lost or father lost,
you know, so, so I have a third one.

542
00:24:24,429 --> 00:24:27,098
Yeah. I mean, I think passion. Yeah.

543
00:24:27,098 --> 00:24:28,600
Yeah, definitely. Well, yeah.

544
00:24:29,768 --> 00:24:30,335
Those are great.

545
00:24:30,335 --> 00:24:33,338
Three keys I know I felt,

546
00:24:34,739 --> 00:24:35,807
now I feel, I don't know,

547
00:24:35,807 --> 00:24:39,010
I feel weird because I'm like, oh,
my parents were divorced, right.

548
00:24:39,077 --> 00:24:40,745
But you guys lost a parent.

549
00:24:40,745 --> 00:24:43,748
So that's like, I, I empathize knowing how

550
00:24:44,182 --> 00:24:47,586
it could have felt, but I could never
may I say it all the time.

551
00:24:47,586 --> 00:24:50,956
So I, I'm thinking of you, now and

552
00:24:51,723 --> 00:24:55,727
and you know how challenging that must
and difficult that must have been for you.

553
00:24:56,161 --> 00:25:00,932
But I think it's very powerful
and commendable that you're giving back.

554
00:25:00,932 --> 00:25:02,801
So thank you again.

555
00:25:02,801 --> 00:25:05,570
We're going to keep thanking you
for being here.

556
00:25:05,570 --> 00:25:06,571
Thank you for having us.

557
00:25:06,571 --> 00:25:07,239
Yeah.

558
00:25:07,239 --> 00:25:09,608
And, no, I'm having a good time chatting.

559
00:25:09,608 --> 00:25:12,711
Let's talk about your event.

560
00:25:12,777 --> 00:25:14,679
Big event coming. Up.
You have a big event.

561
00:25:14,679 --> 00:25:16,214
Aqua turf. Aqua turf.

562
00:25:16,214 --> 00:25:19,251
Great sponsors,
great people at the Aqua Turf. Yes.

563
00:25:19,818 --> 00:25:21,586
Southington, Connecticut.

564
00:25:21,586 --> 00:25:23,054
Shout out to Southington.

565
00:25:23,054 --> 00:25:25,290
Southington? Yeah. Are you
from where you were born and raised?

566
00:25:26,324 --> 00:25:27,392
All over, actually.

567
00:25:27,392 --> 00:25:29,494
But I'm now down to the shoreline.

568
00:25:29,494 --> 00:25:33,331
I'm in Old Saybrook, but I grew up in
Stafford, so up here a little bit.

569
00:25:33,698 --> 00:25:34,533
And what do you teach?

570
00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:36,735
I teach in Madison right now. And or.

571
00:25:36,735 --> 00:25:38,570
No, Polson Middle School.

572
00:25:38,570 --> 00:25:41,273
And then I'm also
at the intermediate school. Brown.

573
00:25:41,273 --> 00:25:43,008
Nice. Yeah.

574
00:25:43,008 --> 00:25:44,709
Is hand the only high school.

575
00:25:44,709 --> 00:25:45,544
Hands the only high school.

576
00:25:45,544 --> 00:25:45,810
Okay.

577
00:25:45,810 --> 00:25:50,115
Because one of my former students
and neighbors, my neighbor Tom

578
00:25:51,416 --> 00:25:54,352
Dominic Cork, Thomas Cork is a teacher
at the high school, Madison.

579
00:25:54,352 --> 00:25:58,189
He drives to Madison
every day from West Hartford to drive.

580
00:25:58,990 --> 00:26:00,792
Yeah.

581
00:26:00,792 --> 00:26:02,193
And then Southington.

582
00:26:02,193 --> 00:26:05,497
We did some shout outs
on, you know, aqua turf.

583
00:26:05,931 --> 00:26:07,399
Sam the clams.

584
00:26:07,399 --> 00:26:09,901
Is there a new brewery in Southington?

585
00:26:09,901 --> 00:26:13,972
You got, 
I don't know if not New Kinsman Brewing.

586
00:26:14,005 --> 00:26:16,308
Witchdoctor Brewing. Yeah.

587
00:26:16,308 --> 00:26:17,142
What else do we have?

588
00:26:18,510 --> 00:26:19,110
I think there's a seat.

589
00:26:19,110 --> 00:26:20,845
That's your territory? Yeah.

590
00:26:20,845 --> 00:26:21,813
I don't get out much anymore.

591
00:26:21,813 --> 00:26:24,783
I got tickets, yeah.

592
00:26:25,116 --> 00:26:25,817
Do you have children?

593
00:26:25,817 --> 00:26:27,752
I do, I have two boys.

594
00:26:27,752 --> 00:26:28,353
Two boys.

595
00:26:28,353 --> 00:26:29,588
I have twin girls.

596
00:26:29,588 --> 00:26:31,423
Yes. Two girls, two girls.

597
00:26:31,423 --> 00:26:32,190
Girl. Dad.

598
00:26:32,190 --> 00:26:34,492
Yeah. My my son's name is Eric.

599
00:26:34,492 --> 00:26:35,360
He was very excited.

600
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:37,095
And he's beating another Eric.

601
00:26:37,095 --> 00:26:40,098
Great name kid and proud.

602
00:26:40,098 --> 00:26:41,299
I gotta say, even.

603
00:26:41,299 --> 00:26:42,300
With a C or okay.

604
00:26:42,300 --> 00:26:44,436
With a C, I. Like this guy.

605
00:26:44,436 --> 00:26:46,171
Just like Eric.

606
00:26:46,171 --> 00:26:48,006
Eric? Yeah.

607
00:26:48,006 --> 00:26:50,275
Man. He's going to grow up
to be a fantastic human being.

608
00:26:50,275 --> 00:26:52,310
Oh damn it. Yeah.

609
00:26:52,310 --> 00:26:54,913
So the the luminary.

610
00:26:54,913 --> 00:26:57,916
Luminaria. The luminaria. Yeah, I know.

611
00:26:57,949 --> 00:27:01,353
I need that hyphenated luminaria. Yes.

612
00:27:01,519 --> 00:27:04,322
Event. Thursday, May 29th.

613
00:27:04,322 --> 00:27:05,457
Aqua turf.

614
00:27:05,457 --> 00:27:07,892
Yep. For sure. By Bob Maxon.

615
00:27:07,892 --> 00:27:08,693
Except that.

616
00:27:08,693 --> 00:27:09,661
Yep. So there are event.

617
00:27:09,661 --> 00:27:12,397
The gala is on the 29th of May.

618
00:27:12,397 --> 00:27:13,932
There's two parts.

619
00:27:13,932 --> 00:27:17,569
So one is the luminaria, which is outside,
which is open to the general public.

620
00:27:17,902 --> 00:27:21,339
Or you can also purchase tickets
for our gala event or.

621
00:27:21,339 --> 00:27:22,140
Same day.

622
00:27:22,140 --> 00:27:22,607
Same. Day.

623
00:27:22,607 --> 00:27:25,510
So you kind of do the luminary
and then move in. You got it. Yeah.

624
00:27:25,510 --> 00:27:27,879
I was that when you like a bag
and put a flower in a.

625
00:27:27,879 --> 00:27:29,447
Bag or so they do a candle. Yep.

626
00:27:29,447 --> 00:27:30,949
So they align. It's very nice.

627
00:27:30,949 --> 00:27:31,483
The gardens.

628
00:27:31,483 --> 00:27:34,252
If you've ever been to Aqua Turf
or anything, they have beautiful gardens.

629
00:27:34,252 --> 00:27:34,519
Yeah.

630
00:27:34,519 --> 00:27:34,986
So they line

631
00:27:34,986 --> 00:27:39,491
all of the gardens with these bags
and has, your loved one's name on it.

632
00:27:39,658 --> 00:27:42,293
It could be a memory
or an honor of somebody.

633
00:27:42,293 --> 00:27:42,627
Okay.

634
00:27:42,627 --> 00:27:45,630
And, right
when it gets to be right about dusk time.

635
00:27:45,730 --> 00:27:46,765
If anybody's in the gala

636
00:27:46,765 --> 00:27:48,366
that would like to go out
to see luminaria,

637
00:27:48,366 --> 00:27:51,302
they kind of like, venture
out to the gardens and they love it.

638
00:27:51,302 --> 00:27:54,973
So yeah, it's it's it's a it's
absolutely beautiful if you've never.

639
00:27:55,140 --> 00:27:57,475
Yeah.
We had Deb and Gary from for all ages.

640
00:27:57,475 --> 00:27:58,677
They're another nonprofit.

641
00:27:58,677 --> 00:28:03,248
They help partnering
the retiring community with young people

642
00:28:03,248 --> 00:28:04,215
through pen pals.

643
00:28:04,215 --> 00:28:07,419
But they do a, a luminary thing
in Simsbury, I think.

644
00:28:07,419 --> 00:28:10,422
But I think that's awesome. Beautiful.

645
00:28:10,722 --> 00:28:13,224
This must be great for pictures.

646
00:28:13,224 --> 00:28:15,460
It's beautiful actually.
So. Okay. That's it.

647
00:28:15,460 --> 00:28:17,896
Yeah, that's kind of like what it's on
right there. We're going to have we're.

648
00:28:17,896 --> 00:28:20,632
Going to get a nicer picture to
this is going to be right here. Boom.

649
00:28:20,632 --> 00:28:22,400
Yeah. Stephania boom.

650
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:26,538
So and there's also living area
in many other different places too

651
00:28:26,571 --> 00:28:29,340
then I know there's this is nationwide.

652
00:28:29,340 --> 00:28:29,708
Yeah.

653
00:28:29,708 --> 00:28:32,477
So if you want different nights
different nights different locations.

654
00:28:32,477 --> 00:28:34,279
So there might even be one that you are.

655
00:28:34,279 --> 00:28:36,781
Have you. Been to one outside
of the Connecticut. One?

656
00:28:36,781 --> 00:28:38,583
I have not, I've only been to Connecticut.

657
00:28:38,583 --> 00:28:41,853
Actually, this is actually Connecticut's
only, second luminaria.

658
00:28:42,253 --> 00:28:44,956
Boston is a is very big.

659
00:28:44,956 --> 00:28:47,225
I know Washington DC was very big.

660
00:28:47,225 --> 00:28:50,128
I was this. A real word? Luminaria.
Did you guys make that up?

661
00:28:50,128 --> 00:28:52,197
Yeah, I don't know. I it was a real world.

662
00:28:53,665 --> 00:28:54,199
I only teach.

663
00:28:54,199 --> 00:29:00,238
Third grade, so, And how many years?

664
00:29:00,238 --> 00:29:01,473
This is the second annual.

665
00:29:01,473 --> 00:29:05,143
So this is our third annual gala gala,
but our second annual.

666
00:29:05,143 --> 00:29:07,712
I'm doing luminaria in Connecticut.

667
00:29:07,712 --> 00:29:08,046
Yeah.

668
00:29:08,046 --> 00:29:10,315
And you could also be a sponsor.

669
00:29:10,315 --> 00:29:12,350
And there's a sponsor sheet. Yep.

670
00:29:12,350 --> 00:29:14,419
Get it in soon because it's May 29th.

671
00:29:14,419 --> 00:29:16,221
May 29th. That's right.

672
00:29:16,221 --> 00:29:17,989
Yeah. April's around the corner.
That's right.

673
00:29:17,989 --> 00:29:20,191
Definitely looking for sponsors. Yeah.

674
00:29:20,191 --> 00:29:23,394
We got the champion, sponsor,
trailblazer, legacy,

675
00:29:23,394 --> 00:29:26,397
visionary, innovator,
ambassador and friend.

676
00:29:26,831 --> 00:29:28,800
So this is our only fundraiser
for the whole year

677
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:30,935
that we do for the state of Connecticut,
in the state of Connecticut.

678
00:29:30,935 --> 00:29:34,172
And, you know, as you mentioned before,
all of our programing is free

679
00:29:34,172 --> 00:29:37,108
for all of our families.
So this is why it's really important.

680
00:29:37,108 --> 00:29:38,943
It's also a lot of fun at the event to,

681
00:29:38,943 --> 00:29:41,980
you know, like you said, Bob
Maxon is going to be our MC this year.

682
00:29:42,580 --> 00:29:44,916
We have lots of silent auction items.

683
00:29:44,916 --> 00:29:46,451
We have raffles.

684
00:29:46,451 --> 00:29:49,454
Usually do, like,
a text to give during the event as well.

685
00:29:49,587 --> 00:29:54,058
And of course, I mean, the food
and the appetizers are, top notch. Yep.

686
00:29:54,292 --> 00:29:58,363
So we have been to a couple proms,
couple of weddings, aqua turf.

687
00:29:58,530 --> 00:30:00,565
They know how to do it.
The food is amazing.

688
00:30:00,565 --> 00:30:03,568
And thank you, Aqua Turf,
for being such generous sponsors.

689
00:30:03,935 --> 00:30:07,639
It's 630 to 10 May 29th.

690
00:30:07,806 --> 00:30:10,308
Yeah. Doesn't really say cost per ticket.

691
00:30:10,308 --> 00:30:12,410
So it's $75 for one ticket.

692
00:30:12,410 --> 00:30:14,379
Or you can get two tickets for 100.

693
00:30:14,379 --> 00:30:17,382
Oh, you can also buy a table
of ten for a thousand.

694
00:30:17,615 --> 00:30:18,116
Nice.

695
00:30:19,384 --> 00:30:19,584
Yeah.

696
00:30:19,584 --> 00:30:20,118
It's all.

697
00:30:20,118 --> 00:30:24,889
And you can also buy your luminaria bags
to their $25 for, a bag for a limo.

698
00:30:24,889 --> 00:30:27,625
Okay. Yeah.
And you can do that all on our website.

699
00:30:27,625 --> 00:30:30,628
There's a link right there.
That's amazing.

700
00:30:30,728 --> 00:30:32,730
Well, I'm going to check my schedule.

701
00:30:32,730 --> 00:30:35,066
Well, we're going to attend.
We're going to write you down.

702
00:30:35,066 --> 00:30:36,734
I really appreciate the invitation.

703
00:30:36,734 --> 00:30:38,203
This truly means a lot.

704
00:30:38,203 --> 00:30:40,572
Both to me and I are both on the committee
for that too.

705
00:30:40,572 --> 00:30:42,974
So we're working on planning that take.

706
00:30:42,974 --> 00:30:45,443
So when we start like November.

707
00:30:45,443 --> 00:30:47,912
November this year,
we started. For something in May. Yeah.

708
00:30:47,912 --> 00:30:50,481
For something in May. Yeah. So we've been.
We do a golf tournament.

709
00:30:50,481 --> 00:30:51,883
You start.

710
00:30:51,883 --> 00:30:53,785
Yeah. Nine months before the event.

711
00:30:53,785 --> 00:30:56,321
I mean there's so much in like June
probably not.

712
00:30:56,321 --> 00:30:58,590
So much probably the day after the last.

713
00:30:58,590 --> 00:30:59,757
The day after the last one. Yeah.

714
00:30:59,757 --> 00:31:00,692
It's been there done that.

715
00:31:00,692 --> 00:31:02,794
So getting the date set
we actually get that date.

716
00:31:02,794 --> 00:31:04,028
So we're like all right get this.

717
00:31:04,028 --> 00:31:05,230
Month's full speed ahead.

718
00:31:05,230 --> 00:31:07,031
Just be the head. Yes.

719
00:31:07,031 --> 00:31:10,301
All right $25 a bag, $75 a ticket or,

720
00:31:11,102 --> 00:31:13,872
100 for two. Yep.

721
00:31:13,872 --> 00:31:16,174
Bob, Max is funny.
I like him a lot. He's great.

722
00:31:16,174 --> 00:31:17,942
Yeah, I think his wife's in education.

723
00:31:17,942 --> 00:31:19,410
Yeah, it could be wrong.

724
00:31:19,410 --> 00:31:21,512
Had drinks at one of them
at Frieda's in Mex.

725
00:31:21,512 --> 00:31:24,515
And, it's a Mexican restaurant
in West Hartford.

726
00:31:24,616 --> 00:31:26,684
Funny guy. Yeah.

727
00:31:26,684 --> 00:31:29,954
So, yeah, he we're very we're very excited
to have him on board this year.

728
00:31:29,954 --> 00:31:31,723
How is he as a meteorologist?

729
00:31:31,723 --> 00:31:34,092
What do you think his percentages are, is
he is he a good one?

730
00:31:34,092 --> 00:31:36,527
I mean, I think he's pretty good. Yeah.

731
00:31:36,527 --> 00:31:39,530
They're Connecticut's
most reliable weather team, right?

732
00:31:40,331 --> 00:31:42,800
Oh, he's our sponsor, right? Yeah.

733
00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:47,038
I think he's one of the best
meteorologists that ever. Yes,

734
00:31:48,573 --> 00:31:49,908
I love it.

735
00:31:49,908 --> 00:31:52,911
Bob. Maxon,
we got to send this clip to Bob. Max.

736
00:31:52,977 --> 00:31:55,413
Bob, Max. And you're a good friend. Yes.

737
00:31:55,413 --> 00:31:56,214
Be a good friend.

738
00:31:56,214 --> 00:31:56,881
That's our motto.

739
00:31:56,881 --> 00:31:59,050
Be a good friend. Hold the door.

740
00:31:59,050 --> 00:32:00,685
Pick up trash is not yours.

741
00:32:00,685 --> 00:32:03,988
Give compliments,
be charitable and host events. Bob.

742
00:32:03,988 --> 00:32:05,423
So thank you, Bob.

743
00:32:05,423 --> 00:32:08,559
And, this is great
and I hope to be there.

744
00:32:09,761 --> 00:32:10,862
I'm going to check the schedule.

745
00:32:10,862 --> 00:32:11,863
Maybe Matt could come too.

746
00:32:11,863 --> 00:32:14,132
This is Matt.
He's on the board of directors.

747
00:32:14,132 --> 00:32:15,166
We want Matt.

748
00:32:15,166 --> 00:32:16,167
He's going to need a picture of you.

749
00:32:16,167 --> 00:32:17,268
After he.

750
00:32:17,268 --> 00:32:20,271
Does the, our thumbnails.

751
00:32:20,605 --> 00:32:24,409
Have you collaborated
with any other podcasts?

752
00:32:24,409 --> 00:32:27,412
Not that,
excuse me, podcast or nonprofits.

753
00:32:27,578 --> 00:32:29,747
So we've done a little work with The Cove.

754
00:32:29,747 --> 00:32:32,116
And Connecticut. They are,

755
00:32:33,117 --> 00:32:33,685
kind of the same

756
00:32:33,685 --> 00:32:37,522
idea of the mission is about parent loss,
but they're more therapeutic.

757
00:32:37,522 --> 00:32:38,823
We're not therapeutic.

758
00:32:38,823 --> 00:32:41,993
So, I've worked with, Brooke
Fine's over there,

759
00:32:41,993 --> 00:32:44,462
who's a program coordinator,
and we've kind of talked a little bit,

760
00:32:44,462 --> 00:32:46,864
kind of like, you do what I don't do,
and I do what you don't do.

761
00:32:46,864 --> 00:32:49,767
So I'll send you families.
You send me families. Nice.

762
00:32:49,767 --> 00:32:52,437
So that's been a great partnership.
How long is that collaboration?

763
00:32:52,437 --> 00:32:54,639
We're going a little bit over a year
now, so. Yeah.

764
00:32:54,639 --> 00:32:56,240
And where's the cove out of.

765
00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:58,543
They have like 4 or 5 different locations.

766
00:32:58,543 --> 00:33:00,278
I think there's one.
I'd actually at a West Hartford.

767
00:33:00,278 --> 00:33:02,847
I know there's one
two down in Madison area.

768
00:33:02,847 --> 00:33:04,415
So they're all over
the state of Connecticut.

769
00:33:04,415 --> 00:33:05,917
So it's really nice. So.

770
00:33:05,917 --> 00:33:08,820
So, Brooke, maybe Brooke Vines
could be a podcast guest.

771
00:33:08,820 --> 00:33:11,055
So that would be a go.
That would be a good guest.

772
00:33:11,055 --> 00:33:11,789
Be a good friend.

773
00:33:11,789 --> 00:33:14,459
Be a friend of Feeney. I'll,
I'll share your info.

774
00:33:14,459 --> 00:33:15,526
Please do.

775
00:33:15,526 --> 00:33:18,062
Well, that's.
No, there's always strength in numbers.

776
00:33:18,062 --> 00:33:21,332
And when there's a collaboration piece,
that's when you reach

777
00:33:21,332 --> 00:33:24,635
more people and your cover and
bases that, like you said,

778
00:33:25,837 --> 00:33:27,572
you do the mentorship,

779
00:33:27,572 --> 00:33:30,975
they do something else,
and you come together for a common good.

780
00:33:31,275 --> 00:33:33,878
So thank you for that. Yeah,

781
00:33:33,878 --> 00:33:36,881
I know because it says,

782
00:33:37,048 --> 00:33:38,649
oh, 1 in 12

783
00:33:38,649 --> 00:33:42,687
children experienced death of a parent
or sibling before the age of 18.

784
00:33:42,687 --> 00:33:45,390
Yeah. Geez. That's like.

785
00:33:45,390 --> 00:33:46,457
Startling for. Real.

786
00:33:46,457 --> 00:33:49,460
Like, yeah, that's so real. For real.

787
00:33:49,660 --> 00:33:51,529
Yeah.

788
00:33:51,529 --> 00:33:54,532
So it's very important
that you empower does.

789
00:33:54,832 --> 00:33:55,099
Yeah.

790
00:33:55,099 --> 00:33:55,933
And I mean,

791
00:33:55,933 --> 00:33:57,602
we just started talking about it
and even you're like,

792
00:33:57,602 --> 00:34:00,271
oh, I know what this person
and that person and that's kind of like

793
00:34:00,271 --> 00:34:04,175
it's it's just it's there's
so many people that are impacted by it.

794
00:34:04,175 --> 00:34:07,745
So when you really start to like
look at it, you're like, oh wow.

795
00:34:07,745 --> 00:34:09,113
There's a there's a lot more people.

796
00:34:09,113 --> 00:34:13,351
There's there's people that are just like
me and that's really the whole point,

797
00:34:13,451 --> 00:34:16,921
you know, like to really let
other people know that they're not alone.

798
00:34:17,221 --> 00:34:19,323
Yeah, you're going to get through this
and it's survivable.

799
00:34:19,323 --> 00:34:21,025
I think it's the biggest thing

800
00:34:21,025 --> 00:34:23,661
a lot of you think, I don't know how
I'm going to survive this.

801
00:34:23,661 --> 00:34:27,331
And it's like when you get somebody
like Tommy as your mentor and you're like,

802
00:34:27,331 --> 00:34:28,433
oh, you're amazing.

803
00:34:28,433 --> 00:34:30,568
You know, like, I'm
going to you're going to be okay.

804
00:34:30,568 --> 00:34:33,404
And it's you're, you're it's survival. So

805
00:34:34,705 --> 00:34:35,373
I yeah,

806
00:34:35,373 --> 00:34:38,443
I was actually I was partnered,
I was a mentee and a mentor.

807
00:34:38,443 --> 00:34:41,446
I'm still a mentor, I should say to that's
how I started in power.

808
00:34:41,612 --> 00:34:45,316
And it was actually during Covid
when I was met with matched up

809
00:34:45,316 --> 00:34:47,518
and we were did,

810
00:34:47,518 --> 00:34:50,054
my mentee actually lives in New Mexico.

811
00:34:50,054 --> 00:34:50,822
So we did it.

812
00:34:50,822 --> 00:34:52,623
We were one of the first virtual matches,
because that's

813
00:34:52,623 --> 00:34:55,259
what we kind of
had a pivot during like Covid.

814
00:34:55,259 --> 00:34:56,027
And we did.

815
00:34:56,027 --> 00:34:56,461
We matched.

816
00:34:56,461 --> 00:35:00,364
I'm, matched with Abby in New Mexico,
in Albuquerque area.

817
00:35:00,364 --> 00:35:01,199
And we still talk.

818
00:35:01,199 --> 00:35:04,202
And, you know, I just I'll send her
things like, now it's, you know, it's

819
00:35:04,202 --> 00:35:07,371
been a few years now,
but she's from Southington originally.

820
00:35:07,371 --> 00:35:09,540
Okay. So I've actually met her in person
a couple times.

821
00:35:09,540 --> 00:35:12,543
She's come to our,
gala event a couple years ago.

822
00:35:12,677 --> 00:35:13,644
I know her grandmother.

823
00:35:13,644 --> 00:35:14,879
She's in Southington,

824
00:35:14,879 --> 00:35:17,582
but it's kind of funny
because it's like you don't really notice,

825
00:35:17,582 --> 00:35:19,717
you know, how much you're going to have,
like, an impact on something.

826
00:35:19,717 --> 00:35:20,418
Yeah.

827
00:35:20,418 --> 00:35:23,254
She's texted me

828
00:35:23,254 --> 00:35:26,757
maybe a month ago and said, hey,
I did that thing that you told me to do

829
00:35:26,791 --> 00:35:31,996
where I was having a really hard day,
and I wrote a letter to my mom and I.

830
00:35:32,463 --> 00:35:33,731
We're a little bit of a time difference.

831
00:35:33,731 --> 00:35:35,133
So I was sleeping when she texted.

832
00:35:35,133 --> 00:35:38,402
She had texted it and I woke up
and I would just started, like, crying

833
00:35:38,402 --> 00:35:42,006
because I'm just like,
you just don't know what you like,

834
00:35:42,006 --> 00:35:43,274
how much of an impact
you're going to have.

835
00:35:43,274 --> 00:35:45,610
And sometimes they're teenagers
and they don't tell you.

836
00:35:45,610 --> 00:35:49,680
But that moment when I was like,
it was all worth it,

837
00:35:49,714 --> 00:35:52,316
like every,
every little bit that I do. And I'm like.

838
00:35:52,316 --> 00:35:54,218
You probably said it like way before.

839
00:35:54,218 --> 00:35:57,155
It took some time to process, way before
it was like she.

840
00:35:57,155 --> 00:35:59,090
Did it when she was ready. Yeah.

841
00:35:59,090 --> 00:35:59,690
And when she was.

842
00:35:59,690 --> 00:36:00,124
She knew you.

843
00:36:00,124 --> 00:36:02,927
She heard you and she. Heard me
and she shared. Yeah.

844
00:36:02,927 --> 00:36:03,895
It was just wow.

845
00:36:03,895 --> 00:36:06,697
It was amazing. Validating it. Yeah. Firm.

846
00:36:06,697 --> 00:36:07,832
But that's amazing.

847
00:36:07,832 --> 00:36:09,834
I love the personal story.

848
00:36:09,834 --> 00:36:12,136
So thank you for sharing
that. That's great. And,

849
00:36:13,204 --> 00:36:15,273
yeah,
because everyone handles it different.

850
00:36:15,273 --> 00:36:17,508
But your advice worked for you.

851
00:36:17,508 --> 00:36:20,678
And then maybe she had time to process
and then she tried it.

852
00:36:20,678 --> 00:36:24,248
So no, I worked in a group of students,

853
00:36:24,348 --> 00:36:27,752
when I was at college
at southern Group of ten kids.

854
00:36:28,319 --> 00:36:30,388
And, you know, that was 30 years ago.

855
00:36:30,388 --> 00:36:34,358
And I'm still in touch with maybe 2 or 3
so that that bond lasts forever.

856
00:36:34,759 --> 00:36:36,627
So I know the strength on that.

857
00:36:36,627 --> 00:36:40,831
It was a single family home
and, you know, lived in the Church Street

858
00:36:40,831 --> 00:36:44,635
cell projects,
in and out of incarceration.

859
00:36:44,635 --> 00:36:47,138
But we're like, I'm there for him
if he needs me.

860
00:36:47,138 --> 00:36:49,974
So I just know that that bond forever.

861
00:36:49,974 --> 00:36:51,943
He's like my exactly like a kid.

862
00:36:51,943 --> 00:36:53,311
My child almost. Yeah.

863
00:36:54,345 --> 00:36:55,680
But the connection is great.

864
00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,081
So, like,

865
00:36:57,081 --> 00:36:57,715
yeah, that's.

866
00:36:57,715 --> 00:36:59,550
We need more of that in this world.

867
00:36:59,550 --> 00:37:00,952
Yeah, I love it.

868
00:37:00,952 --> 00:37:01,953
Yeah.

869
00:37:01,953 --> 00:37:03,721
I told her she's stuck with me forever.

870
00:37:03,721 --> 00:37:05,723
Yeah,
whether she likes it or not, you know.

871
00:37:05,723 --> 00:37:06,490
How old is she now?

872
00:37:06,490 --> 00:37:08,192
She's a senior in high school right now.

873
00:37:08,192 --> 00:37:10,494
So that's a you know, navigating that too.

874
00:37:10,494 --> 00:37:12,797
Like how do you do high school graduation

875
00:37:12,797 --> 00:37:16,767
and you know, and there's going to be time
and I, I recall that too.

876
00:37:16,801 --> 00:37:19,637
Like how do you navigate things like that.
Big milestone moments.

877
00:37:19,637 --> 00:37:22,740
You know, getting engaged,
you know, buying a wedding dress,

878
00:37:22,740 --> 00:37:26,010
having your baby like,
so there's like things that like,

879
00:37:26,010 --> 00:37:29,981
she doesn't even know she's going to need
and just to be like,

880
00:37:29,981 --> 00:37:33,417
somebody who's gone through that
and to navigate that is.

881
00:37:33,851 --> 00:37:36,621
That's how you're going to be her person
for all those big milestones.

882
00:37:36,621 --> 00:37:39,190
Right?
And I'm so happy to be her person. Yeah.

883
00:37:40,691 --> 00:37:42,960
That's great touching.

884
00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,597
Like getting the feels
and getting the feels I love it.

885
00:37:46,597 --> 00:37:49,600
Get the the chills.

886
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,503
I don't want to get personal,

887
00:37:52,503 --> 00:37:55,840
but would you like to share
how that was for you,

888
00:37:56,207 --> 00:38:01,646
how you navigated losing a loved one,
and how if empower

889
00:38:01,646 --> 00:38:05,883
was there for you when you were younger,
how your path may have differed?

890
00:38:05,883 --> 00:38:09,186
I don't know, Tom or,
Christina like to share.

891
00:38:09,787 --> 00:38:10,554
Yeah.

892
00:38:10,554 --> 00:38:10,888
Yeah.

893
00:38:10,888 --> 00:38:13,891
And maybe personally,
like how you lost that person.

894
00:38:13,891 --> 00:38:15,059
If you don't mind sharing that, too.

895
00:38:15,059 --> 00:38:15,192
Yeah.

896
00:38:15,192 --> 00:38:20,598
So, my my mother, Marilyn, passed
when I was 12 years old.

897
00:38:21,132 --> 00:38:23,701
Unfortunately,

898
00:38:23,701 --> 00:38:26,804
my parents had bought a house, 
built a house down there.

899
00:38:26,904 --> 00:38:30,107
And when they built the house, 
my father worked

900
00:38:30,107 --> 00:38:33,277
for a corporation for many,
many years, lost his job.

901
00:38:33,477 --> 00:38:36,013
And two days later, my mom passed away.

902
00:38:36,013 --> 00:38:37,815
Massive heart attack.

903
00:38:37,815 --> 00:38:40,184
You. No, my dad used to say
never sick a day in her life.

904
00:38:40,184 --> 00:38:41,652
She was the entertainment one.

905
00:38:41,652 --> 00:38:44,622
She always want to entertain,
have people at the house and everything.

906
00:38:44,622 --> 00:38:48,926
And it was, so I and my sister
Amy and I were.

907
00:38:48,959 --> 00:38:51,062
We're on vacation with our our cousins,

908
00:38:52,063 --> 00:38:52,730
when it happened.

909
00:38:52,730 --> 00:38:55,466
So my oldest sister, Jen, was there.

910
00:38:55,466 --> 00:38:58,469
Unfortunately, I had to go through and
help my dad with everything that happened.

911
00:38:58,703 --> 00:39:02,340
We got a call the next day
and went home to find out,

912
00:39:02,573 --> 00:39:06,811
and your, you know,
your whole world's upside upside down.

913
00:39:06,811 --> 00:39:10,981
You know, again, at 12 years old,
I sometimes

914
00:39:10,981 --> 00:39:15,319
think, like, if I was older, 
what would you do?

915
00:39:15,319 --> 00:39:16,520
What would I have done differently?

916
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:17,488
And the first thing I would've done

917
00:39:17,488 --> 00:39:19,023
was said,
hey, dad, let's get rid of this house.

918
00:39:19,023 --> 00:39:20,358
You know, this house is, you know,

919
00:39:20,358 --> 00:39:23,761
nice big house that he was able to buy
and afford to build in.

920
00:39:23,994 --> 00:39:26,997
And now you basically got two incomes
lost, you know, and,

921
00:39:27,298 --> 00:39:29,567
and even at that,
we don't need this big space anymore.

922
00:39:29,567 --> 00:39:33,170
Let's try and, you know, so there's
a lot of different things involved in it.

923
00:39:33,170 --> 00:39:35,906
And, 
like I had said earlier, is that the,

924
00:39:36,941 --> 00:39:39,944
the, the grief going through the,
like the therapy of it,

925
00:39:40,544 --> 00:39:44,482
again, I was I was 12 years old,
and this woman's there trying to

926
00:39:45,182 --> 00:39:48,386
help us process this,
and we're passing the tissues around,

927
00:39:48,386 --> 00:39:50,621
and she
she can't even really hold it together.

928
00:39:50,621 --> 00:39:52,723
And so that kind of scarred me
a little bit.

929
00:39:52,723 --> 00:39:55,860
It kind of put me at like, well,
if this how this lady doesn't

930
00:39:55,860 --> 00:39:56,927
seem to be able to help herself,

931
00:39:56,927 --> 00:40:01,031
how she going to help me, you know,
and not that I discredit,

932
00:40:01,031 --> 00:40:04,435
you know, therapy and
and going to talk with somebody I talked

933
00:40:04,435 --> 00:40:07,438
with someone with my work
background and, and everything.

934
00:40:07,571 --> 00:40:10,741
Just at that time,
you didn't have anybody,

935
00:40:10,775 --> 00:40:12,777
didn't have anybody else
that was going through it.

936
00:40:12,777 --> 00:40:16,113
So I want it to be with my, my,
my buddies, you know?

937
00:40:16,113 --> 00:40:20,217
And my dad was like, basically
giving us money to go to the apple

938
00:40:20,217 --> 00:40:23,521
harvest festivals in town and,
you know, to get our minds off it.

939
00:40:23,521 --> 00:40:24,955
That's what he knew.

940
00:40:24,955 --> 00:40:26,757
You know, the best to do. Yeah.

941
00:40:26,757 --> 00:40:27,491
Staying busy.

942
00:40:27,491 --> 00:40:30,127
It was like. A yes,
they busy. Go, hey, go to the movies.

943
00:40:30,127 --> 00:40:31,195
Can we do this? That. So,

944
00:40:32,730 --> 00:40:33,731
it wasn't until I was a

945
00:40:33,731 --> 00:40:36,734
little older till I was like,
okay, I need to.

946
00:40:36,801 --> 00:40:40,638
I need to process this, you know,
and I did

947
00:40:40,638 --> 00:40:44,775
speak out more about it
to friends, family, things like that.

948
00:40:44,775 --> 00:40:49,447
And then, really through my career
in law enforcement, starting to deal

949
00:40:49,447 --> 00:40:52,516
with, different calls, nature's of calls.

950
00:40:53,384 --> 00:40:56,387
You know, it was like,
okay, you know, there's

951
00:40:56,620 --> 00:40:59,690
there's a saying,
you know, that bucket is going to fill up.

952
00:41:00,257 --> 00:41:03,093
And if you don't empty that bucket
yourself, it's going to overflow.

953
00:41:03,093 --> 00:41:08,299
So I'm big and peer support
with the police department with, you know,

954
00:41:08,299 --> 00:41:12,670
dealing with officers with the tragic,
you know, events and situations and stuff.

955
00:41:12,670 --> 00:41:16,640
So that just really
when I started to learn like hey,

956
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,910
I need to take care of myself,
you know so

957
00:41:20,478 --> 00:41:23,481
started seeing a therapist out
and talking and talking about it more.

958
00:41:23,581 --> 00:41:24,482
And that's just it.

959
00:41:24,482 --> 00:41:28,853
Like, if I had that knowledge to know
that, hey, people are there for you,

960
00:41:29,086 --> 00:41:32,790
you know, there's somebody that knows
what you're going through.

961
00:41:33,691 --> 00:41:37,027
I learned at a very early age,
okay, I lost my mom, like I said.

962
00:41:37,027 --> 00:41:41,198
And then it was like, poor me,
why did why did this have to happen to me?

963
00:41:41,465 --> 00:41:46,170
And, you know, a year, year and
a half later, I was like, wow, like this.

964
00:41:46,370 --> 00:41:48,072
This girl just lost both of her parents.

965
00:41:48,072 --> 00:41:50,641
So it's not, you know, I have it bad.

966
00:41:50,641 --> 00:41:51,876
Yeah, somebody else has.

967
00:41:51,876 --> 00:41:54,745
It has worse situations, you know.

968
00:41:54,745 --> 00:41:59,550
So it it's a good program to to.

969
00:42:00,317 --> 00:42:01,185
So say you didn't have.

970
00:42:01,185 --> 00:42:05,356
Sorry to go so you can have the woman
passing around tissues crying.

971
00:42:05,623 --> 00:42:08,158
So you had to empower a mentor there
for you.

972
00:42:08,158 --> 00:42:09,960
Yeah. How do you think your path.

973
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:12,930
So I really think that
that would have changed

974
00:42:13,531 --> 00:42:17,835
my maybe not my perspective on on it from
from what had happened.

975
00:42:18,102 --> 00:42:21,105
But yeah, I think realizing like,
okay, like

976
00:42:21,705 --> 00:42:23,140
I don't know you may saying this right.

977
00:42:23,140 --> 00:42:26,610
Like I can normalize this, in normalizing,
I mean, like

978
00:42:27,177 --> 00:42:29,113
unfortunately it's it's part of life.

979
00:42:29,113 --> 00:42:30,648
It's what happens, right?

980
00:42:30,648 --> 00:42:30,814
Yeah.

981
00:42:30,814 --> 00:42:32,283
Nobody wants it to happen,

982
00:42:32,283 --> 00:42:35,819
but it is a part of life that, you know,
the cards that you're dealt, if you will.

983
00:42:36,053 --> 00:42:37,888
And, you know, this is how.

984
00:42:37,888 --> 00:42:40,324
Hey, listen,
there are ways to cope with this.

985
00:42:40,324 --> 00:42:44,662
You are not, you know, as Kara says,
you are not alone in this grief.

986
00:42:45,129 --> 00:42:47,831
And how you strategically plan mentors
with mentees.

987
00:42:47,831 --> 00:42:50,200
I think they would have match
someone up with you.

988
00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:52,036
So that's what they we try to do is we.

989
00:42:52,036 --> 00:42:54,338
Maybe like sports,
they would have gone to a sports guy.

990
00:42:54,338 --> 00:42:58,609
More specific to, a boy that lost a mom.

991
00:42:58,909 --> 00:43:03,447
So I will be a mentor to a boy
that lost his mother.

992
00:43:03,447 --> 00:43:04,315
Yes. Yeah.

993
00:43:04,315 --> 00:43:08,018
You try and do the same age,
but I mean, if that if the boy was older,

994
00:43:08,052 --> 00:43:09,119
the boy's younger.

995
00:43:09,119 --> 00:43:11,822
At least you're relating to.

996
00:43:11,822 --> 00:43:13,457
I'm a, man.

997
00:43:13,457 --> 00:43:16,560
Or, you know, I was a young boy
that lost his mother as well, so I could.

998
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:19,330
I could say I relate.
I know what you're going through.

999
00:43:19,330 --> 00:43:20,731
Yeah. You know.

1000
00:43:20,731 --> 00:43:20,965
Because.

1001
00:43:20,965 --> 00:43:23,500
Yeah, as a mentee, like, 
what do you know?

1002
00:43:23,500 --> 00:43:25,502
Right. Exactly.
You don't know what I'm going through.

1003
00:43:25,502 --> 00:43:29,373
Well, yes, I know exactly what you're
going through, so that's very strong.

1004
00:43:30,307 --> 00:43:31,275
Yeah.

1005
00:43:31,275 --> 00:43:32,309
Wow. Yeah.

1006
00:43:32,309 --> 00:43:33,811
Thank you for sharing person. Yes. No.

1007
00:43:33,811 --> 00:43:36,213
No problem. And.

1008
00:43:36,213 --> 00:43:38,449
So kind of the same similar.

1009
00:43:38,449 --> 00:43:40,684
But, I was 11 when I lost my mom.

1010
00:43:40,684 --> 00:43:41,552
It was sudden.

1011
00:43:41,552 --> 00:43:44,521
She went to bed, was fine,
and she just never woke up.

1012
00:43:44,521 --> 00:43:47,057
It was, And she died of a heart attack.

1013
00:43:47,057 --> 00:43:49,226
Enlarged heart. So like a heart attack.

1014
00:43:49,226 --> 00:43:50,628
We didn't know she was sick.

1015
00:43:50,628 --> 00:43:56,133
My brother was eight, my sister was one,
and my dad was by himself

1016
00:43:56,133 --> 00:44:00,471
navigating three kids under 11
and it was, you know,

1017
00:44:00,471 --> 00:44:05,643
I basically just kind of stepped up
right away into being that mom role.

1018
00:44:05,643 --> 00:44:10,080
And, 
my sister, you know, was being one a baby.

1019
00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:12,483
There was, you know, I was in sixth grade,

1020
00:44:12,483 --> 00:44:14,818
which it's interesting
because now I'm a sixth grade teacher.

1021
00:44:14,818 --> 00:44:18,155
So if you wonder, like,
did that have some sort of impact

1022
00:44:18,622 --> 00:44:22,893
on where I landed
and I mean, I, I relate to those kids.

1023
00:44:22,893 --> 00:44:24,662
I know those kids, you know very well.

1024
00:44:24,662 --> 00:44:26,864
I know what it's like to be having that,

1025
00:44:26,864 --> 00:44:29,867
you know,
to not have somebody at that age.

1026
00:44:30,100 --> 00:44:34,171
And I think it was hard
because we just never talked about it.

1027
00:44:34,171 --> 00:44:36,273
And I think that it

1028
00:44:36,273 --> 00:44:40,310
and I always thought it was not okay to
talk about it, like I just felt like I was

1029
00:44:40,644 --> 00:44:43,647
it was like almost like
I was embarrassed to talk about it.

1030
00:44:43,981 --> 00:44:47,918
And I think that for all I know,
for a very long time,

1031
00:44:47,918 --> 00:44:50,054
I didn't talk about it,
probably like 27 years.

1032
00:44:50,054 --> 00:44:52,456
I really didn't talk about it
like like I am now.

1033
00:44:52,456 --> 00:44:54,692
Like,
this is like mind blowing that I'm here

1034
00:44:54,692 --> 00:44:58,195
having this conversation with you,
because that just never happened.

1035
00:44:58,595 --> 00:45:02,599
And until I found in power and actually
my husband found it for me, it was

1036
00:45:02,599 --> 00:45:05,936
I was just when it started in Connecticut,
it was right around Mother's Day.

1037
00:45:05,936 --> 00:45:10,140
They were running a piece on the news
and he yelled to me,

1038
00:45:10,140 --> 00:45:11,642
you had to turn the TV on.

1039
00:45:11,642 --> 00:45:14,645
And I turned the TV on
and I saw it, and I was like,

1040
00:45:14,712 --> 00:45:17,681
it was like, I've been waiting for this
my entire life.

1041
00:45:17,681 --> 00:45:19,383
Like, where has this been?

1042
00:45:19,383 --> 00:45:23,687
And as soon as I saw it, I was like,
I need to be involved in this immediately.

1043
00:45:24,088 --> 00:45:27,124
And I applied right away for a man
to be a mentor that day.

1044
00:45:27,124 --> 00:45:31,261
And I just I couldn't wait to, like,
I wanted to be somebody, somebody,

1045
00:45:31,261 --> 00:45:36,133
you know, and I just, I just knew that
I could help somebody because

1046
00:45:37,267 --> 00:45:38,602
I needed I needed to

1047
00:45:38,602 --> 00:45:41,905
as much as I wanted,
you know, it was for me to in a way, and

1048
00:45:42,406 --> 00:45:47,344
to now be here and talking about my mom
and just about how it was a it's

1049
00:45:47,344 --> 00:45:52,282
okay to talk about grief and it's
okay to talk about loss is in powerful.

1050
00:45:52,282 --> 00:45:55,853
And it's just that's
what we want to be with the power.

1051
00:45:55,853 --> 00:45:59,389
And I, I say all the time, man,
I wish somebody could have told me,

1052
00:45:59,423 --> 00:46:02,426
hey, you're going to get through it
like it's survivable.

1053
00:46:02,493 --> 00:46:05,729
And to be able to turn to a girl
and say that to them,

1054
00:46:06,563 --> 00:46:08,031
you're you're going to be okay.

1055
00:46:08,031 --> 00:46:09,299
You're going to get through this.

1056
00:46:09,299 --> 00:46:12,703
You know, there's kind of don't
get me wrong, there's going to be days

1057
00:46:12,703 --> 00:46:18,642
that are terrible and that are really,
really tough, but you're going to be okay.

1058
00:46:18,642 --> 00:46:21,011
And yeah, that's just.

1059
00:46:21,011 --> 00:46:24,181
Yeah, you can't hear inner voices
and us talking.

1060
00:46:24,782 --> 00:46:26,283
This here helps us.

1061
00:46:26,283 --> 00:46:26,750
Yeah.

1062
00:46:26,750 --> 00:46:27,985
This here

1063
00:46:27,985 --> 00:46:31,121
knowing that people are going to hear
and say, hey, listen, we're out here.

1064
00:46:31,121 --> 00:46:32,289
You're not alone.

1065
00:46:32,289 --> 00:46:37,327
We're here to to help you with a
with a mentee or get him become a mentor.

1066
00:46:37,694 --> 00:46:40,097
Like it's therapeutic for our
for us as well.

1067
00:46:40,097 --> 00:46:42,232
Yeah.
We're not a therapeutic organization.

1068
00:46:42,232 --> 00:46:43,400
We're there for people.

1069
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:47,671
But it really is like it's like a two way
street to talk, talking to your mentee

1070
00:46:47,905 --> 00:46:50,808
and in talking to other people
that have dealt with this,

1071
00:46:50,808 --> 00:46:54,411
it takes a little bit of that
weight off to say, yeah, you're not alone.

1072
00:46:54,411 --> 00:46:56,213
And yeah, listen,
we're all helping each other.

1073
00:46:56,213 --> 00:46:58,048
Yeah. Carelessly. They share the weight.

1074
00:46:58,048 --> 00:47:00,484
Yeah, we share the weight with each other.
Share the weight.

1075
00:47:00,484 --> 00:47:01,685
Yeah. Like it.

1076
00:47:01,685 --> 00:47:02,019
And that's.

1077
00:47:02,019 --> 00:47:03,954
We are in power.org.

1078
00:47:03,954 --> 00:47:06,423
Yes we are in power.org.

1079
00:47:06,423 --> 00:47:09,426
Beautiful website,
beautiful things going on.

1080
00:47:09,660 --> 00:47:11,328
Let's talk about the importance of.

1081
00:47:11,328 --> 00:47:15,199
So I didn't really realize it
but now it's like the Mother's Day event.

1082
00:47:15,499 --> 00:47:17,768
Yeah. Everyone.

1083
00:47:17,768 --> 00:47:22,172
That's a huge day for someone that lost
their mom because it's a reminder.

1084
00:47:23,173 --> 00:47:25,709
And so
what goes on at a mother's day event?

1085
00:47:25,709 --> 00:47:29,279
Because their annual and they they seem
to bounce around at different locations.

1086
00:47:29,947 --> 00:47:30,247
Yeah.

1087
00:47:30,247 --> 00:47:33,317
So the last last year
was at Gillette Stadium.

1088
00:47:33,317 --> 00:47:35,652
This year is also going to be
at Gillette Stadium.

1089
00:47:35,652 --> 00:47:40,190
And they anybody with any type of mother
loss, can come.

1090
00:47:40,190 --> 00:47:42,492
So it can be a boy of mother lost
or a girl

1091
00:47:42,492 --> 00:47:45,495
mother
lost can come to the event free of charge.

1092
00:47:45,495 --> 00:47:48,465
And they have a whole day's
planned event starts

1093
00:47:48,465 --> 00:47:51,468
really early in the morning and goes
all the way to the after the afternoon.

1094
00:47:52,202 --> 00:47:53,971
The. That's actually how it started.

1095
00:47:53,971 --> 00:47:57,708
Kara actually originally started with
that was her kind of like, seed idea,

1096
00:47:57,708 --> 00:48:02,279
where she was like, hey, I'm going to take
a couple girls away for the day

1097
00:48:02,279 --> 00:48:07,951
on Mother's Day and just have a good day
because Mother Day is terrible, right?

1098
00:48:07,951 --> 00:48:09,019
Like it's the worst day.

1099
00:48:09,019 --> 00:48:10,320
And it's not just Mother's Day anymore.

1100
00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:11,855
It starts in like April when you see

1101
00:48:11,855 --> 00:48:14,925
all the commercials for Mother's Day,
and it's like the stores have all

1102
00:48:15,058 --> 00:48:16,059
what are you going to buy your mother?

1103
00:48:16,059 --> 00:48:16,693
And it's like,

1104
00:48:16,693 --> 00:48:18,562
or you're your teacher or you're at school

1105
00:48:18,562 --> 00:48:20,397
like, oh,
we're going to make a poem for your mom.

1106
00:48:20,397 --> 00:48:23,667
It's like it's just in your face
all the time.

1107
00:48:23,667 --> 00:48:27,905
So her idea was, I'm
going to take these couple girls,

1108
00:48:27,905 --> 00:48:30,407
we're going to go to a hotel,
we're going to get pampered.

1109
00:48:30,407 --> 00:48:32,676
We're going to I'm going to teach them
how to do their hair

1110
00:48:32,676 --> 00:48:35,545
and their makeup, things
that they might not know how to do.

1111
00:48:35,545 --> 00:48:36,947
And just have a good time.

1112
00:48:36,947 --> 00:48:39,950
And yeah, we can talk about mom
if that comes up, but I want it to be

1113
00:48:39,950 --> 00:48:41,618
just like I want to lighten their load,

1114
00:48:41,618 --> 00:48:44,054
like kind of,
you know, share, share the load for them.

1115
00:48:44,054 --> 00:48:45,622
And that's how it started.

1116
00:48:45,622 --> 00:48:49,593
So now this is like the the anchor event
is the Mother's Day retreat.

1117
00:48:49,593 --> 00:48:50,928
And then when we expanded

1118
00:48:50,928 --> 00:48:54,831
from Empower Her to empower it
now became a Father's Day retreat too.

1119
00:48:54,831 --> 00:48:58,802
So same kind of idea,
still held at Gillette on Father's Day.

1120
00:48:59,403 --> 00:49:01,905
Do you go inside
Gillette or around the outside?

1121
00:49:01,905 --> 00:49:06,476
So there's I'm trying to think,
I actually didn't go to the Gillette.

1122
00:49:06,643 --> 00:49:10,013
We used to have one in Connecticut,
for the past couple of years.

1123
00:49:10,013 --> 00:49:12,382
And then last year
they moved it to Gillette.

1124
00:49:12,382 --> 00:49:16,553
Being a mom, it's hard to go to Gillette
Stadium on Mother's Day, too, because I,

1125
00:49:16,586 --> 00:49:20,357
you know, I have my own two kids now, but,
I know there is.

1126
00:49:20,657 --> 00:49:22,759
They've opened up
different sections of Gillette.

1127
00:49:22,759 --> 00:49:25,629
Like, I know they went into,
like the museum area and they are

1128
00:49:25,629 --> 00:49:27,064
they have huge rooms.

1129
00:49:27,064 --> 00:49:27,631
They're the home.

1130
00:49:27,631 --> 00:49:31,068
Base of we are in
power is in Massachusetts, correct?

1131
00:49:31,368 --> 00:49:32,736
Correct. It's in Massachusetts.

1132
00:49:32,736 --> 00:49:34,972
And there's a, you know, Massachusetts.

1133
00:49:34,972 --> 00:49:36,940
It's a very large chapter.

1134
00:49:36,940 --> 00:49:38,408
So that's where they are doing.

1135
00:49:38,408 --> 00:49:39,843
That's where Kerry's from originally.

1136
00:49:39,843 --> 00:49:43,313
Kerry's from Southington originally,
but now she's in Scituate, Massachusetts.

1137
00:49:43,580 --> 00:49:43,847
Yeah.

1138
00:49:45,082 --> 00:49:45,482
So yeah.

1139
00:49:45,482 --> 00:49:46,783
So the most at most

1140
00:49:46,783 --> 00:49:50,520
there's a lot of like I said,
the chapter for Boston is rather large.

1141
00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:53,123
So they do it in that Boston area.

1142
00:49:53,123 --> 00:49:55,459
But anybody from empower can go.

1143
00:49:55,459 --> 00:49:59,296
So we're actually this year
I'm trying to get some girls to come up

1144
00:49:59,696 --> 00:50:03,066
you know to on that day
to actually our new

1145
00:50:03,433 --> 00:50:06,436
and Jeff Campbell who is amazing.

1146
00:50:06,970 --> 00:50:09,373
He said he drive a van
of all the girls up.

1147
00:50:09,373 --> 00:50:12,275
So, we're, we're going to see
if we can get a bunch of girls

1148
00:50:12,275 --> 00:50:14,611
from Connecticut
to go up this year to to Gillette.

1149
00:50:14,611 --> 00:50:17,581
So it's a long day. It's powerful day.

1150
00:50:17,581 --> 00:50:20,317
But it's it's
one of those bucket filling day

1151
00:50:20,317 --> 00:50:23,320
is for sure when you leave
and you're like, that was amazing.

1152
00:50:23,487 --> 00:50:25,022
And you can look at you like everything.

1153
00:50:25,022 --> 00:50:26,156
Everybody. I'm not alone.

1154
00:50:26,156 --> 00:50:26,590
Not alone.

1155
00:50:26,590 --> 00:50:30,093
It's like key because I've heard it
many times that you felt alone.

1156
00:50:30,093 --> 00:50:32,763
But now when you're surrounded
by so many people.

1157
00:50:32,763 --> 00:50:34,197
Yeah. Not alone.

1158
00:50:34,197 --> 00:50:35,732
Loss is survivable.

1159
00:50:35,732 --> 00:50:38,101
Yeah. Losses survive. Okay. Yeah.

1160
00:50:38,101 --> 00:50:39,703
And what's the running events?

1161
00:50:39,703 --> 00:50:41,138
I know
you do a couple running events. Yep.

1162
00:50:41,138 --> 00:50:43,440
So they get so you can sponsor. Sponsor.

1163
00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:45,375
I think there's a Falmouth road race
that they do.

1164
00:50:45,375 --> 00:50:48,545
So anybody at any race can always sign up
to be like team and power.

1165
00:50:48,879 --> 00:50:50,781
And you pledge to like, I think I.

1166
00:50:50,781 --> 00:50:52,049
Might say Falmouth race.

1167
00:50:52,049 --> 00:50:52,516
Maybe.

1168
00:50:52,516 --> 00:50:55,819
Yeah the cap Cape Cod, Cape Cod.

1169
00:50:55,819 --> 00:50:56,019
Yeah.

1170
00:50:56,019 --> 00:50:58,889
That won the road race. Cape Cod
I think it's you know.

1171
00:50:58,889 --> 00:51:01,625
Yeah I think it's a 10-K. Yes.

1172
00:51:01,625 --> 00:51:03,994
I think it's really
I think it's a, I think it may be a.

1173
00:51:03,994 --> 00:51:05,195
Ten or a half marathon.

1174
00:51:05,195 --> 00:51:07,197
I don't think it, I don't know up to half.

1175
00:51:07,197 --> 00:51:07,964
But it doesn't matter.

1176
00:51:07,964 --> 00:51:10,333
If I beat my cousin. Rich,
that's all that matters.

1177
00:51:10,333 --> 00:51:13,470
Reach and I beat you 2010 two
I think it's been a while.

1178
00:51:14,071 --> 00:51:15,972
I'm going to Cape Cod in a couple of.

1179
00:51:15,972 --> 00:51:18,308
Weeks during spring
break. Break? Yes. Can't wait.

1180
00:51:19,309 --> 00:51:19,943
Falmouth.

1181
00:51:19,943 --> 00:51:21,211
Yeah, but any road race.

1182
00:51:21,211 --> 00:51:23,413
So you,
you just you sign up to be an a power

1183
00:51:23,413 --> 00:51:26,216
and be pledged money
and then they actually set you shirts

1184
00:51:26,216 --> 00:51:28,051
and things like that
to wear to you for the race.

1185
00:51:28,051 --> 00:51:29,853
Oh, nice. Yeah.

1186
00:51:29,853 --> 00:51:32,355
And now, speaking of swag,
I got some stickers I'd like to give

1187
00:51:32,355 --> 00:51:33,723
you be a good friends. Our motto.

1188
00:51:33,723 --> 00:51:36,059
And while we were doing this, Kiara,

1189
00:51:36,059 --> 00:51:39,029
you know, I said earlier,
pick up trash, hold the door.

1190
00:51:39,029 --> 00:51:40,797
Be, charitable.

1191
00:51:40,797 --> 00:51:42,566
What makes Cara who started this?

1192
00:51:42,566 --> 00:51:44,701
What makes her a good friend.

1193
00:51:44,701 --> 00:51:45,969
Man? She's everything.

1194
00:51:45,969 --> 00:51:47,370
I mean, she's why we're here today.

1195
00:51:47,370 --> 00:51:49,840
Sitting here, and she took a risk.
Thank you.

1196
00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:52,843
She she really, you know,

1197
00:51:53,009 --> 00:51:56,213
she knew what she wanted,
and she said, you know, I'm going to

1198
00:51:57,681 --> 00:51:58,982
I'm going to take a risk on this.

1199
00:51:58,982 --> 00:52:01,785
And her husband was, you know,
super supportive. You know, he's great.

1200
00:52:01,785 --> 00:52:03,253
He was like, okay, like do it.

1201
00:52:03,253 --> 00:52:06,123
And ever since then,
she's just never looked back.

1202
00:52:06,123 --> 00:52:08,325
And she's driven
and she knows what she wants.

1203
00:52:08,325 --> 00:52:12,162
And she sees how much she helps.

1204
00:52:12,996 --> 00:52:14,331
And she committed full time to this.

1205
00:52:14,331 --> 00:52:15,532
Or does she have like another job?

1206
00:52:15,532 --> 00:52:17,734
I believe this is no full time.
This is it.

1207
00:52:17,734 --> 00:52:18,935
This is full time.

1208
00:52:18,935 --> 00:52:20,937
This is this is her her jam.

1209
00:52:20,937 --> 00:52:21,938
She does it.

1210
00:52:21,938 --> 00:52:23,673
She does it well. So. Yeah.

1211
00:52:23,673 --> 00:52:25,342
She's. Yeah. Well. Thank you.

1212
00:52:25,342 --> 00:52:26,643
We have a little something for you too.

1213
00:52:26,643 --> 00:52:29,613
Oh. All right. So thank you for having us.

1214
00:52:29,746 --> 00:52:30,780
This is great.

1215
00:52:30,780 --> 00:52:33,783
Power and power.

1216
00:52:34,618 --> 00:52:36,219
Of teachers. You know, teachers needs to.

1217
00:52:39,055 --> 00:52:39,990
Empower.

1218
00:52:39,990 --> 00:52:42,125
Yeah.

1219
00:52:42,125 --> 00:52:42,993
I love the choice.

1220
00:52:42,993 --> 00:52:44,961
And power is definitely.

1221
00:52:44,961 --> 00:52:45,695
It's, like catchy.

1222
00:52:45,695 --> 00:52:47,197
And it gets the point across.

1223
00:52:47,197 --> 00:52:50,200
We're empowering.

1224
00:52:50,500 --> 00:52:52,736
Any. Thank you for this.

1225
00:52:52,736 --> 00:52:54,137
You're welcome. Thank you for having us.

1226
00:52:54,137 --> 00:52:57,307
Any things that you think I missed
or things that you'd like

1227
00:52:57,307 --> 00:53:00,310
to share?

1228
00:53:02,179 --> 00:53:04,347
Recommendations,

1229
00:53:04,347 --> 00:53:07,350
closing remarks, sponsors, sponsor.

1230
00:53:07,918 --> 00:53:11,121
Our event coming up and and,
at the Aqua turf in May.

1231
00:53:11,121 --> 00:53:12,422
May 29th.

1232
00:53:12,422 --> 00:53:13,890
We're always looking for sponsors.

1233
00:53:13,890 --> 00:53:18,128
All the proceeds go to, to help us
do these events and, and,

1234
00:53:18,128 --> 00:53:21,898
the mentorship program,
we're trying to do,

1235
00:53:21,898 --> 00:53:27,504
as we get more mentees in the boys, I'm
trying to get, yard goats games.

1236
00:53:27,504 --> 00:53:29,773
You know, you get these,
you know, kids to go to.

1237
00:53:29,773 --> 00:53:32,842
Hey, let's go to a baseball game
or let's go to a Wolfpack game.

1238
00:53:32,842 --> 00:53:33,109
Yeah.

1239
00:53:33,109 --> 00:53:37,247
You know, do a pick up, wiffle
ball game, things like that, you know?

1240
00:53:37,247 --> 00:53:37,614
Great.

1241
00:53:37,614 --> 00:53:40,717
So, we're trying to also look
for, mentors.

1242
00:53:40,717 --> 00:53:45,422
If you're 25 and older,
you've had experience of, of,

1243
00:53:45,422 --> 00:53:48,658
mother loss or father loss, and you would,
you know, interested in become a mentor.

1244
00:53:48,825 --> 00:53:51,027
We're really looking for mentors as well.

1245
00:53:51,027 --> 00:53:53,630
We're always looking for volunteers
for our events, too.

1246
00:53:53,630 --> 00:53:57,334
If you haven't experienced
a, you know, a loss of a parent,

1247
00:53:57,601 --> 00:54:01,171
you could still help out with,
volunteering for some of these events.

1248
00:54:01,171 --> 00:54:05,375
We're always looking for people
to help us out, so everything's there.

1249
00:54:05,375 --> 00:54:08,378
We are in power.org. Right? Right.

1250
00:54:08,378 --> 00:54:09,479
We are empowered.

1251
00:54:09,479 --> 00:54:12,249
Yeah, yeah. And I mean,
I mean, it's just a ripple effect.

1252
00:54:12,249 --> 00:54:15,352
So that's the best way we get our mentors

1253
00:54:15,352 --> 00:54:18,655
and our mentee is is just by word of mouth
podcasts like this.

1254
00:54:18,655 --> 00:54:22,325
So thank you for having us
and I look forward to partnering with you.

1255
00:54:22,325 --> 00:54:24,661
And yeah, our mission is aligned.

1256
00:54:24,661 --> 00:54:26,196
So it's please.

1257
00:54:26,196 --> 00:54:28,231
Like and share it on social media.

1258
00:54:28,231 --> 00:54:29,833
When we post it out.

1259
00:54:29,833 --> 00:54:33,703
It's going to be on YouTube, Spotify
and all the streaming platforms.

1260
00:54:34,104 --> 00:54:36,906
Put it on your website,
share with friends.

1261
00:54:36,906 --> 00:54:38,842
And just some questions.

1262
00:54:38,842 --> 00:54:39,943
You hit one on the head.

1263
00:54:39,943 --> 00:54:42,746
But do you know someone who's 25 years old
or older?

1264
00:54:42,746 --> 00:54:44,414
So we're looking for mentors.

1265
00:54:44,414 --> 00:54:45,415
Do you know any youth

1266
00:54:45,415 --> 00:54:49,152
that have experienced, tragedy
so that they could be a mentee?

1267
00:54:49,653 --> 00:54:52,822
And we're looking for companies to donate
and be a nonprofit.

1268
00:54:52,822 --> 00:54:54,691
And and this was important.

1269
00:54:54,691 --> 00:54:56,459
I felt like just talked about a lot.

1270
00:54:56,459 --> 00:54:58,561
I mean, you don't have to wait.

1271
00:54:58,561 --> 00:55:00,363
You don't have parent loss. It's okay.

1272
00:55:00,363 --> 00:55:02,399
We have volunteers at a variety ways.

1273
00:55:02,399 --> 00:55:04,934
Oh, no. I thought you're going to say,
you're not alone.

1274
00:55:04,934 --> 00:55:07,037
I thought that I started to read,
but I read that wrong.

1275
00:55:07,037 --> 00:55:08,538
But yeah, you are not alone.

1276
00:55:08,538 --> 00:55:11,474
But if you don't have parent loss,
you could still volunteer, right?

1277
00:55:11,474 --> 00:55:13,777
So we have some people
that are really passionate about,

1278
00:55:13,777 --> 00:55:16,379
you know, Cara's
mission and empowers mission.

1279
00:55:16,379 --> 00:55:17,580
And they don't personally

1280
00:55:17,580 --> 00:55:21,751
have that parent lost connection,
but they still want to give back.

1281
00:55:21,751 --> 00:55:25,355
And we have a lot of volunteers
that help run our programs.

1282
00:55:25,355 --> 00:55:29,359
But I mean, it takes a lot to run a gala
or even like a small event,

1283
00:55:29,359 --> 00:55:32,862
like a cooking class or like a, you know,
a wiffle ball tournament like that.

1284
00:55:32,929 --> 00:55:33,997
It takes planning.

1285
00:55:33,997 --> 00:55:38,001
And those people or,
you know, we're volunteer driven

1286
00:55:38,001 --> 00:55:40,470
and without the volunteers,
we wouldn't be able to do what we do.

1287
00:55:40,470 --> 00:55:44,808
So and we always want to we want to serve
as many possible youth as possible.

1288
00:55:44,808 --> 00:55:48,278
And so we just want to get out there
and help as many people as we can.

1289
00:55:48,778 --> 00:55:49,479
Yeah.

1290
00:55:49,479 --> 00:55:49,946
All right.

1291
00:55:49,946 --> 00:55:51,081
You heard it here. First.

1292
00:55:51,081 --> 00:55:53,249
Become a volunteer, become a mentor.

1293
00:55:53,249 --> 00:55:54,751
Don't forget, this is a nonprofit.

1294
00:55:54,751 --> 00:55:56,319
And their mission has helped kids, teens

1295
00:55:56,319 --> 00:55:59,622
and young adults who have experienced
heartbreaking loss of a parent.

1296
00:56:00,190 --> 00:56:02,992
And they do this through community
services.

1297
00:56:02,992 --> 00:56:06,096
One on one over 700 people in over

1298
00:56:06,162 --> 00:56:09,165
700 children
and young adults in Connecticut.

1299
00:56:09,299 --> 00:56:10,200
Huge event coming up

1300
00:56:11,167 --> 00:56:12,102
nationwide.

1301
00:56:12,102 --> 00:56:13,503
Sorry.

1302
00:56:13,503 --> 00:56:14,504
But no no no no no.

1303
00:56:14,504 --> 00:56:15,772
Open nationwide. Yep.

1304
00:56:15,772 --> 00:56:18,775
There's that reading part again.

1305
00:56:18,908 --> 00:56:20,477
Over 50 in Connecticut.

1306
00:56:20,477 --> 00:56:22,679
Over 50 and. 52 in. Connecticut.

1307
00:56:22,679 --> 00:56:23,546
Yeah that's right. Yeah.

1308
00:56:23,546 --> 00:56:26,950
But you know
and you know Tommy's waiting for a mentor.

1309
00:56:27,150 --> 00:56:30,787
So it's like, you know, we could have
a lot of mentors and and a lot of mentors.

1310
00:56:30,787 --> 00:56:33,156
So, you know,
we're always looking for both.

1311
00:56:33,156 --> 00:56:36,493
So and I have to do as a teacher for 21

1312
00:56:36,493 --> 00:56:39,496
years, quickly
before we go, who's your favorite teacher?

1313
00:56:39,963 --> 00:56:41,531
You have a favorite teacher I do.

1314
00:56:41,531 --> 00:56:44,134
Her name is Mrs. Knight.
She was my fifth grade teacher.

1315
00:56:44,134 --> 00:56:46,469
I loved it, she read the BFG
and we got to drink hot chocolate.

1316
00:56:46,469 --> 00:56:47,871
It was like the best. Yes.

1317
00:56:47,871 --> 00:56:50,006
Mrs. Countryman, first grade.

1318
00:56:50,006 --> 00:56:51,307
This is country right off.

1319
00:56:51,307 --> 00:56:53,309
Right off the half.
She was just an awesome teacher.

1320
00:56:53,309 --> 00:56:55,845
I never forget her. Yeah,
and now she's one of my neighbors.

1321
00:56:55,845 --> 00:56:57,781
She's actually, like to the street.

1322
00:56:57,781 --> 00:56:59,916
Down she comes walking through
the neighborhood.

1323
00:56:59,916 --> 00:57:01,551
What, you send it to her to.

1324
00:57:01,551 --> 00:57:02,952
Send it to her? Absolutely.

1325
00:57:02,952 --> 00:57:03,620
Favorite teacher.

1326
00:57:03,620 --> 00:57:05,789
Well,
thank you for being such great teachers.

1327
00:57:05,789 --> 00:57:09,426
You leave a lasting memory
for you, for students,

1328
00:57:09,893 --> 00:57:12,362
I hope to be someone's favorite teacher
someday.

1329
00:57:12,362 --> 00:57:18,134
21 year teacher, 16 year old, 16 year
vet of the, You're on the job.

1330
00:57:18,201 --> 00:57:19,002
Oh, yeah.

1331
00:57:19,002 --> 00:57:20,537
That's that's cop talk for you.

1332
00:57:20,537 --> 00:57:21,704
Working to see.

1333
00:57:22,906 --> 00:57:25,475
But again,
I can't thank you enough for being here.

1334
00:57:25,475 --> 00:57:26,443
Wonderful.

1335
00:57:26,443 --> 00:57:30,313
Learning more about
we are empower.org again.

1336
00:57:30,313 --> 00:57:32,582
Bob Maxon is going to be there May 29th.

1337
00:57:32,582 --> 00:57:34,551
We're going to get him on the podcast.

1338
00:57:34,551 --> 00:57:38,087
Let's say we usually end by saying

1339
00:57:38,087 --> 00:57:41,157
be a good friend,
but let's say empower first.

1340
00:57:41,324 --> 00:57:42,358
And then be. A good friend.

1341
00:57:42,358 --> 00:57:45,061
All right 123 empower.

1342
00:57:45,061 --> 00:57:46,296
Be a good. Friend.