Honoring Our Newest Community Impact Award Winners

From feeding their communities to promoting the role of the arts in maintaining wellbeing, our ambassadors are making a difference where they live and work. The Ambassadors Together committee at Marathon Health is thrilled to recognize Lisa Tribble Brown, Kelli Finn, Maryam Flory, and Leigh Ann Yaughn with the Q2 2023 Community Impact Award.

Each quarter, up to four ambassadors or teams are selected for their volunteer efforts, and the company donates $500 in their name to the non-profit they support.

Photos: Top left — Lisa (third from right) with her cousins. Bottom and far right — Lisa’s family distributes food and bottled water to hungry residents in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Volunteer focus: Feeding the Homeless

Lisa shares her story:

“One day my husband and I were at the gas station. A young man no older than 16 was eating out of the garbage can. I cried like a baby. I spoke with my two cousins, the ones in the first picture with me, and we produced an idea to feed the homeless in downtown Fort Lauderdale. There were so many. I was not aware of that. A one-time thought became more.

Now, about every three months, my family and I prepare hot meals for the homeless.  It’s usually baked chicken, rice, and a veggie, with a bottle of water and dessert. About 25 of us do it, with five people cooking the same item to make sure we have enough, and we spend about $25 per person.

Each time, we cook whatever food we decide on, then meet at someone’s home to package the food.  After packaging, we go to downtown Fort Lauderdale and hand out 100 to 150 meals. It only takes about an hour to package and deliver the food!

We’ve been doing it now for about 10 years, and it feels brand new every time.  Our children and grandchildren look forward to it, too. One of my older cousins came up with T-shirts that say, ‘Homeless is not a crime – just a bad situation.’ People helping people. I think it’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done.”

Photo: Kelli making a delivery for Feed Our Flock.

Volunteer Focus:
Feed Our Flock, which serves children and families in Milford, Ohio, by stocking food pantries, filling backpacks for and delivering food to junior high and high school students experiencing food insecurity.

Kelli shares her story:

“I deliver bags of supplemental food to families in my local school district who have children who are food insecure. Each family gets one bag per impacted child.

It was during COVID, when I was home all the time, that I decided to volunteer. I’m an ‘act locally’ type person, and I knew there was a need right here in my own backyard. I reached out to the Feed Our Flock team to deliver food bags one week. It felt good to help, and I had the time, so I asked if I could do it again the next time (they deliver every two weeks). I did this for a couple of months, then asked if I could help regularly, without needing to sign up.

No family should go hungry, especially our children. Feed Our Flock provides hundreds of food supplement bags to families every other week. Most are provided to kids while they’re at school, the younger ones. My deliveries are focused on the older kids. It’s hard to sneak these bags into their backpacks without others noticing. It makes my heart happy to be part of the solution.”

Photo: Maryam at the art studio in Denton, Texas.

Volunteer Focus: The Art Room, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art studio located in Denton, Texas, that provides people facing mental health issues with a safe, creative, and educational space in which to create art. It offers open studio time, materials, support, and guidance from volunteer mental health professionals and artists at no cost for members.

Maryam shares her story:

“Engaging in art is therapeutic! It’s so important to our well-being that I worked with several other mental health and art advocates in our community to help bring this nonprofit to life in 2019.

Since then, I’ve served as vice president and secretary of the board of directors, and I’ve volunteered for everyday operational needs and fundraising and engagement events such as the Positive Cycology Ride and our upcoming North Texas Giving Day. I regularly dedicate 5-15 volunteer hours per week to this organization.

On May 20, I volunteered for The Art Room’s Positive Cycology Ride, an annual bike ride event that promotes positive thinking, healthy coping skills and socialization and encourages community building. It consists of a six-mile leisure ride and a more challenging 26-mile ride. Funds raised through registration and sponsorship support The Art Room’s mission.

Eighty-six riders of all ages attended and completed the ride, and families were encouraged to attend. During the event, we read a proclamation at a meeting for the City of Denton — my clinic’s Marathon Health client! — advocating for mental health and physical health opportunities.

The event impacted the community in several positive ways. Attendees connected with each other in a supportive environment, and we were able to promote exercise and art as a method for creating greater mental and physical resilience in managing emotions and stress. And because it took place in May, we supported Mental Health Awareness Month and Bike Month at the same time.”

Photos: Left — Leigh Ann and Physical Therapist Morgan DaCosta bring food donations to SafeHouse Ministries. Right — Donations for Valley Rescue Mission’s re-sale shop.

Volunteer Focuses:
SafeHouse Ministries is a faith-based organization in Columbus, Georgia, that works to address the emergency needs and spiritual well-being of people experiencing addiction, homelessness, and/or incarceration as they re-enter the community.

Valley Rescue Mission exists to serve the homeless and addicted populations in the Columbus area by providing for their physical needs and promoting their development to become productive citizens.

Leigh Ann shares her story:

“In April, I encouraged a decluttering movement among family, friends and colleagues and brought their items to the Valley Rescue resale store. Donated items are cleaned, priced, and placed on the sales floor. From there, they’re given directly to individuals or families struggling to make ends meet, or they’re sold to raise money for hot meals, safe shelter, or addiction treatment for those in need.

A couple of months later, I led an effort in my health center to collect food for SafeHouse Ministries.

Homelessness is a huge problem in my area. Addiction and homelessness often occur simultaneously due to the stressors this population faces. This puts a strain on the community to meet needs in other areas. So, by supporting these charities, we’re supporting efforts to care for our homeless population in hopes that it is enough not to drain other resources from other charitable organizations.”