06/12/2021
I have been attending the since 2009 and The Dr. Annise Mabry Foundation became a toy party beneficiary in 2016. Last night, I thought it was going to be an ordinary party--bring a toy, mingle with friends, dance a lot, eat amazing food and celebrate the nonprofit spotlight organizations on the stage.
But last night was anything but ordinary. When FTKBoard Member Devin Barnard asked me to follow her to the stage, I didn't give her request a second thought because I thought she just needed an extra loud hype girl to cheer. And I was all there for that!
As I cheered the names of organizations that I have known from the community for years, I was so excited for them because I knew the work that they were doing and I knew the impact that a monetary donation was going to make in their organizations.
But then they asked me to join them on stage.
I have to wear glasses and I have CMT so my biggest fear of going on the stage was tripping but it was like the FTK Board already knew this and there was a team to help me.
As I wobbled my way onto the stage, I thought I knew what to expect. But at that moment, there was a total plot twist.
So let me give you the back story that makes this plot twist moment even more magical...
Like every day I would look at the Christmas with a Cop account and the funds were the same. I needed an additional $2,500 to make Christmas happen for every law enforcement agency who had submitted a Christmas list by the deadline. Again, the funds weren't changing but what was changing were the number of agencies who had identified a family in critical crisis. My regular Christmas Team had already donated and stepped up in a major way. My childhood best friend had even become my temporary procurement agent and was trying to negotiate pricing with Amazon so that we could buy for the Tech for Teens program. I was doing everything that I knew how to do so as I added Twin City Police Department as the last law enforcement agency for 2021 to the list, I looked out my dining room window and said "I've done my best now God you've got the rest."
I had no idea where the rest was coming from but I looked out that window and I just knew in my heart it was coming.
Last night, the FTK Board of Directors presented the foundation with a check for $2,500. This was the exact amount that I needed to finish buying the remainder of the Christmas for two police departments that were on the list. Let that sink in for a moment... this was the exact amount that I asked for when I looked out my dining room window a month ago and I said "I've done my best".
This morning, I sitting here in tears and making purchases for the Christmas list. I always tell my students "Faith is what you have when you don't have anything else" and "When community is all you have, you realize community is all you need". Last night, I saw my faith expanded exponentially as my community stepped up to meet a need they had no idea existed.
Dr. Annise Mabry
