Making a Difference
Written by Kristin Harmel
Photography by Betsy Hansen
For two families who graced the pages of Lake Mary Health & Wellness in late 2011, the new year has already gotten off to a great start. Thanks to readers like you, the Morgans (Behind the Pink Ribbon) and the Queen/Stanton family (Home is Where the Heart Is) have a new lease on life. For cancer patient Dixie Morgan, the donations she received from members of the community helped her continue paying her rent and utility bills. For the Queen/Stanton family, appearing in our magazine helped lead to jobs, a new housing situation and even a visit to Washington, D.C. We here at Topper Publications are truly proud to have readers like you, who open their hearts and make a big difference in the lives of their neighbors here in Seminole County. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Read on to see the impact you've made.
Readers’ donations make life and holidays easier for the Morgans – and Dixie’s cancer is now at bay
When we last checked in with Dixie Morgan, the Lake Mary mother of two young girls was battling stage 3 breast cancer. She graced the cover of our October issue and opened up about what it was like to be 36 and fighting for her life.
What a difference a few months make. Dixie had her last radiation treatment on Oct. 20 and by the end of 2011, she was officially in clinical remission. That means that her blood tests showed no tumor markers, which is the best news her doctors could have hoped for.
The first year post-treatment can still bring surprises, so Dixie has to go in for thorough checkups every three months. But if her blood work is still coming back clean by the end of 2012, she’ll be able to visit the doctor less frequently.
The road ahead for the Morgan family is still difficult. Dixie, who had a double mastectomy, is scheduled to undergo breast reconstruction surgery in mid-February and won’t be cleared to return to work for another six to eight weeks after that. Radiation treatments have tightened the skin near her breasts and left her with limited motion in her arms, which means months of physical therapy and potential surgery in her future.
Then there’s the family’s financial situation. As we mentioned in our October article, Dixie was forced to quit her job as a dental assistant while undergoing chemotherapy in the spring. Shortly thereafter, her husband John was laid off. Although the article in Lake Mary Health & Wellness resulted in a few job leads for John, none were quite a fit. One, for example, was commission-only. With two children to care for (Brianna, 7, and Brooke, 4), the couple couldn’t justify paying for daycare with no guaranteed income.
As for Dixie, returning to her job in a dental office may be impossible. With her weakened immune system, her doctors have suggested steering clear of an environment where she’d be constantly exposed to bacteria and germs. By late March, she’ll be looking for a full-time job in another field. In early January, John’s unemployment benefits ran out, so the family currently has no source of income.
|Dixie and John Morgan with their daughters Brianna (left) and Brooke|
But while the Morgans’ lives are still up in the air, the article in Lake Mary Health & Wellness changed things. Touched by the family’s story, several generous readers came forward with donations that helped the Morgans cover their living expenses for a few months and provide Christmas gifts for their children.
“It took the strain off of the question of how are we going to do Christmas, how are we going to pay rent, how are we going to pay utilities next month,” Dixie explains. “It took the financial strain off for a few months, which helped me to focus on getting better.”
In fact, because of the generosity of our readers, Brianna and Brooke had plenty of presents under the tree on Christmas morning.
“I'd like to thank the community and readers for their support through these hard times for my family,” Dixie says. “It has helped us keep things as normal as possible for the girls.”
On Jan. 23, Dixie celebrated her 37th birthday. Not so long ago, she was afraid that she wouldn’t make it through the last year. Survival rates for her aggressive form of stage 3 breast cancer aren’t good. But now, with a little luck, Dixie’s future, and that of her family, will be bright.
“I now have hope that I will have many years ahead of me to spend with my family and my children,” she says. “And that means so much.”
Readers interested in helping the Morgan family can make donations to the Benefit Account for Dixie Morgan at M&I Bank. Dixie and John also can be reached at P.O. Box 950684, Lake Mary, FL 32795.
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From motel life to Congressional testimony and new jobs, the Queen/Stanton family finds a path forward
In our December issue, we told you about the Queen/Stanton family, a family of five living in a single motel room in Sanford. They were clients of Families in Transition, a program that provides support for homeless families with children in the Seminole County Public School system.
Mom Christina Queen and dad Hannon Stanton, who had previously owned a thrift store on U.S. Highway 17-92 in Longwood, were trying desperately to get jobs to support Kimberly, 12, Tyler, 13, and Destiny, 15.
Then they appeared in Lake Mary Health & Wellness and life began to change.
Just after the magazine came out, Beth Davalos, coordinator of Families in Transition, was at her desk reading the article when she got a call from Barbara Duffield, policy director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
“She told me that they were going to testify in front of a Congressional committee,” Davalos says. “And she wanted to know if I had a student living in a motel who would be willing to share their story.”
Davalos looked down at the article and smiled.
Less than two weeks later, Destiny, her younger sister Kimberly and Hannon were in Washington, D.C., along with Davalos and another family who’d been assisted by Families in Transition. On Dec. 15, Destiny gave a five-minute speech before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee for Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity. Her testimony will be considered in the voting for House Resolution 32, also known as the Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2011.
“It was absolutely incredible,” Davalos says. “She spoke beautifully and confidently and did a fantastic job. She also answered questions independently afterwards. We were really proud of her. She was very excited about being part of it. She wants to be an attorney and advocate for children someday, so this is an exciting beginning for her.”
Destiny, Kimberly and Hannon also had a double-decker bus tour of Washington, D.C., and they met with Reps. John Mica (R-FL-7), Corrine Brown (D-FL-3) and Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), among others. Mica gave the group a tour of the Capitol and took them down on the House floor to watch the voting process.
“It was an incredible experience,” Davalos says. “This was an amazing opportunity for Destiny to have her voice heard to represent millions of homeless children.”
|(l-r) Congressman John Mica, Arielle Metzger, Kimberly Stanton, Destiny Raynor, Hannon Stanton, Beth Davalos, Austin Metzger, Tom Metzger|
More good luck was coming. David Siegel, founder, president and CEO of Westgate Resorts, watched the 60 Minutes report featuring Families in Transition. Shortly thereafter, he received a call from Rep. Brown asking if he could help a homeless family she’d been in touch with.
“We lined that family, the Wards, up,” says Mark Waltrip, Westgate’s chief operating officer. “And in discussing it with Beth (Davalos), we decided we could work with one or two more families too.”
The Queen/Stanton family were fresh in Davalos’ mind, so she suggested them.
“We interviewed the family,” Waltrip says. “I took them out to dinner and met with them. (Hannon) has got some pretty good skills, trade skills. We had an open position to be a pool technician for one of our resorts and that worked out. We sent (Christina) out to the call center and that worked out great for her too.”
He also set the family up with a place to live. Westgate Resorts is giving the Queen/Stanton family three months of free housing, and reduced housing costs thereafter as they climb out of their financial hole.
“The program we’re designing involves lining them up with rent and waiving security deposits so they can pay their own rent and make their own way,” Waltrip explains.
The situation is working out so well that Waltrip is hoping to expand the program, both at Westgate Resorts and throughout the community.
“We’re looking to help more families and we want to challenge the business community as a whole to do the same,” he says. “I want to sit down with them and say, ‘this is a problem that affects our community.’ We’re in a unique position. We’re one of the largest private employers in town. We have jobs and housing opportunities for families. I’ve reached out to some of the top CEOs in the community and we’d like to put together a back-to-work plan for qualified families.
“There are a lot of amazing families in this situation and we need to address the problem with practical solutions,” he says. “We can save the ones who deserve saving, and that’s the children.”
Waltrip invites business owners in Central Florida to call him at 407-581-3160 to discuss joining the fight to help homeless kids. For more information about Families in Transition, or to donate time or resources to help homeless kids in Seminole County, visit www.seminolehomelesskids.com.
