A Call to Action

In 2007, Jenn Snyder’s hometown of Uniontown, Ohio, was devastated by the murder of Jessie Davis and her unborn daughter. The only witness to the attack was Jessie’s two-and-a-half year-old son, Blake, who was left alone in his house for two days before he was discovered by his grandmother. Jenn’s first thought was of Blake: “This little boy has no mom or dad now.” Her second thought was that she had to do something to help him.

Within hours, she had created the idea for Blake’s Bright Tomorrow, a trust fund for Blake’s college education. Within three weeks, she organized a community fair fund-raiser, and a few important phone calls inspired Countrywide Mortgage to donate a house to Blake’s grandmother where she would raise him. Jenn worked with the Homebuilder’s Association Serving Portage and Summit Counties (Ohio), who organized 120 men and women who volunteered over 90 days to gut the house and give it a complete home makeover, and stocking the home with furniture, appliances, and groceries. Everybody worked hard to give the family the home of their dreams.

From a woman who baked 700 cookies to sell at the fundraiser, to the LeBron James Family Foundation’s involvement, everyone did what they could to help this little boy and his family. This volunteerism has not only helped Blake’s family, it has helped the volunteers. Many are now filled with a passion to help others, and see life differently as not a place where days are filled with daily chores, but where possibilities exist to make a change for the better.