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Emily
Douglas |
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Emily Douglas
26 - Powell, OH
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"Appalachia exists for most in negative stereotypes or as a place where miners perish in mine shafts. I want to help dismantle these stereotypes and improve the lives of Appalachian children and families."
Emily learned the value of community service at a young age from her Grandma Norma, who grew up poor in Appalachia during the Depression. Although Grandma Norma later became a successful business owner, she taught Emily that she has a responsibility to help others who have less. And in 1993, Emily started Grandma's Gifts (GG) to provide basics like food, clothes, toys and books to families and schools in Appalachia.
Poverty and illiteracy have plagued the Appalachian region for years, with over three million people living below the poverty level. Since its inception, Grandma's Gift has donated nearly 650,000 books and more than 10,000 pounds of food have been collected and distributed. GG also sponsors Trick-or-Teeth!, which mobilizes students from a local dental school, dentists, and groups in California and Eastern Kentucky to collect and distribute basic dental supplies to county health departments, schools, food pantries, free dental clinics, and shelters for battered women in Appalachia.
In the early days of Grandma's Gifts, Emily collected the goods and services for distribution and established the distribution channels. Over the years, a distribution channel that includes teachers, health care workers, social workers, and others in close contact with those in need, has been established. They are the eyes and ears of Grandma's Gifts, and are often the hands that distribute goods. This circle of giving drives the long-term sustainability of Grandma's Gifts.
Grandma's Gifts also works directly with kids, with enriching activities like annual trips to museums and summer camp sessions at a local university. Many have never stepped foot on a college campus or visited a museum or zoo, not realizing that doctors, engineers, or zookeepers aren't just people you see on television.
That's why Emily is a 2008
Woman Of Worth. |
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"I want to help improve lives in Appalachia."
Hear Emily discuss her work
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ORGANIZATION
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