• How Leah’s House Empowers Women to Rebuild Their Lives
    Oct 8 2024

    In this inspiring episode of the cityCURRENT Show, host Andrew Bartolotta speaks with Leonard and Paula Cochran from Leah's House, a faith-based restoration home for adult women facing challenges such as addiction, behavioral issues, and more.

    Leonard and Paula share the heart behind the creation of Leah's House, the holistic support they provide, the role of Biblical teachings, and how community involvement plays a critical role in their mission.

    Through transformative stories and future plans, we explore how Leah's House continues to empower and uplift women in need.

    Learn more and support their efforts: https://www.leahshouse.com/

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    24 mins
  • Empowering Memphis Students: A Deep Dive Into REACH Memphis with Tiffani Morrow-Smith
    Oct 8 2024

    In this episode of the cityCURRENT Show, host Andrew Bartolotta interviews Tiffani Morrow-Smith, Executive Director of REACH Memphis.

    For over 55 years, REACH Memphis has provided high-potential students with the resources, mentoring, and support necessary to prepare for college and their careers.

    Tiffani shares insights into the organization’s rich history, the impact of their summer experience program, and how REACH Memphis continues to empower Memphis students. She also discusses future plans, organizational values, and how the community can get involved.

    Learn more: https://www.reachmemphis.org/

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    25 mins
  • Musicians On Call 25th Anniversary!
    Sep 19 2024

    Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Melinda LaFollette, Senior Communications Manager with Musicians On Call, who highlights the nonprofit organization's 25th anniversary and their mission and efforts to deliver the healing power of music through bedside, virtual and streaming programs across all 50 states. Musicians On Call brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients, families and caregivers in healthcare environments. As the nation's leading provider of live music in hospitals, Musicians On Call volunteers have performed for more than one million individuals in healthcare facilities nationwide.

    During the interview, Melinda shares some of the history for the organization and talks about the healing power of music and the impact it has on patients, families and caregivers. She also touches on the impact for the volunteers, along with the different types of musicians and individuals who breathe life into the mission of Musicians On Call. Melinda shares how the organization will be celebrating their 25th anniversary with an event in Nashville this spring and all throughout the year, and how the community can support their efforts.

    Visit www.musiciansoncall.org to learn more and get involved.

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    16 mins
  • Change The Stars helping children and families in Haiti
    Sep 19 2024

    Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Jeff Ponchillia, Founder of Change The Stars, who highlights the nonprofit organization's mission and efforts to empower the children of Haiti to rewrite their destinies by providing housing, medical care, education, and a pathway out of poverty.

    During the interview, Jeff shares how a trip to Haiti in 2013 forever changed his life's purpose. After witnessing firsthand the dire conditions of the schools and orphanages there, he knew something had to be done, so he and his family began supporting multiple primary schools, an orphanage, and a children's hospital. The nonprofit was established in 2017 to bring positive change by establishing an orphanage, implementing a scholarship program, supporting local schools, and aiding the children's hospital.

    Jeff talks about the orphanage and how it provides a safe haven for abandoned and vulnerable children, offering them a nurturing environment filled with love, care and educational opportunities. He discusses the importance of the scholarships, supporting the schools and children's hospitals and how the community can get involved and support their efforts to help. He also talks about how he is personally helping to fund the projects by donating 100% of the income from his working as a loan originator at Wesley Mortgage.

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    16 mins
  • Jonathan Torres: His journey from nonprofit leadership to CEO of Frase Protection
    Sep 19 2024

    Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Jonathan Torres, affectionately known as "Torres," who shares his personal journey from working with and leading nonprofits in Memphis, Tennessee, to becoming CEO of Frase Protection, a locally-owned and operated residential and commercial security provider offering customized alarm and camera systems, backed by 24/7 monitoring.

    During the interview, Torres discusses how his experiences working with Young Life and transitioning to lead Memphis Athletic Ministries helped shape and develop him, and prepare him to step into the role of CEO with Frase Protection. He highlights Frase Protection, their team and focus on customization, along with some of the trends in technology and their commitment to making a difference in the community. Torres wraps up with some of their philanthropic goals and the power of companies taking an active role in physically serving the community.

    Visit www.fraseprotection.com to learn more.

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    16 mins
  • Give Services: Service companies that give back with the giving model built in.
    Sep 19 2024

    Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Danny Song, CEO of giveservices, who shares his personal journey and how he was selected to lead the group of service companies that give back with the giving model built in. Danny talks about coming to the United States at an early age with his family to focus on education, moving around and putting down roots in Jackson, Tennessee, where he graduated high school and college, and then stepping into the world of education with Memphis Teacher Residency. He talks about his 15 years at Memphis Teacher Residency and some of the lessons learned, and then transitioning to launch Believe Memphis Academy Charter School after going through a program with Building Excellent Schools. Those experiences paved the way for him to meet Joe Williams, founder of giveservices, and to ultimately step into the role as CEO to help expand the efforts and impact for that focus on turning a "line item into a mission statement." Danny highlights giveclean and givethreads, and how those companies support the Lionheart Foundation, and then shares some examples of their impact locally and around the world.

    Visit https://giveservicesco.com to learn more.

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    16 mins
  • Military Warriors Support Foundation: Help combat-wounded Heroes
    Sep 19 2024

    Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Davie Lieske, Business Development Director with Military Warriors Support Foundation, who shares some of the history for the nonprofit organization that was founded in 2007 by Lt. General Leroy Sisco, USA (Ret) to provide programs that facilitate a smooth and successful transition for our nation's combat-wounded Heroes and Gold Star families. Programs focus on housing, transportation, outdoor recreation, and leadership development.

    During the interview, Dave discusses some of their key programs, including Homes4WoundedHeroes, which provide mortgage-free homes, Transportation4Heroes, which provide payment-free vehicles, and Hope4Heroes, which supports veterans through personalized financial mentorship and situational needs. Dave talks about the impact of these programs on the combat-wounded Heroes and the generational impact it has on their families, as well as how the corporate supporters and musicians, like George Strait, become part of the personal storyline. Dave wraps up by talking about ways to get involved and to support their efforts to personally help combat-wounded Heroes and their families.

    Visit www.militarywarriors.org to learn more and get involved or email Dave Lieske at dave@militarywarriors.org to connect directly.

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    16 mins
  • The Lonely Entrepreneur, opportunities to help entrepreneurs at all stages
    Sep 19 2024

    Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Michael Dermer, CEO of The Lonely Entrepreneur, who shares some of his personal journey as an entrepreneur who created a company to reward people for being healthy and led his company through the lows of the 2008 financial crisis to the highs of selling his company and becoming an industry-creating pioneer.

    During the interview, Michael shares how The Lonely Entrepreneur was launched to help entrepreneurs learn from his experiences and turn their passion into success. He talks about TLE Learning Community, which is a one-stop shop for knowledge, tools, resources, and the ongoing support and community every entrepreneur needs to succeed. He discusses access to capital and the need to be properly positioned for success, then highlights TLE Sidekick Consulting, which offers one-on-one consulting on the business and personal issues faced. Michael then talks about TLE Foundation, which is on a mission to empower one million entrepreneurs to turn their passion into success. Through community support, the foundation is removing financial barriers by providing entrepreneurs with free access to TLE Learning Community to receive the tools, resources, and connections they need to succeed.

    Visit www.lonelyentrepreneur.com to learn more about The Lonely Entrepreneur and www.tlefoundation.org to learn more about TLE Foundation.

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    16 mins