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started bringing food by her house and would stop by to give her money to buy things. “We just started asking if anyone needed food to come by, no questions asked,” Ingram says. As it grew bigger, she painted a table with the words “sharing table” to mark the spot. “This is just neighbors helping each other,” she says. Today, 40 to 50 families come on Fridays and leave with fresh food and other items like books, clothes or household items. (They buy fresh food on Friday and distribute donations of milk, eggs, and produce from churches like Canterbury Methodist.)

By late spring Ingram had to add more tables and a pop-up tent. Many things have been the result of neighbors pitching in. “When I come home, there are just things out front,” she says. They even had someone leave a picnic table. “If I find out someone needs a microwave, I just asked on Facebook, and by end of day I have three,” Ingram says. In the welcoming environment that’s created people feel free to have conversations about particular needs, and Ingram and friends then work to meet the particular requests using monetary donations.

And her family gets in on the efforts too. Everybody has a job. “My son sets everything up and my girls would sort the produce. My little one who is eight years old comes out and gives out popsicles or cookies while everybody is waiting,” Ingram says. She says she can see a difference in her kids; they don’t even question if they are supposed to give. “A lot of people coming are their friends from school, and they don’t have a feeling of separateness from them—this is what we do and we are all family,” Ingram says.

The giving spirit is pervasive among all people. “There have been times when we’ve had two things left and two people there, and they both voluntarily take one. It gives you hope,” Ingram says. Everyone wears a mask and they try to stagger things outside. You can count on them to be there in all kinds of weather too. In fact, when a storm took out their pop-up tent, all the neighbors pitched in and replaced it.

Ingram had this to say about her experience with The Sharing Table: “It’s been so amazing to watch how generous and giving people are. I’m really just the middle woman. The community aspect of this just gives me chill bumps just to be reminded of how much goodness there is the world.”

The Sharing Table is open every Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and families who want to volunteer to help pack and set up from 1:45 to 2:30 can contact Ingram. They gladly accept monetary donation or any items and are particularly in need of diapers, wipes, toilet paper, bread and cereal. To find out more about how to help, visit www. communitysharingtable.com and check out Mary Liz Ingram’s Facebook page for updates. Bham Family November 2020 23

CONSTANT HOPE Smile-A-Mile supports families affected by childhood cancer

BY LAUREN H. DOWDLE

When a child receives a cancer diagnosis, it affects the entire family. That’s why Smile-AMile’s mission is to provide hope, healing of the spirit, and love for the whole family during the childhood cancer journey. Created in 1985, the organization serves more than 1,500 families throughout Alabama each year, says Kellie Reece, COO of Smile-A-Mile.

“If you want to get a glimpse of strength, tenacity, love, acceptance, kindness, and all things encouraging, one need not look further than Smile-A-Mile,” she says. “In a world that seems so hard on so many fronts right now, Smile-A-Mile strives to be the one constant in the chaos for our families and volunteers.” These families participate in their hospital outreach program, camps, one-day special events, regional programming, young adult survivorship programming, and also bereavement programming. Families can find a safe haven outside of a hospital setting at Smile-A-Mile Place in downtown Birmingham.

The organization also takes its programming on the road to places across the state to reach even more families. Before COVID, their events included tickets to the National Peanut Festival, dinner and a show at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and opportunities to attend Alabama and Auburn sporting events. Now, most of their programming has gone virtual and includes events like family game night and home camp sessions.

While some things have changed, there are plenty of things that haven’t — like how all of their programming is provided at no cost. And there continue to be many incredible, full-circle moments within the organization. Reece, who began volunteering with Smile-A-Mile in 1998 before being on staff, has seen her share. “I think the most special for me is seeing campers come through our program and then return as volunteers and give back to an organization that poured so much into them,” Reece says. “Also, when parents of a newly diagnosed 5-year-old child look into the eyes of a 22-year-old survivor who is now a volunteer working with their child, it is one of the most hope-giving moments a parent can experience.”

It’s easy to see why Reece’s favorite part about working with the organization is the people, both the families they serve and the volunteers. “SmileA-Mile is an organization that lives out its mission each and every day,” Reece says.

But that mission doesn’t end when a child completes treatment because their physical, social, and emotional needs continue. “It is our commitment to be there for our families no matter what their journey looks like,” Reece says. “While the goal of the medical care team is to help heal the body, ours is to help heal the spirit of these children and their families.”

“With all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, fundraising is more difficult than ever,” she says. “But, the needs are stronger than ever as childhood cancer continues to impact the families we serve. So, we welcome donations no matter how big or small. The opportunities to change lives are significant — including our own through blessing others.”

Families interested in supporting Smile-A-Mile have several options, including helping with their year-round programming, summer camps, and fundraising events. To learn more about volunteer and giving opportunities, people can visit Smileamile.com or email kellie@smileamile.com.

the oddsBEATING Woman maintains fighting spirit through possible lung, heart transplant

BY LAUREN H. DOWDLE

To say Christy Turnipseed’s life has been full of twists and turns is an understatement, considering she’s currently facing a possible double lung and heart transplant. But through it all, this Homewood native hasn’t lost her positivity and drive.

Her medical journey began 17 years ago on Christmas Eve. The then-9-year-old Turnipseed was diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia and put on a ventilator. Her parents were told she probably wouldn’t make it, but after discussions, her doctors decided to try an experimental treatment that was mainly used on newborns.

She started to improve with the treatment, but her organs began to fail when taken off of it. So, her doctors tried another experimental treatment, and following 94 days in the PICU, Turnipseed was moved to a room to start her recovery.

After nearly four months in the hospital, she was able to come home. She had to learn to walk again, but through hard work and physical therapy, she returned to a somewhat normal life. “I was able to keep up with school while in the hospital and was able to rejoin my original class in the fifth grade the next school year,” Turnipseed says.

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