4 minute read
Brenda Howell
of Forsyth
Brenda Howell Passion for helping others spans decades
Story and photo by Kelly Whitmire
Whether for buying a car or helping others, Brenda Howell is no stranger in the community.
Howell serves as business development/e-commerce director for Billy Howell Ford Lincoln, though she is known well outside just the business community for her, and the dealership’s, involvement with several local non-profit organizations.
Among the projects she helps with in the community are B.A.D.G.E. of Forsyth County, CASA of Forsyth County, Inc. and an annual luncheon for first responders each Sept. 11.
“I believe in supporting our community,” Howell said. “All the charities that we work with are based here in Forsyth County, and I think it’s important to do that.”
Howell said her parents instilled a passion to help those in the community, then when she had children of her own, she passed that down, and the family began working with senior centers, Special Olympics and Girl Scouts.
“I also volunteered in the school system, so I kind of learned more about what was available and became much more passionate for helping children,” she said. “So that’s how I got involved in some of the charities.”
Formed in 2015, B.A.D.G.E. – Benevolent Association Dedicated to Employees of Forsyth County Service Organization – is a local program to collect and distribute funds and other needs for first responders.
On the heels of the 2014 shooting at the Forsyth County Courthouse, when Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Dep. Daniel Rush was shot, several fundraisers popped up, creating confusion.
Howell, who is president of the organization, said she was first contacted by wives of deputies wanting to set up a program before FCSO officials asked her to get involved “because they felt like it would be better if it was people who weren’t so closely related to people in the department.”
“People can make a donation to a nonprofit that benefits them, and then we can take the funds and do a vetted process when someone asks for assistance,” Howell said. “We go through to make sure that they’re in good standing. We talk to their supervisors to make sure there is actually a need, then we discuss it with the individual.”
Initially serving only deputies, Howell said B.A.D.G.E. began serving the county’s fire department and E911 center and the Cumming Police Department in 2018 and has given out more than $275,000 and assisted more than 125 individuals over the last seven years.
Howell said all funds raised go directly to the beneficiary, with the organization paying house payments, medical bills or other expenses, rather than individual checks, to first responders who have been injured or face other hardships.
“I typically know something’s happened because I start getting donations from the account,” she said. “What we’ll find is, we’ll start getting donations because the sheriff’s office has told them if they want to donate, this is where it needs to go.”
Also benefitting first responders, for more than a decade, each Sept. 11, the dealership hosts a meal for all first responders in remembrance of those who responded to the terrorists attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Starting as a luncheon, the meal has grown and attracted help from others over the years.
“It started getting so big, because now we have around 500 people, we serve from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” Howell said. “If they cannot come, we’ll take food to the jail and courthouse because they can’t leave.”
The event has now grown to include culinary programs from a number of high schools in Forsyth County.
“We’ll make a menu, then the students get to cook,” Howell said. “On top of that, they get to learn about serving and they get to be with first responders and see that they’re great people sitting and having a meal together and enjoying each other’s company.”
In addition to her work with first responders, Howell is also a member of Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, of Forsyth County, an organization that advocates for children of abuse or neglect, often due to mental health or substance abuse issues.
Howell said in the last year, CASA volunteers have been involved in 176 cases in Forsyth County.
“CASA’s goal is to change the child’s story and give them a new narrative and help them in the judicial system,” she said.
“The CASAs will go to the child’s school, they’ll meet with their families and they will make a recommendation to the court on what they think would be best. The ultimate goal is always to have the family to stay together, but, sometimes, that’s not the right answer. Maybe that answer will change later, but the only way to know is to have someone that is consistent in that child’s life.”
Along with the programs she works with, Howell noted that there are non-profit organizations of all types in the county — including organizations for pregnant women, those overcoming drug addiction and helping animals — and recommend that those who want to give back find what they are passionate about and volunteer with those groups. For more information on the groups, call 770-580-0429 or go to Badgeoffcso.org for B.A.D.G.E. or ForsythCountyCASA. org for CASA.
