What does it mean to meet the needs of foster care in Savannah?

Tersh Blissett talks with Whitney Gilliard of Gilliard & Company about how we, as small business owners, can help shine a light on the Youth who live in foster care!
Today's episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at how emotional Tersh gets when it comes to helping those who can not always help themselves. This is a rare occurrence where you get to see the sensitive side of the main in the suite!
A little about Gilliard & Company - This is Their Story!
"Whitney entered congregate care at the age of 14 and wasn't taken in by a foster home until age 17. Through the turbulence of life, Whitney found her purpose in advocating for foster youth who feel they've had no voice. Whitney's story consists of traveling to 18 placements with a trash bag of her belongings, over-prescription of psychotropic drugs, and the fight for dignity while she was in the system.
The name, "G&Co", came to be after Whitney survived a life-changing car accident, while in foster care, that left her with a traumatic brain injury, a broken spine, and a broken leg. During her recovery Whitney's, only, means of mobility was by wheelchair.
As healing felt impossible, Maurice understood, he has witnessed his mother's overcoming. Maurice's mother was also a youth battling the hardships of foster care in Germany.
Compelled to remind Whitney that there is hope in her recovery. Daily, Maurice would remind Whitney of all that she has been through, and would always say "I know this is frustrating for you, however this time you are not alone - you'll always have company". From then on, their journey kicked off.
Through the birth of their son, Aemon, they became devoted to stopping the cycle of abuse and abandonment, not only for their child but for others as well. Whitney is an advocate for fostering and adopting and during her events Maurice is right beside her delivering hard facts about the truth of the American Foster Care system. Together their goal is to remind others and lead by example on how small acts of companionship can result in life-changing resilience.
G&Co means never giving up on each other. G&Co means being there for those who are afraid. G&Co means meeting the needs of each other, together."
Resources
Learn more about Whitney & her team by visiting below:
Donate www.DonateToFostercare.com
https://www.gilliardandcompany.org/
DO YOUR PART BY HOSTING AN ONLINE FUNDRAISER!
Charity starts at home!
Learn more about Tersh & Service Emperor HVAC & Refrigeration below:
https://serviceemperor.com
Connect on social media @tershblissett
Closing thoughts for Tersh...
Foster care is NOT an adoption agency!! We must work together to serve prevention and preservation of families!!
Transcription:
Meeting the Needs of Foster Care is Meeting the Needs of Humanity! Whitney Gilliard.mp3
Tersh Blissett: [00:00:02] the Hello, everyone, out there in podcast world. I hope you're having a wonderful day. You were listening to or watching the Shop Small SAV Podcast. I'm your host, Tersh Blissett. Today we have Whitney here. Whitney, she is with Gilliard & Company and we've met. I mean, we know each other very well, but we met a couple of times here and there and then buy local lunch, you know, just networking in general. We do a ton of networking together. And one of the biggest things that are it just stands out is abundantly clear. Any time Whitney in the interview room is how much she cares about others. And today I really am excited to talk to her about just that, where it came from, a little bit about that, a little bit about what it is that Gilliard & Company does and is and how it makes up just an integral part of Savannah and Georgia and Southeast and just make a massive impact. And they're one of those organizations that doesn't get enough recognition, which I'm glad that we're here and we can get recognition, but definitely is one of those things where you don't really think about. So my goal with this show is to just bring attention to those businesses in and ar...