There are many reasons to give to our ARCS Atlanta endowment fund. Some honorary, some yearly, some personal.  Our member Donna Burchfield has a wonderful story she has shared with some of you, and we felt it should be shared with all of us.  Donna gave to the endowment fund this year in honor of her now lifelong friend Brittany Reed Crews.

In 1998, Donna was first diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease.  Unfortunately, the disease progressed to stage 4, inevitably requiring a kidney transplant.  Donna is a long-time client of Carter Barnes hair salon, and naturally the conversations with her turned to how she was doing.  The stylists at the salon were so supportive, but one of the color technicians, who knew Donna casually, decided to be proactive for this beloved client. Brittany Reed, then 24, discreetly began testing at Piedmont Hospital to determine her candidacy as a donor.  She knew about Donna’s long and stressful journey of hope and disappointment in search of a donor.  Brittany continued with these tests for several months until doctors finally gave her the news.  One May evening, Donna invited her good friend and regular hair stylist Marc Moss to dinner and Moss asked to bring a friend, Brittany Reed.  "I have some very big news to share," Brittany said to Donna after dinner. "I'm going to be your kidney donor.”  The rest is history!  One of Donna’s memorable quotes in this happy story is  “We’re very close. After all, I'm wearing her kidney!”

Brittany's inspiration:  "We all have the ability to affect someone's life.  We make a positive or negative impact on others. In this case, I had a unique opportunity to save not just a person's life, but to make a truly positive impact on the lives of her husband and children. And the wonderful feeling that gave me personally - you simply can't put an emotion like that into words."  Beautiful. 

And we, too, have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of so many as our initial positive impact to our scholars is forwarded down the road.   And here we go for 2024-25.  Let’s continue on. 

Thanks, Donna, for letting us share this amazing story.  You’re the best.