They Don’t Do It for the Applause—But We Applauded Anyway

From left: Yvoncerria Sutton, Meaghan Whitson representing Triad Adult & Pediatric Medicine, Ronda Holloway representing Ward Black Law, and Kamilah Usoro.

You won’t find any of this year’s Journey Award winners asking for attention. That’s not really their thing. They’re too busy showing up, stepping in, lifting others, and—without a lot of fanfare—making the world better than they found it. That’s exactly why they were recognized at this year’s Journey to Brave.

The Journey Award for Education:
Kamilah Usoro brings innovation to life through her work with Triad Play, where children connect with nature, build life skills, and begin to heal from trauma in a space that feels safe and supportive. Her calm, intentional approach helps kids grow in ways that ripple out into the classroom, their families, and the wider community. It’s the kind of work that speaks for itself—and still deserves to be recognized out loud.

The Journey Award for Community:
Yvonnceria Sutton gives the kind of help that can’t be wrapped in red tape. From organizing meals to offering a safe place to sleep to handing out voter info and Wi-Fi hotspots—she acts fast and with heart. She’s been there. She knows what it’s like. And now, she’s using that experience to walk beside others. She doesn’t do this for grants or headlines. She does it because someone needs to—and because she can.

The Journey Award for Business:
Ward Black Law could teach a masterclass on community-minded business—but they probably wouldn’t. They prefer to give quietly. They donate without press releases. They serve without expecting anything back. Their values run deep, and they act on them without needing applause. But we gave them some anyway. Because if every business had their sense of responsibility, we’d all be better for it.

The Journey Award for Healthcare:
Triad Adult & Pediatric Medicine is expanding access to care with intention and heart. Their team is growing services where they’re needed most—offering pediatric dental care, opening a new health center, and continuing to serve families with the compassion and consistency they’re known for. It’s healthcare that reflects the strength of the communities they serve—and a commitment to walking alongside them.

To all of this year’s Journey Award winners: thank you. Not just for what you’ve done, but for how you do it—quietly, consistently, and always with heart.

Journey to Brave: A Night of Community and Care

Journey to Brave was a success, and we’re so grateful to everyone who came out to be part of it. From the live music and food to the raffles, games, and a few bear hugs along the way—it was an evening filled with energy, generosity, and community spirit. A heartfelt thank you to every volunteer, donor, and attendee who showed up to support our mission, and to our generous sponsors who helped make the night possible. Your support ensures that children, teens, adults, and families in our community can access free mental health care when they need it most.

Photos thanks to Joselyn Sims. https://bit.ly/4jQNWhf

Celebrating Our Journey to Brave Sponsors

Journey to Brave is a celebration of community resilience and the collective effort to support mental health and well-being. This event brings together individuals and organizations committed to making a difference in the lives of those affected by trauma and mental health challenges.​

The Impact of Your Support

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we've been able to provide:​

• Free counseling and peer support services to over 12,000 individuals annually.

• Wraparound services that assist families in navigating complex systems and accessing necessary resources.

• Community outreach and education programs that raise awareness and reduce stigma surrounding mental health.

• Specialized programs for children and adolescents, including trauma-informed care and resilience-building activities.​

Your support ensures that these vital services remain accessible to those who need them most, regardless of their ability to pay.​

Acknowledging Our Sponsors

We extend our deepest gratitude to the following sponsors for their dedicated support:

Change Maker Sponsor

Ricky Proehl’s P.O.W.E.R. of Play Foundation

Legacy Sponsors

Brave Sponsors

Hero Sponsors

IN-Kind Sponsors

April 2025 Newsletter

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April at Kellin Foundation: Standing Up for Children, Together

Every April, communities across the country recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month. At Kellin Foundation, that recognition comes with action.

We started by planting pinwheels in the yard outside the Hope Hub—each one a reminder of what all children deserve: safety, stability, and a chance to thrive. From there, the month has been full of opportunities to learn, speak up, and support the work of protecting children and strengthening families.

On April 2nd, we gathered with our partners in the Resilient Guilford Network to hear from speakers with Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Protective Services division, and the Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina. Their insight and experience continue to shape how we show up for the children and families we serve.

We also accepted proclamations from both the Greensboro and High Point City Councils recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month—an honor we carried on behalf of the entire Resilient Guilford Network.

Throughout the month, our team has stayed active in the community. We wore green in support of early childhood educators, thanks to our partners at Guilford County Partnership for Children. We joined Healthy Kids Day at the Bryan YMCA. And we hosted a free Stewards of Children: Darkness to Light training to help adults recognize, prevent, and respond to child sexual abuse.

More opportunities are on the way:

• April 23: Community Resiliency Model (CRM) Training

• April 29: Stewards of Children: Darkness to Light Training

• April 30: Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

Each of these is free and open to the public—and designed to give people practical tools to support the mental and emotional well-being of children and caregivers.

Here’s how you can still take part this month:

• Register for an upcoming training

• Snap a photo with pinwheels and help spread the word

• Start conversations—because awareness is prevention

There’s no single way to prevent abuse and neglect—but it always starts with people who care enough to show up. We’re grateful to be part of a community that continues to do just that.

Why We Plant Pinwheels

They show up like spring itself—soft and sudden. One day the ground is bare, and the next, it’s dotted with a hundred tiny whirlwinds, catching the light just right.  Colorful pinwheels, rooted in front lawns and schoolyards, near libraries and nonprofits, turning slow in the April breeze like they’ve got all the time in the world.

If you don’t know what they are, they might just look like decorations. Like somebody’s child had a birthday, and the grown-ups went a little overboard.

But they mean something. They stand for something.

We plant pinwheels because not every child gets the kind of childhood we’d want for our own. Not every child feels safe. Not every child goes to sleep with a full belly and a calm mind. And the truth of that—hard as it is—is something we don’t want to turn away from.

The pinwheel came to be a national symbol for child abuse prevention back in 2008. It was chosen not because it was sad or solemn, but because it wasn’t. Because it’s what childhood should look like—bright, carefree, full of motion and light. The kind of thing you’d find stuck in the ground beside a sandbox, or tucked in a flowerpot on a grandmother’s porch.

It reminds us that prevention is not about fear—it’s about hope.

We believe every child deserves what the pinwheel represents: joy, protection, peace. It’s why we walk alongside children and families through their hardest seasons—helping them heal, grow, and find the strength to keep going. We plant these pinwheels to honor the kids we’ve lost. We plant them for the families we walk beside. And we plant them for the ones we haven’t met yet—the ones who, with a little help, can carry resilience forward instead of trauma.

There’s a saying in the South: you tend the garden you’ve got. These pinwheels are our way of tending. Of saying this community will not turn its back. That we will keep showing up—for our kids, our neighbors, and each other.

So if you see a yard full of spinning pinwheels this April, maybe don’t just drive by. Let them stop you, if only for a second. Let them remind you what children deserve.

And maybe—just maybe—plant one yourself.