We’re presenting this installment of “Women Who Make A Difference” a little differently… To prepare for this article, I asked LaDonna Urick to answer some questions for me via email.  Her responses were so honest, enthusiastic and well-written that, in the end, the most I could do was just put them together for you.  Here then, in mostly her own words, LaDonna Urick ~  a woman making a difference ~ encourages and inspires us all to be women making a difference together… 

Growing up, our family was very close. I have 2 younger siblings, Lacey & Phillip. We are all spaced out enough to where we could watch each other grow up and be sure that we didn’t miss any of those special moments like baseball games, dance recitals, singing or playing in church, birthday parties, anything that we were involved in. My mom was a super woman, and to this day I have no idea how she got each one of us to where we needed to go to be sure that we learned a talent. She is the best! 

I could easily say that our family was great, but, like many families,  there were struggles and things we got through by praying and clinging to each other. And through knowing my Lord not just growing up, but hugging Him throughout my lifetime I know that He is there and that He can walk with you through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I find myself growing from laughter, heartache, love, and any other situation that comes to me or my family. 

I think serving in my “growing up years” allowed me to see and experience what I have been called to do right now. My mom used to load us up in the car on Sunday afternoons and we would go sing (she would play piano) at the nursing home. I will be honest, it was not my favorite place to be, but I saw people who needed love. Who just wanted someone to pay attention to them. They wanted to feel important. And today, as I serve others from all different backgrounds I know that being in places like the nursing home helped me to see how important it was to bring JOY to anyone that is in your path. I am very thankful for those moments. They are special. 

I believe that starting to serve at a young age allows our children to see so much of the world around them. I used to think that I wanted my own children to be sheltered from the sad and heartbreaking parts of society, but I found myself wanting them to be just as much a part of knowing our neighbors as my husband and myself… so we all just jumped in together and began serving. When I go to share about Mission Change, I always try to help people remember that we all have stories to share with one another, and that means we go out into the dark places to bring light.  I feel that getting our kids more involved in giving back creates morals, life skills & lessons, and that bringing JOY to others is something you cannot put a price on. All it costs is your time and talents, and we are all blessed with something to share. Those are moments that you cherish no matter what your age.  

Since its inception, Mission Change has quickly become a leader of community activism in Southwest Georgia, serving as both a local resource for those in need as well as a coordinating point for those with something to give. While the organization’s main focus remains local, over the years it has spearheaded a number of national and global relief efforts for those directly affected by rampant poverty and natural disasters in the Bahamas, Haiti and New York. We’re amazed at how far we’ve come, proud of how much we’ve done, yet most excited about all the change to come.

We hug our neighbors, our volunteers, our young people… we don’t just hand them a hygiene kit or clothing and let them be on their way. We sit. We talk. We love. And we walk together out of the suffering knowing we have each other. It truly is incredible to watch so many lives change by simply serving one another wherever we are.  I am a dreamer. I love that God gives us visions of carrying out His plans for our world around us! My hope is that there will be MC’s all over this country and in other countries because people want to learn how to serve, or work with others to serve in their communities. Having little Village After-School Programs all over the place, and watching our young people grow and become anything they want to be is inspiring! Dreams do come true. It doesn’t matter how old you are! Our goal is to become the organization that brings others together for the greater good. No matter where you’ve been, where you come from, what you look like, if you’re a church-goer or not… people from all walks of life are welcome to our table; it is open and available.  My prayer is that MC will reach so many people and the world is so busy serving one another that we stop pointing out the negative and bring about the positive in our communities, and that when there is a need… community comes together as it should and walks with one another out of suffering. We all are on a journey… why can’t we walk it together? 

It’s easy to say “change the world from your backyard“ or “you make the world a better place”… and those two things are awesome.We say them all the time. It is who we are. We are reaching one person at a time right here in Albany, but also all over the world. We are do-ers. But hearing that you make the world a better place is something that encourages us. It allows is to step back and say “I can change the world from this little backyard of mine,” but it takes all of us working together to make it a reality.