Jasmyn Cheatham. I'm not sure I need to say more. However, we need your help to send Jasmyn to college, so here goes... Jasmyn entered the world at just 24 weeks, weighing 1lb 15oz, and septic. There were serious doubts about her survival, but though she was tiny, she was fierce. That fierceness came with autism, intellectual disabilities/developmental delays, hearing loss, and anxiety, and every bit of who she is--every bit of it--is what makes her such a bright light in a pretty crazy world. She may be overwhelmed when first entering a room full of people, but she's also never met a stranger. And once you know her, you know her for life. She will remember every detail of your personal history and every quirky comment or experience you share, and she will make your world and life bigger and better--a blessing you will be thankful for each and every day (even on the hard ones). Some of us are privileged to have been dubbed her "Circle of Nine"--amazing mom and advocate Tonya and loving brothers Jeffrey and Jacob along with me (her extra mom as she has named herself my "fourth child"), my husband, Danny Ray, and our children, aka Jasmyn's "Big Kids" and siblings, Danielle, Jeremy, and Sophia. Of course, she has grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends anywhere and everywhere. She also has honorary aunts and honorary grandparents and uncles, aunts, and cousins. Jasmyn is a collector of relationships. She ties you to her and then to others until we are all a giant web of love and support and laughter. She also drives us completely crazy, but that's a different story. :) Since graduating high school in 2024, Jasmyn has been aiming for college. Along the way, she's worked internships at Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (hard of hearing, Jasmyn communicates orally and with sign language and loves her community), McNeilly Center for Children (loves, loves, loves babies and young children and wants to work with them as an assistant teacher in the future), and SmartArt (crafter for life). Jasmyn faced three years of rejections from a local university, but the same fierceness that saved a 24-week-old who weighed 1lb 15oz and was septic pushed a now 22-year-old to keep going. In March 2024, Jasmyn was accepted to Vanderbilt University's Next Steps program. "Next Steps at Vanderbilt is a 4-year inclusive higher education program committed to providing neurodiverse students an inclusive, transformational postsecondary education in academics, social and career development, and independent living, while honoring equality, compassion, and excellence in all endeavors." Read more about Next Steps here: https://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/nextsteps/program-overview/ School starts August 23rd, and the next hurdle is tuition. After assistance, Jasmyn will need $14,000 for this first year, so we're asking you to help. A single mom, no matter how strong and hard working, doesn't just write tuition checks for $14,000, so we need everyone in the extraordinary village Jasmyn has built and then all the people in each of our villages to help. Please consider a gift today, and please share this opportunity to support Jasmyn's dream with everyone you know. Thank you!
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