Susan Moody remembers the moment the idea of serving Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee came to her. It was after returning to the states after living in Hong Kong with her husband and two teenage boys. It was a lost-in-translation moment in reverse, with Moody caught in a cross-cultural haze. While overjoyed to be back in Tennessee, she desperately missed the tight-knit ex-pat community in Hong Kong. She also missed the impressive altruistic fundraising efforts, several of which she was recruited to lead. The central idea was to rise up as a group and come together to give back to the community, not the individual. Moody found the more she gave, the more her new world felt like home. Standing amidst boxes and packing peanuts in her Franklin home, she wondered if there was something here she could do to put the focus on others as a way to integrate her family and herself back into life in the states.
When a close friend and board member of BBBS asked her to run for Queen of the Vines, she knew it was the answer to her prayers. Susan put her head down and went for it. She entered the race with five other volunteers, each with a set fundraising goal. The pair with the highest total would be crowned King and Queen of the Franklin Wine Festival. Conscious of all she had learned in Hong Kong, Moody set out to put the spotlight on the gifts and talents of her volunteers instead of herself. She threw herself into the project with the private mantra “out-serve” not “out-do, keeping the focus on those whose donations of time and effort would help BBBS, instead of six individuals competing for the throne. Moody couldn’t think of a better way to take the focus off the friends she left behind half a world away than to help the community she had just re-joined, regardless of who won the crown!
Big Brothers Big Sisters All About Community
The results were astounding. The business community, non-profit world, education sector, as well as families and individuals all stood together to push the boundaries of what they could accomplish, far exceeding the initial fundraising goals. Stepping up to donate incredible packages and experiences, even opening their homes and businesses to host fundraisers. Among many highlighted experiences are when a concert pianist, himself a Big Brother for over seven years was invited to perform an in-home concert and gave a heartfelt recounting of why he was inspired to help and when the public was invited to celebrate mentorship with the children and adults already in the BBBS program at a “Family Fun Night.”
“It’s not about me. I am just driving this bus full of miracles, helping them get where they need to go. The miracles are these people in the bus – countless individuals with more love and generosity than I could have ever expected,” says Moody.
But the greatest prize of all, says Moody, is the community of Middle Tennessee. “It was exactly what I needed to feel that sense of connectedness I had overseas. The hidden gem in serving your community is experiencing your community serving.” Middle Tennessee is now a community she feels more connected to than ever, and one she feels confident will continue to pull together in the future to accomplish incredible things.
Please join our community of servers on Friday September 16 at The Franklin Wine Festival. Tickets may be purchased at www.franklinwinefestival.com. Please indicate you are supporting Susan Moody at check out. Thank you.
