For 15+ years now, Ms. Woods has literally become a surrogate to hundreds of children in the River Region who are surviving conditions through no fault of their own. Each year, Have a Heart sponsors a holiday party where the children are showered with gifts, entertained by a host of costumed characters and served a full-course holiday meal.
“Some kids who come don’t have a clue they are there. Some can’t see. Some can’t talk or walk,” Ms. Woods explains, “but you should see these kids smile. It’s something.”
In 2000, Ms. Woods bought a home in Montgomery, Alabama, packed her belongings and said goodbye to her native Fort Walton Beach Florida where she operated a daycare center. After moving to the Capital City, she began working in security at the former Montgomery Mall.
As fate would have it, Ms. Woods met a student with special needs who touched her heart. The little girl, who could neither walk nor talk, planted her foot in front of the wheelchair and stretched her arms to embrace the security officer. “She just didn’t know how much I needed a hug,” Ms. Woods recalls.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Ms. Woods and two local business owners teamed up to create the annual holiday event. It has grown into a major affair with substantial community and business support.
Ms. Woods is a woman of no limits. She has served as a parent liaison at Martin Luther King Elementary School. Currently she works as a security officer for Montgomery Public Schools. A self-proclaimed biker chick, she was the first female to join the Montgomery Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club. Once a year, Ms. Woods also travels and delivers gifts to children in the villages of Jamaica.
She aspires to continue acting as a “vessel” to cultivate resources, assist existing centers and programs, and advocate for children with special needs.
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