Donors help BraveHeart celebrate 10 years of impact

Ten years ago, Auburn’s BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose (BCPP) began serving young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For Danilea Werner, an associate professor in Auburn’s Social Work program, the impact was immediate ­— and powerful.

“We saw it the minute we opened the doors,” she said. “Once those families realized their young adult finally had a place to belong and live with purpose, you could see the relief wash over their faces.”

And it wasn’t just the families who were affected — Auburn students working and volunteering with BCPP saw doors open to unexpected experiences and career paths.

As BCPP marks its 10th anniversary, Werner and her colleagues are reflecting on a rewarding decade of growth — made possible in part by generous donors who have helped the program and its participants thrive.

“What we love about our donors is that they already see the value of our people,” said BCPP founder and Clinical Professor Angie Burque. “We want to make sure everyone sees that. The more we grow, the more we can help others see their value.”

The BCPP ambassadors can be seen around campus on their daily walks, which average more than two miles.

The BCPP staff has designed a weekly schedule of bowling, dance classes and tennis matches.

The BCPP community ambassadors serve others through projects like an annual canned food drive.

Learning for all

Located at Auburn’s First Presbyterian Church, just steps away from Samford Hall, BCPP serves young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who require substantial support. Known as “community ambassadors,” many participants have come to BCPP after high school, when their families found few opportunities for continued education, socialization and caregiver respite.

Simultaneously, the program is a real-world classroom for Auburn students, who learn through hands-on training to work with populations facing cognitive and communication challenges.

The experience has been especially powerful in revealing career paths they may not have considered before.

“We’ve had students come in with no interest in working with people with disabilities, then leave with that work becoming part of their profession in some way,” Werner said.

While BCPP is administered by the College of Liberal Arts’ social work faculty, which includes Werner, Burque and Associate Clinical Professor Julie Wells, it is open to any Auburn student with a willingness to learn, spanning nearly 60 majors since the program began. With students from 10 of Auburn’s 12 colleges volunteering, interning or completing service learning hours, BCPP offers meaningful experience for students across disciplines and career paths.

“We want students who come through BCPP to understand that they may feel uncomfortable at times — and that’s okay,” Burque said. “Over time, they learn they have the capacity to work through that discomfort.”

Meaningful activity

The BCPP community ambassadors find purpose through activity — and they stay busy. Because people with intellectual and developmental disabilities face greater risks for health challenges, the staff has designed a weekly schedule of tennis, bowling, dance classes in the Department of Theatre and Dance and daily walks averaging more than two miles.

For arts-based activities, staff and interns help community ambassadors turn photography into self-expression, allowing them to share perspectives that words alone may not capture. Their work is showcased once or twice a year in their own photography exhibitions.

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Open house for open hearts

Join BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose in celebrating 10 years of community connections with tours, activities and a volunteer appreciation lunch.

They also serve others through efforts like their annual “Warm Hearts Blanket Drive.” Each year, community ambassadors collect, package and deliver donations to soup kitchens, foster care agencies, domestic violence shelters and other organizations — sometimes introducing partners to this population for the first time.

“Suddenly, our partner organizations find they are working side by side toward a shared goal and seeing our community ambassadors not as invisible or isolated, but as valued members of the community,” Burque said.

Werner said that of all their activities, it’s the opportunities to give back that mean the most.

“We all want to give back to the world, and that doesn’t stop with ability,” she said. “It gives them a real sense of purpose to be serving others.”

Generous donor support

Philanthropic support helped launch BCPP and keep it running; in recent years, it has also helped the program grow.

For eight years, Program Coordinator Angela Powell, who holds a social work degree from Auburn, managed the daily schedule on her own. But thanks to the generosity of the Auburn Family, the program was able to hire Madi Martin, a graduate of the College of Education’s Rehabilitation and Disability Studies program, as family and community liaison — giving the program capacity to create a focus on job placement.

“The second full-time position has been a godsend,” Burque said. “Having a team of two gives our families more consistency and allows each of our community ambassadors to have an additional connection through a job.”

Donors Dwight and Nancy Davis, both 1991 graduates of Auburn, are loyal supporters of BCPP. Dwight is president and CEO of Global Connections to Employment, one of the nation’s largest private employers of people with disabilities.  

“When I visit our job sites, it’s easy to see that these folks become family to each other,” he said. “It means a lot to Nancy and me to be able to support a place where people with disabilities find purpose and connection. We believe in celebrating differences, and a gift to BraveHeart is just that — a celebration.”

Donor Tracy Dour Atkins, whose niece Laney is a community ambassador, has found that the staff's engagement with the young adults is invaluable.

“Laney benefits tremendously from the day-to-day interaction and variety of activities there,” she said. “It's an important resource for the community and families, and the one-on-one attention the community ambassadors receive from the staff, interns and student volunteers is incredibly beneficial.”

With continued philanthropic support, BCPP can reach more families, deepen participants’ sense of purpose and give Auburn students even more opportunities to learn alongside the community ambassadors.

“Our dream is to someday have an art center for education and outreach, where we could host art shows and workshops,” Werner said. “But there are so many ways we could grow — and with continued support, there’s no limit to what we can do.”