Augusta mother starts scholarship in memory of her daughter

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – After the passing of her daughter, one native mom is popping her ache into goal by serving to the following technology of scholars.

One mother is beginning a scholarship in reminiscence of her daughter at Augusta College.

We sat down to listen to how this mom felt this was her calling to heal the ache humorous, good, musically gifted, and a very good listener are the phrases Leslie Lesoon makes use of to recollect her daughter Natalie.

“She was very inventive, musical. After which she had a very good tennis arm, and he or she ran cross nation, and like working would give her some stress reduction,” her mother says.

Elevating consciousness for suicide was by no means within the playing cards for Lesoon till she misplaced her daughter in 2017.

She says, “I wakened at some point with this message to start out a nonprofit. And I’m like, I don’t even know what a nonprofit is, like, how the hell am I supposed to do that?”

Lesoon says Natalie’s classmates from Greenbriar started pouring out from all over the place to assist.

“There have been loads of youngsters that needed to do one thing. So we had a separate youthful individuals one. And we put collectively some concepts on what subsequent steps have to be completed. And I’m telling you individuals got here out of the woodwork, I need to do your brand, I need to do your fundraising,” Lesoon says.

Whereas they did have enormous success with the nonprofit, Covid bought in the best way.

“We had been invited by the center faculties, the excessive faculties, Kiwanis golf equipment, youth teams, and church teams. So and as soon as you realize, all of the restrictions occur, that’s when the parents that had been nonetheless in Augusta couldn’t do it anymore. There wasn’t get we weren’t getting any traction anyplace,” Lesoon says.

However she knew her work wasn’t completed but.

She says, “We form of talked concerning the thought of dissolving it. I stated, oh, okay. Nicely, I imply, this seems like a advantageous thought to me. I imply, we are able to’t do something proper now. They stated, effectively, we don’t know what to do with the cash. And I used to be like, how a lot is there? And also you wouldn’t imagine how shut it was to the amount of cash I began the scholarship.”

And now the Natalie Lauren Wooden scholarship endowment is out there on the college she would have attended.

“The recipient should be enrolled within the Pamplin Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Augusta College, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and Music choice shall be given to college students who play piano, guitar, violin, or sing. Choice will even be given to college students with an excited by curiosity in music remedy,” Lesoon says.

She says the message of suicide prevention continues by way of this and that there are different avenues, however she is grateful for all who’ve helped her by way of this course of.

“I really feel that I poured my grief into this, this entire course of helps me heal up nonetheless therapeutic, you realize, you by no means actually recover from something like this,” Lesoon says.

Purposes for this scholarship will open within the fall semester, for its first recipient.

Should you or anybody you realize is fighting the considered suicide, please name the hotline at 9-8-8.

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.