Youth

Empowering Youth

The Halle Grace Foundation seeks to inspire and encourage today's youth through guest blogs, motivational articles, inspirational quotes, and relevant online resources. In addition, the Foundation is currently developing a leadership program for teenagers living with chronic medical conditions.

Coping with Stress

Halle Grace coped with many of her life's challenges in positive, unique ways. In fact, we are working on compliling her own words of wisdom into a book to share with other teen's facing their own struggles.

Here are a few of her favorites:

* Dance and listen to music

* Talk or text friends

* Read a good book

* Admire cute boys

* Bake something yummy

* Attend worship with youth group

Leaving a Legacy

Halle lived each day of her life with purpose. She knew each day was a gift. And in her last few days, we asked Halle what she wanted to leave behind for us. She expressed her desire for us to all learn from her. She wanted us to learn to live life to the fullest, to smile, even when you don't feel like doing so, and to dance even when you are in pain. She promised she would send us a little sparkle to remind us she is still around.

What will your legacy be...

Extra-Ordinary Youth -

Brandon and Chloe Fann

One of the “perks” of having a child(ren) with disabilities is that you get to meet some amazing families. It is a club of sorts that you belong to you. One that you wish upon no one, but treasure once you are in it. Don’t get me wrong, I would do anything to take the pain away from my children and all the medical challenges they face, but what I have learned is to embrace the joys that come along this journey. I often tell my kiddos, “we can’t necessarily control how we are made or what medical issues we must face, but we can control how we react to it.” Our reactions aren’t always joyful. They are sometimes raw, painful, and real – but we face them head on as a family. And when there are times of considerable joy and humor, we embrace that too with open arms

Girl Scout Gold Award

One of Halle's best friends in the world, Caitlin Salerno, recently completed the most prestigious award in Girl Scouts: The Gold Award. Halle was unable to complete her high school years with her devoted GS Troop 5, but these girls remain in our lives and I know Halle remains in their hearts. We feel honored to share Caitlin's project on our Foundation website as it highlights some important messages for teens today. Be sure to check out Caitlin's video below.

We also want to send a special shout out to Halle's other dearest friend, Lizzie Corn, who stars in the video. We are excited to share that Lizzie recently completed her Gold Award project this year. Please visit the website Lizzie develop that shares volunteer opportunities for teen looking to get involved in their local community.

https://lizziecorn710.wixsite.com/goldaward

And we can't forget another special Troop member, Jane McGinnis, completed her Gold Award this summer as well! Halle was blessed with some amazing friends in her life. I am so proud of you Caitlin, Lizzie and Jane and I know Halle is too! Wishing you three all the best as you enter your Senior Year! Class of 2018.

Use Your Voice

Share Your Story

Are you interested in sharing your story of being a teenager living with chronic illness or disability? We would love to provide you with a platform to do just that. We welcome teenagers (with parent's persmission) to participate in one of our "Blog Takeovers."

We welcome your story submission and can even help you write it, if you need that. Check out our some of our recent blog takeovers. Any of the blogs with the word "takeover" in it, is another teen's story. It doesn't have to be your entire journey of living with a disability or chronic illness, it could be a story of something you have overcome or a struggle you have faced.

Some ideas:

Interactions with doctors or other professionals.
Traveling with your disability
Medication management
Sharing your support systems
Dating
Friendships
Dealing with school
Living through a pandemic
Sports
Hospital stays
Therapy

If you are interested in submitting a story, you can contact us at jillianheilman@gmail.com