“DO THINGS that can make a difference, and create hope in someone else’s life.” Those words are the driving force behind Andy White’s life, and his work in and for the community reflects that goal. White is the chief development officer for Easterseals Tennessee, an organization dedicated to supporting people with disabilities as they live, work, and play in their communities. White has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit world. Beyond that, he makes a concerted effort to be involved in his community, whether through the Rotary Club, tennis coaching, or just through everyday living.
“I love to serve,” White said. “To hopefully provide a solution, or create or provide hope to someone who’s looking for it… that fills my cup.”
He doesn’t just serve; he inspires others to get out into the community as well. White spent a year as president of the Lebanon Noon Rotary Club, during which time he challenged the club to become “hope dealers.”
“During my tenure, the Rotary International theme was ‘create hope in the world,’” White said. “That really resonated with me.”
Every act of compassion can be an example for others, a way for them to find hope, and a way for the person serving to foster hope in their own lives. It was an uplifting theme for the club, White said.
“We’re not trying to fix people; we’re just trying to walk with them,” White said. “Pushing out that hope into those spaces where despair… wants to live or was living.”
With Easterseals, White does that every day, helping provide the disability services that let people with disabilities live with as much independence as possible. That could be through supported living, supported employment, autism-related support services, or early intervention for children, among many other programs. White oversees fundraising efforts and community outreach for those programs as the chief development officer. He said he would love to go out of business because people didn’t need those services, but in the meantime, his goal is to support each person as they need it.
“This world right now is just so full of fear and division, and just systems that are hard to navigate,” White said. “We’re trying to make a difference.”
It doesn’t take much to make that difference. There are opportunities everywhere to serve, whether it’s with local schools, churches, civic clubs, nonprofits, or a local chamber of commerce. White said it doesn’t have to be something big or grandiose; the important thing is the willingness to serve.
“You just have to care enough to keep showing up. If you’ve got breath, then you’ve got purpose, and someone out there, I promise you, needs what you have,” White said. “I think we can all be ‘hope dealers.’” GN
Find Easterseals Tennessee online at easterseals.com/tennessee or call (615) 292-6640 for more information.
