Brianna Brandy Millard Smith’s Happy Children Memorial Scholarship Fund held its third annual “Poppies Are Blooming BBQ Fundraiser” in front of the Green Valley Market in Green Valley recently to raise funds and receive donations for those experiencing addiction and domestic violence.
“Our daughter was killed 10 years ago, March 30th, 2014,” BBMS Happy Children Memorial Fund CEO Laurie Millard said of her daughter Brianna, who is the organization’s namesake. “She was walking on Highway 138 near Llano, and a semi-truck wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, and she died. And in 2018, we started the nonprofit in her honor.”
According to the organization’s official website, Brianna had consistently struggled to remain sober while raising her autistic son, Daniel, with her longest time going without drugs being six months. Laurie feels that her daughter’s untimely death both prevented Brianna from overcoming her addiction and cost Daniel a true relationship with his mother.
“We wanted her remembered for the good things that she did,” said Laurie. “Not just for the addict, mentally ill person that died in the desert. She was always helping people. If she had money, she was feeding people. If she had a place to stay, she was taking people in.”
Founded in 2018, BBMS Happy Children Memorial Scholarship Fund assists in securing toys, clothes, food and hygiene products for those in need, with the only requirements being a commitment to seeking help and support after leaving an abusive relationship or household. For those struggling with addiction, the organization asks for a commitment to sobriety. The organization’s image was also crafted with Brianna’s interests in mind, with the logo representing what Laurie feels to be her daughter’s essence.
“Brianna loved purple, and so those are our colors. She had a notebook from COC. She wanted to be a speech pathologist for special needs kids. And so the logo is a circle with hearts in the middle of it. And it says, ‘Imagine Hope.’ And then on the back of our shirts, it says ‘the road to success is always under construction,’ by Lily Tomlin, which she had on her notebooks.”
The fundraiser held on April 20 is the first of two held each year, with BBMS Happy Children Memorial Fund traditionally holding a spring fundraiser close to the date of Brianna’s death in addition to a fall fundraiser close to Oct. 6, Brianna’s birthday. During the barbecue, local musicians such as Michael Vernetti and the Christian band “Winging It” performed, and Daniel was also given an opportunity to sing for the event attendees.
Donations from sponsors were collected, and used as raffle prizes to help raise funds.
“People were very pleased with the event,” Laurie continued. “We had a lot of compliments on it. ‘Thank you’ for what we do. When someone says, ‘I lost my son to drug addiction, thank you for what you do,’ or ‘my child is now sober, thank you for helping, I want to help, too,’ that means so much.”
BBMS Happy Children Memorial Fund now plans on dispersing the raised funds and donated items with the support of various local groups and businesses,
“We work with Newhall Church of the Nazarene, and they also work with other organizations. We have local Facebook groups here in our area, and we reach out locally to our community first. We work with the local elementary school. We provide food there for families in need. During Christmas and Thanksgiving, we make sure they have Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner, and that was huge this year with the [movie] studios being on strike.”
Laurie is also looking to the future, with plans to support the community and children in need even more.
“Starting next year, we’re gonna be working with Valencia High School, where [Brianna] graduated from,” she said. “She was in the first four-year graduating class at Valencia High School. And she was on the flag team there, she was on the swim team, she was in the choir. We’re going to be working with them to provide money towards families that meet our qualifications. Gowns, tuxedo rentals, prom tickets. We’re hoping to help a few families. And we’ve talked to Valencia High School, and they’re very happy to be working with us.”
Those interested in donating to or learning more about BBMS Happy Children Memorial Fund can visit www.bbmshappychildren.com.
