Today we’d like to introduce you to Rene Uribe.
Hi Rene, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
On November 12, 2019, our daughter, Amanda Raquel Uribe was involved in a vehicle accident that took her life. The accident occurred only a couple hundred yards from our home as she made her way to her first college class that morning at 7:57 am. Amanda was only 22 years old at the time of her passing. This event completely devastated our tight-knit family of 5. Amanda has an older sister Rebekkah (28yo) and her younger brother Nicholas (21 yo). Our family has endured more than most families simply because of the career I (Rene) chose as a young 17-year-old.
My wife (Nellie) and I raised 3 wonderful kids as a Marine Corps Family in a career that spanned over 20 years from 1990 to 2010. We settled in Houston Texas after my retirement in 2010 as I began my second career. All of our children graduated from Clear Brook High School and continue their education to this day. My wife and I were simply broken after our daughter’s passing. Losing such a beautiful loving soul is simply something no parent should ever have to endure. We had to make a decision on how we were going to move forward from this. One could say that no one would ever blame us for choosing to completely give in to the grief and sorrow and fall completely apart.
But we could hear our daughter’s voice whisper over our shoulder saying that we must trust in our faith and lean into the despair and live our best lives. We had two other children that needed us and two granddaughters that deserved grandparents that they could depend on to be there for every milestone in their lives. While sifting through our daughter’s belongings in her room soon after her passing we stumbled across journals, sketchbooks, and a bounty of art.
Amanda was a talented artist and we understood how art offered an outlet for her to express her pain, love, and emotion throughout her young life. We read her words with tears streaming from our faces. She took us on a journey filled with love, heartbreak, fear, uncertainty, and simple kindness. It was during those dark moments that we gave great thought to how best to honor our daughter’s memory, spirit, and life. Her art spoke to us and listening to the countless stories from her closest friends made the decision to start a nonprofit organization in her name easy.
Amanda’s Legacy Foundation has three simple goals within our mission. Support local art programs through scholarships, education, and awareness. Support local and national animal rescue organizations in their efforts through sponsorships and direct financial assistance. Finally, spread the love and kindness Amanda represented through perpetual Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) both small and large. Our mission is simple but encompasses Amanda’s core values of love for all of God’s creatures, Art and her simple acts of kindness to anyone that was fortunate enough to know her.
We are a 501(c)3) nonprofit organization just over a year old but we have huge plans to make this world a bit kinder, a bit more compassionate, and a bit more appreciative of the life we have been given. To date, we have awarded $3000 in scholarships, contributed over $2000 to animal rescue groups, and almost $1000 in random acts of kindness to perfect strangers. To best understand Amanda’s story and her foundation’s mission please visit www.amandaslegacy.org.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our struggles in establishing Amanda’s Legacy Foundation pale in comparison to what our family has endured prior to and since our daughter’s passing. This is a labor of love and there are NO obstacles too difficult to overcome. THAT we can be certain of!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are a former Marine Corps military family that is focused on our new mission of spreading kindness and assisting those less fortunate in our daughter’s memory.
From supporting students in their educational goals, to assisting organizations looking to improve conditions for abused or neglected animals or simply offering a helping hand to the homeless and forgotten, we simply want to make the world a little kinder.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We believe that measured risk is necessary if you plan to grow both from a personal and professional level. This is especially true when establishing an organization like ours. Without a certain amount of risk, there will never be any reward.
As a 501 (c)(3) organization we must be responsible in our efforts to grow because we carry the trust and confidence of our supporters on our shoulders.
Contact Info:
- Email: rene.uribe@amandaslegacy.org
- Website: www.amandaslegacy.org
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/amandaslegacyfoundation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandasLegacy
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandas_legacy
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@amandaslegacy
