“I remember that one moment as if it had occurred yesterday,” recalls Tom Tuohy. When my mom made that request, we both smiled. We were standing in a room filled with the good fortune of my life, which could have turned out quite differently. I was the youngest child. My mother somehow found the financial means to raise us all on a $6,000 a year salary. When she took a second job, all the kids began working as well. It was difficult for my mom every single day. She carried on with a silent dignity, but there were many times when I wondered how she did it.

What seemed to be the most difficult for us was the feeling of isolation which came from being considered ‘different.’ In those days, acceptance by others did not come easy for my mom, as a single parent, nor for me, as a child without a father present in my life.

We also knew we were fortunate. Our family was healthy and we were surrounded by people who cared. We did not live in a desperately poor neighborhood and were not surrounded by despair and negative influences. None in our family had been born with extraordinary physical or developmental challenges.

However, without others reaching out to us at critical times we would have continued to struggle and I may not have been able to continue my education. If not for those moments of unconditional support to us, we could have slipped down a path with little hope for a meaningful future.

We both understood that a single moment of inspiration or one act of generosity can be all that it takes to keep hope alive for a family and set the course of a child’s future.

I knew accepting my mother’s challenge was an opportunity to find even one child to give the gift of hope. I would never have imagined 20 years later we would celebrate the dreams of thousands of kids, all over the world, with no end in sight.
Of all the amazing lessons my mother taught me, what remains above them all is her life’s example that one person can make an extraordinary difference. She never lost faith and reminded us that we should never forget those who are in need.

Dreams for Kids is my mom’s legacy. When I think of all the children whose lives have been changed, and the effect it has had on their families, it is so gratifying to know it all came as a result of my mother’s life and her commitment to her children.
Every single day I am thankful for my mother’s commitment and love, and I will always be grateful to those who reached out to us and made a difference our lives.”

Dreams for Kids honored the matriarch of our mission and spirit and paid tribute to Mrs. Tuohy and her extraordinary life by endowing the Patricia Tuohy Scholarship, granted each year to a single parent.