Organizational Background & Mission: Founded in 2019, The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation began with a single act of community unity: the first official Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine Jazz District. What started as an effort to create joy, celebration, and connection in the community ultimately became the beginning of something much greater. As the Foundation’s involvement in the community deepened, so did its understanding of the barriers facing individuals and families who are too often overlooked by traditional systems of support. Today, The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation has evolved into a multifaceted nonprofit organization providing year-round programming focused on disability inclusion, economic mobility, food security, mental wellness, caregiver support, education, and equitable access to community experiences. At the heart of that evolution is a deeply personal story. The Foundation’s mission is inspired by Aria Lott, daughter of founder Tucker Lott. Aria lived with epilepsy. Rather than improving with age, her condition became increasingly severe, resulting in frequent grand mal seizures that affected nearly every dimension of her life, including her independence, mobility, employment, and ability to pursue the future she had envisioned for herself. In 2018, the frequency and severity of her seizures led Aria to return home to be closer to her family. Aria initially pursued a career as a chiropractor, but the realities of her disability made continuing that path impossible. She pivoted to teaching students with special needs, meaningful work that allowed her to pour into young people while drawing upon her own experiences. Yet despite her education, abilities, and determination, Aria still struggled financially and depended on her family to help meet basic needs. Her experience revealed something much larger than one family's story. It exposed the often-overlooked gap between having the ability to succeed and having equitable access to the resources necessary to do so. Individuals with disabilities may possess the education, talent, ambition, and capacity to thrive while still encountering barriers to employment, transportation, healthcare, financial stability, social inclusion, and independence. Those challenges also extend to caregivers, whose own financial, emotional, professional, and physical well-being can be profoundly affected by the responsibility of supporting a loved one. The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation exists in that gap. Rather than addressing one challenge in isolation, the Foundation works to understand what stands between an individual or family and greater stability, then connects them to the combination of resources, relationships, opportunities, and support necessary to move forward. Our goal is not simply to provide temporary relief. Our goal is to change trajectories. Programs & Impact: Aria Camille Empowerment (ACE) Program: In 2022, Aria passed away, but the lessons of her life became a blueprint for helping others. Her legacy lives on through the Aria Camille Empowerment (ACE) Program, the Foundation’s flagship initiative. ACE provides financial empowerment awards combined with professional mentorship, personal development, and individualized wraparound support for individuals with disabilities and caregivers. Participants include college and trade school students, entrepreneurs, and individuals working toward greater professional and personal independence. The strength of ACE is not simply what the Foundation provides, but how the Foundation responds to the whole person. A scholarship alone cannot solve a transportation barrier. Employment alone cannot eliminate food insecurity. Professional development cannot reach its full potential when mental or physical wellness is deteriorating. ACE therefore looks beyond a single need to identify and address the interconnected barriers that can prevent talented individuals from reaching their potential. One participant, Terrence, demonstrates what that approach can accomplish. When the Foundation met Terrence, he was working three retail jobs simply to make ends meet while pursuing his goal of becoming a teacher. He had the talent and determination to succeed, but transportation challenges, inadequate technology, and an unsustainable work schedule stood between him and his goal. Through ACE, the Foundation provided transportation assistance, a laptop, reliable internet access, mentorship, and additional support. Terrence earned his teaching accreditation, transitioned from three retail jobs into a teaching career, and nearly doubled his income. The Foundation also helped him leverage his classical vocal training to launch a coaching business, creating an additional source of income and professional fulfillment. Through health and wellness support, he also made significant improvements in his physical health, confidence, and overall well-being. Terrence did not need someone to create potential for him. The potential was already there. He needed barriers removed so that potential could become progress. That principle sits at the center of the Foundation's work. Although rooted in Kansas City, ACE has grown beyond a local initiative. The Foundation has supported individuals in states including Florida, Texas, and Connecticut, demonstrating both the broader need for individualized disability and caregiver support and the adaptability of the ACE model. The Foundation's reach has also extended internationally through community outreach in Nigeria, where it has provided clothing, books, financial assistance, and other essential resources. That relationship ultimately helped empower an individual to establish a community-focused foundation of his own, multiplying the impact by creating local infrastructure for continued service. Community Assistance & Food Security: The Foundation recognizes that long-term empowerment is difficult when immediate needs threaten a household's stability. Through its Community Assistance Program, The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation responds to practical barriers that can quickly become life-altering obstacles. The Foundation has facilitated nine vehicle placements, in addition to other transportation assistance, appliance repairs, emergency support, and help meeting essential household needs. For a person with a disability or caregiver, reliable transportation can represent far more than convenience. It can mean access to employment, medical appointments, education, groceries, community resources, and independence. Food security represents another major component of this work. In partnership with Harvesters and Calvary Chapel, the Foundation distributes more than 300,000 pounds of food annually, serving more than 3,000 families each year through First Friday food distributions and a weekly pantry. Many of the households served include individuals with disabilities or caregivers. These services address immediate hardship while also protecting the stability families need to pursue longer-term goals. Education & Youth Engagement: The Foundation believes inclusion must begin early. Through original children's books authored by Aria and Executive Director Dennis Powell, The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation introduces young people to themes including belonging, disability inclusion, financial literacy, saving, and empathy. These books anchor the Foundation's It's Never Not Christmas program, which brings literacy experiences into schools and community organizations throughout the year. Through readings, book distributions, financial education, toys, snacks, and other resources, the program uses storytelling as a vehicle to educate, encourage, and expose children to lessons that can shape how they understand themselves and others. The program also carries forward Aria's voice and experience, allowing her story of living with epilepsy and the importance of belonging to continue reaching young people. Mental Health & Caregiver Support: The Foundation's commitment to whole-person support extends deeply into mental and emotional wellness. Through the Soul Support Network, The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation creates opportunities for education, storytelling, connection, and support. Its initiatives include SOULdiers Standing Tall, a podcast that challenges stigma by elevating stories of resilience, advocacy, leadership, and lived experience; Did You Know?, an educational awareness series highlighting disabilities, chronic conditions, and health issues affecting underserved communities; and caregiver-focused support designed to create safe spaces for connection and professional guidance. This work recognizes an important disparity that is too often overlooked: disability and caregiving can carry significant mental and emotional burdens in addition to their physical and financial realities. Individuals with disabilities may experience isolation, discrimination, loss of independence, financial stress, employment barriers, and difficulty accessing appropriate or culturally responsive mental health resources. At the same time, caregivers may spend years prioritizing the needs of a loved one while quietly experiencing chronic stress, exhaustion, anxiety, grief, or burnout themselves. The Foundation's annual Mental Health Awareness Walk, in partnership with Uplifting People and Properties (UPP), brings these realities into the public conversation. The walk creates an accessible, non-clinical environment where individuals, families, mental health professionals, advocates, and community organizations can come together around mental wellness. More than an awareness event, the walk is designed to reduce stigma, normalize conversations about mental health, connect participants with resources, and remind caregivers that their well-being matters too. It reflects the Foundation's belief that true empowerment cannot focus solely on employment, education, or financial stability while ignoring the mental and emotional health required to sustain them. Community, Culture & Belonging: The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation also believes that equity means more than meeting basic needs. People deserve access to joy, culture, recreation, celebration, and spaces where they feel seen and valued. That philosophy remains connected to the Foundation's roots. What began with one Christmas tree lighting has grown into signature community experiences, including multiple tree lighting ceremonies that use celebration as a platform for disability and health awareness, cultural programming, performances, and community connection. Free community breakfasts further combine celebration with tangible resources, including full hot meals, brand-new winter clothing, financial education, health education, and other family supports. The Foundation's fundraising and cultural events similarly bring mission and experience together. Its annual Benefit Gala and Concert creates an elevated “Hollywood meets Kansas City” experience while generating resources to support year-round impact. Christmas Karaoke and other community activations provide additional opportunities for people to gather, celebrate, and support the mission. The Foundation has also demonstrated what equitable recreational access can look like through its Winter Wonderland on Ice pop-up skating experience on Kansas City's historically underserved East Side. The initiative introduced a recreational experience that many children and families in the surrounding community had never had convenient access to while also creating seasonal employment and a new gathering space. After operating the rink for two seasons through significant Foundation investment, future skating activations are being strategically evaluated and will resume as dedicated sponsorship and financial support are secured. This approach allows the Foundation to build upon the success and lessons of the initiative while responsibly prioritizing resources across its growing portfolio of year-round programs. A Growing Model of Impact" What began with one tree, in one neighborhood, during one season has evolved into something far greater. Today, The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation addresses needs that are immediate while simultaneously investing in outcomes that are long-term. Food may stabilize a household today. Transportation may make employment possible tomorrow. Mentorship may turn education into a career. Mental health support may help a caregiver continue caring without losing themselves in the process. A book may teach a child that someone who experiences the world differently still belongs. And an inclusive community event may allow a family to experience something they once believed was not meant for them. These efforts are not separate pieces of our mission. They are interconnected parts of the same vision: removing barriers so people have a genuine opportunity to thrive. As the Foundation has evolved, its impact has expanded from a Kansas City tradition to a year-round model reaching individuals locally, nationally, and even internationally. Yet growth is not measured by geography alone. It is measured by the person who moves from three jobs to one meaningful career, the family that gains reliable transportation, the caregiver who finally finds support, the household with food on the table, and the child who learns that disability does not diminish belonging, potential, or worth. The TSOS “Do Good” Foundation is building a more inclusive, equitable, and compassionate community by pairing immediate assistance with long-term empowerment, community connection with individualized support, and lived experience with action. We do not simply ask what someone needs today. We ask what barriers stand between them and the life they are capable of building, and what we can do, together, to help remove them.