Recently formed foundation helps with medical supplies, expenses
Above, Caden Swearingen (left), a founder of the T. Addison Foundation, teams up with Emmy Clevenger (right) at Emmy’s Lemonade Stand to raise funds for the foundation on a recent Saturday near the gazebo in Exeter.
October 13, 2021
Sheila Harris
In his position as a pharmacy tech, Caden Swearingen, of Cassville, sees and hears of people who are unable to afford medical devices such as thermometers and pulse oximeters, two basic items important to possess for people battling COVID-19 and other illnesses.
“I wanted to do something to help,” Swearingen said.
That something has taken the form of the T. Addison Foundation, an organization created to help with the medical needs and expenses of people in the community. He is joined in the charitable venture by his cousin, Chelsea Hinds.
Swearingen’s aunt and Hinds’s mother, Teresa Addison, died from complications of COVID-19 in August. As a way of remembering Addison’s gift of making people feel loved and cared for, Swearingen and Hinds named the foundation in her honor.
“My Mom was one in a million,” said Hinds. “She loved big-time and you could feel that (love) whenever she was in the room. She always put others before herself and would give you the shirt off her back.”
Fundraising efforts for the T. Addison Foundation are just getting underway, but a busy October is planned, Swearingen says.
Donation boxes are being set up in area businesses, including Diva Bling and The Tiny Highlander in Cassville, where purse-sized medical kits and bracelets are also available for purchase.
According to Swearingen, the foundation will have a booth at the Chili Cook-Off on the Cassville Square on October 23.
“We will be selling some unique Christmas ornaments there,” Swearingen said.
For information about upcoming fundraisers or how to donate, visit the organization’s Facebook page at T. Addison Foundation.
“People have options for how they would like to donate,” Swearingen said.
Part of the money collected, Swearingen said, will go toward the expenses of Blazi Lowe’s family, of Exeter. The 12-year-old girl is currently undergoing treatments for cancer at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
A link to an Amazon “Wish List” for medical supplies is also present on the T. Addison Foundation’s Facebook page, for those who prefer to purchase an item rather than make a cash donation.
Sheila Harris
In his position as a pharmacy tech, Caden Swearingen, of Cassville, sees and hears of people who are unable to afford medical devices such as thermometers and pulse oximeters, two basic items important to possess for people battling COVID-19 and other illnesses.
“I wanted to do something to help,” Swearingen said.
That something has taken the form of the T. Addison Foundation, an organization created to help with the medical needs and expenses of people in the community. He is joined in the charitable venture by his cousin, Chelsea Hinds.
Swearingen’s aunt and Hinds’s mother, Teresa Addison, died from complications of COVID-19 in August. As a way of remembering Addison’s gift of making people feel loved and cared for, Swearingen and Hinds named the foundation in her honor.
“My Mom was one in a million,” said Hinds. “She loved big-time and you could feel that (love) whenever she was in the room. She always put others before herself and would give you the shirt off her back.”
Fundraising efforts for the T. Addison Foundation are just getting underway, but a busy October is planned, Swearingen says.
Donation boxes are being set up in area businesses, including Diva Bling and The Tiny Highlander in Cassville, where purse-sized medical kits and bracelets are also available for purchase.
According to Swearingen, the foundation will have a booth at the Chili Cook-Off on the Cassville Square on October 23.
“We will be selling some unique Christmas ornaments there,” Swearingen said.
For information about upcoming fundraisers or how to donate, visit the organization’s Facebook page at T. Addison Foundation.
“People have options for how they would like to donate,” Swearingen said.
Part of the money collected, Swearingen said, will go toward the expenses of Blazi Lowe’s family, of Exeter. The 12-year-old girl is currently undergoing treatments for cancer at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
A link to an Amazon “Wish List” for medical supplies is also present on the T. Addison Foundation’s Facebook page, for those who prefer to purchase an item rather than make a cash donation.