1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, I hope you enjoyed our episode earlier this 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: week with Aaron Smith of CASA and Thomas. That episode 3 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: really affected me. That interview really affected me, and I 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: really haven't gotten it off my mind since we did 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: it and produced it. To summarize, Thomas was abused. He 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: was tied up by his mother with electrical chords. He 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: was one through an institutionaliziz system that really didn't serve 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: or care for him and certainly offered him no love. 9 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: He was adopted and in that adoption with provided him 10 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,480 Speaker 1: hope for the first time in his life. He found 11 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:55,279 Speaker 1: a brother that sexually molested him, and then in defending 12 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: himself by just trying to reach out for help and 13 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: speak up. He then gets taken out of his adoptive 14 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: home and put back into state institutionalized care, and weeks 15 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: later two orderlies that he doesn't know anything about, gives 16 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: him one hundred and fifty bucks and drops them off 17 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: on the campus at Old Miss and says, hey, good 18 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: luck and ride off. There's just no love there, There's 19 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: just no care, and the fact that this kid is 20 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: still trying is an amazing testament to his character and 21 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: his spirit. The other thing I want you to remember 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,639 Speaker 1: is despite all of this, this kid made a thirty 23 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,559 Speaker 1: five on a part of his act and got into 24 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: college and even had a full ride to Fisk, which 25 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: is in Tennessee, but he couldn't go there because he 26 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: was under the care of the State of Mississippi. And 27 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: so he went to Old miss having been told by 28 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: the State of Mississippi that they would cover the call 29 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,559 Speaker 1: above and beyond his pel grants and all of that. 30 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: And then they informed this kid, who has been screwed 31 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: by basically every adult in his life, that they were 32 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: wrong funding what in there and you need to take 33 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: some loans. I just don't know what I would do 34 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: if I was Thomas. I just don't I don't know 35 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: i'd handle that. I don't know that I would want 36 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: to wake up in the morning. Yet this kid wakes up, 37 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: has two jobs, goes to class, makes his grades, and 38 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: through his relationship with Aaron, is finding his way to 39 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: be a productive adult and wants to major in psychology 40 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: and criminal justice to keep the very people that abused 41 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 1: him off the streets so no other child has to 42 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: live what he lived. What a testament to this kid. 43 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: But he's got a twenty thousand dollars debt he never 44 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: expected to have, didn't earn, could have been without had 45 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: he been able to go to FISK, and was tossed 46 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: on him at the last minute, kind of like all 47 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: the other stuff that's been tossed on him, and I 48 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: think it's wrong. He doesn't have family, he doesn't have 49 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: a mom or dad or grandparents to call to lean 50 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: on for help. He's doing more than most his age. 51 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: Du So Alex, our producer, had an idea, we want 52 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: to raise the money. This is not a handout, it's 53 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: not even philanthropy. It's just hopefully showing him there is 54 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: love and care in the world for a kid who's 55 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: been shown very little of it. So Alex is donating 56 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: a thousand dollars. Lisa and I are donating a thousand dollars, 57 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: So that's two thousand bucks. We're eighteen thousand dollars away 58 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: from paying off Thomas his debt that he incurred through 59 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: no decision or fault of his own. My hope is 60 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: that you'll join us, open up your pocket books, and 61 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: give a little money to help the kid out, but 62 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,239 Speaker 1: more importantly show him that his story in his life matters. 63 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: So it's pretty simple. We go to KASA MS dot org. 64 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: That's C A S A MS dot org and click 65 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: on donate And when you go to donate, there's a 66 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: little field there and all you got to do is 67 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: type in Thomas. We've spoken to Aaron, she's ready to 68 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,679 Speaker 1: receive it. One hundred percent of ever dollar that goes 69 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: to this will go to pay off Thomas's debt. So 70 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: again it's KASA, C A S A MS kasams dot org. 71 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: Type donate, put in some money, type in Thomas's name, 72 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: and let's see if we can't can't give Thomas a 73 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: little something that he's not expecting.