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Her mission: To Be More, to say Yes! to potential

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published October 10, 2006

She just wanted to stay home.

The former social worker lost her eyesight after an operation and thought she had nothing left to give. She decided her husband and family would take care of her.

Becki Forsell wouldn't hear it.

"What makes you think lying in this bed for six months is going to make you stronger?" she asked the woman.

As executive director of YES! Of America United, Forsell strives to help people with disabilities realize their potential.

"Many times, a person who gets their disability later in life in an accident or a fluke disease, they've had their independence," Forsell said. "They know what it's like to see, they know what they're missing, so they go into a well that's very deep.

"They do not see they still have the values they were brought up with, still have a wealth of ideas, that they're still the person they were before. They don't really see they have any reason or anything to give back."

Such was the case with the social worker who had lost her sight. Becki suggested she attend a performance of the Florida Orchestra, but she didn't want to go. They dressed her, combed her hair, but she cried all the way to the performing arts center. They walked her up to the venue, and she cried again.

When they walked out, she was crying again.

"I thought to myself, 'I failed on this one,' " Forsell explained. "I thought I had bitten off more than I could handle, but she turned to me and said, 'I don't know how to thank you. What a wonderful night of music. These are tears of joy.' "

It is such visits, facilitated through the orchestra's Heartstrings program, that help the disabled get out of the comfort zone of their homes. Forsell said her volunteers create partnerships and help her clients go to Yankees games or art shows or out to eat. The efforts result in friendships and common support.

People grab the rope and start climbing out of that deep well because they realize someone is pulling on the other end.

If Forsell sounds like she's intimately familiar with the well, it's because the depths of her despair were once that deep. In 1996, she lost her vision as the result of a surgery. Her job, interaction with her two children, driving and active lifestyle all were in jeopardy.

Her desire to get out of the well eventually resulted in the formation of YES! Of America United in 2002. With the help of Tampa lawyer Richard Salem, who also is blind, Forsell formed a nonprofit, but she didn't envision her current role.

"I was going to go and get a grant and open a little tea house to let people get to know each other," Forsell said. "I had no intentions of being such an activist."

Now Forsell furthers her mission by crafting relationships with some of the area's most influential people: Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, state Rep. Kevin Ambler and state Sen. Victor Crist.

"I want to get in a hot air balloon with my diabetic champagne and scream to the world we're here," Forsell said. "We're people. See us."

YES! Of America is reaping the benefits of winning one of the WEDU-TV 2005 Be More Awards. The recognition instantly brought the upstart nonprofit more credibility and recognition.

The program, now in its second year, honors nonprofit groups throughout its 16-county West Central Florida area. The public broadcast station awards nonprofits for outstanding marketing initiatives Be More Informed, exceptional educational outreach (Be More Knowledgeable), innovative organization endeavors (Be More Brilliant) and extraordinary fundraising and event efforts (Be More Entertaining).

To apply for a 2006 award, nonprofits must submit an application by Oct. 31. Applications can be downloaded at www.wedu.org or are available by calling toll-free 1-800-354-9338, ext. 2441.

Nonprofits also can rally supporters to vote online in the People's Choice Poll (Be More Humble) beginning Nov. 15.

WEDU will present its awards, including the Nonprofit Organization of the Year (Be More Unstoppable), at a Jan. 18 luncheon.

For nonprofits seeking the spotlight, the value of the Be More Awards is immeasurable. After all, it led to me writing about YES! Of America.

That's all I'm saying.

Ernest Hooper can be reached at (813) 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 10, 2006, 01:16:33]