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Our Story

Liz’s Legacy was formed in the honor of Mary Elizabeth Stokes who unexpectedly passed away on July 9th, 2015 at age 32.   Liz was a licensed mental health counselor in the central Florida area who specialized in working with children and teenagers.  Because of her desire to help others, and her family’s desire to create a lasting memory in her honor, Liz’s Legacy was created.   Liz’s Legacy was initially formed by Liz’s parents, Jim and Margaret Stokes, and her brother and sister-in-law David and Danielle Stokes.   It is their desire to improve the lives of children and teenagers by providing life changing mental health counseling to those in need.

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Our Approach

Liz’s Legacy has pre-approved counselors we believe to be the best available.  All mental health counselors are required to sign a statement of Christian Faith that they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.    Counselors must also have the proper federal, state, and local license requirements.  They are professionals with proven work experience with children and teenagers. Scholarships are provided to the counselors by Liz’s Legacy.    Prospective clients work directly with the counselors who then petition Liz’s Legacy for scholarship funds.  On a quarterly basis, general reports and counts are sent back to the Liz Legacy board listing the number and ages of clients and types of issues addressed.  Due to privacy laws, no client name, address, or personal information is ever requested or required to be sent to the Board.

Liz’s Legacy is an approved Federal  ‘501c3’ charity organization that holds multiple fundraising events to support this mission.

‘Friends of the Foundation’  support our mission with either their time or separate funding to cover the  Foundation’s operational cost.  

common questions

Yes, we are an IRS approved 501c3 organization. Contributions are tax deductible.

Liz’s Legacy only provides grants and scholarships to pre-approved counselors identified on this site.

Our biggest obstacle relates to the securing of donations for the need that has surfaced. Each week children and teenagers are unable to receive mental health counseling largely due to lack of finances.

Parenting Skills –Liz’s Legacy has recognized the need to provide parenting skills.   Group parenting events have since been added and supported at several counseling center locations.   Liz’s Legacy covers the cost for the counselor to develop the materials and support the weekly parent meetings, usually for 8 weeks.   Also, the first annual parenting ‘Cultivating Kids’ conference was held in 2022.  This event has featured national speakers and provided breakout sessions for parents.   For the 2024 event, for example, 184 parents from all over the central Florida attended this event.   Parents choose from a selection of 12 sessions with a range of current topics.  Annual Conferences have been held every year since 2022.   Plans are underway to have multiple parent conferences in 2026.

Edgewood Children’s Ranch- There was a need for counselors at the ranch.   The Ranch is a residential home to children and teenagers.    Liz’s Legacy now provides counselors and covers 100% of their cost to provide ‘one on one’ counseling for all children and teenagers at the Ranch.   This support started in 2023.   The need was great.  Results have been outstanding.    

Very little turnover has been experienced on our board since our beginning.   Two years ago, we brought on one part-time employee, and in 2025 we added a second part-time employee.   

God has touched the heart of an outstanding group of men and women who have volunteered to serve on our board for two years or more. This excellent mix of talent and expertise has added to our organization.    

In 2025, two part time employees supported multiple events and worked directly with our counseling centers.     We continue to add new donors and supporters through speaking events.

God continues to bless this organization.   As new funds are made available, the foundation has been able to provide more scholarships to children and teenagers.    We presently support over 45 approved counselors located in 15 counseling centers   Over 2,300 scholarships have been provided to children and teenagers since 2016.  Each year, since our beginning, the number of scholarships we have awarded has grown. 

Back-office systems have been developed to streamline the key parts of the organization.   NEON One is used to assist in the Donor Management process.  QuickBooks is used as the official books of record.   A custom web-based   Scholarship System was developed that automated the request and approval of scholarships.   There is a focus to document and ensure our processes and procedures are in place for the long term. 

To assure potential donors to the foundation that our internal processes are efficient and productive, we are accredited by ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability).  Visit www.ECFA.org or call 1-800-323-9473.

The Foundation has 3 officers and 3 workers, (2 part time, 1 volunteer), that manage   and perform day to day operations.  The full board meets on a quarterly basis to review all aspects of the foundation.   

Our funding comes from individuals and grants.

 

Our main area of need is for donations to fund our scholarship programs for children and teens.  This includes individual scholarships and our small group programs.  Another need is funding for our year-long commitment to provide counseling for residents at the Edgewood Ranch.   Sponsors for our parenting classes are also needed.

The foundation does provide some assistance to adult parents.   Our annual ‘Cultivating Kids’ event have been extremely successful for parents.  Our primary mission is to provide Mental Health Services to children and teenagers who are in a financial need.    We do occasionally offer stand alone help to parents.  We do this through our annual parenting conference, and stand alone parenting classes.

Meet The Board

Dave Stokes

President

David is a civil engineer with Madden, Moorhead, & Stokes, LLC, an engineering firm that specializes in land development.  David and his wife Danielle, a high school assistant principal, have two teenage children.  Their family spends most of their time keeping up with their children’s activities, as well as spending time outdoors boating, fishing, and hunting.

Margaret Stokes

Director

Margaret was an elementary school teacher for 25 years and has been an active supporter of many central Florida charity organizations supporting the needs of children and teenagers.  Her hobbies are designing and creating custom antique jewelry and spending time with her grandchildren.

Jim Stokes

Treasurer

Jim retired from Lockheed Martin Corporation as an Information Systems Sr. Program Manager. In this capacity Jim implemented IT solutions in support of the Financial, Business, and Manufacturing sectors of multiple divisions. Jim and wife Margaret have lived in the central Florida area for over 42 years. Jim’s hobbies are hunting, fishing, and spending time with his grandchildren.

Bryce Merideth

Board Member | 2016-Current

Mr. Merideth is a founding member of Liz’s Legacy Foundation. Bryce’s commitment in helping Liz’s Legacy in executing their mission has been invaluable. Bryce is a proud owner of Christian Brother’s Automotive of Clermont. In his spare time, he races sports cars in autocross races. Bryce, his lovely wife, Shannon has three children; they are active in their community, and in their church.

Jackie Vozza

Board Member | 2020-Current

Jackie received her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan.  After graduating and moving to Florida, she worked for the Circuit 10 Substance Abuse & Mental Health Program Office & later worked as a therapist at Central Florida Behavioral Hospital.  The majority of her time was spent as a therapist working with children and families.  Jackie and her husband now have two precious children of their own and reside in the Orlando area.

Tracie Wood

Board Member | 2020-Current

Tracie grew up in the Winter Park area and received an Early Childhood Education degree from Auburn University.  Tracie was an elementary school teacher for 9 ½ years teaching first grade and kindergarten.   Tracie and her husband Chris have been married for 22 years and have 2 boys. Tracie volunteers at her children’s school and at her home church. She has also been active in Bible Study Fellowship, Jail Ministry and Awana. Tracie feels God has given her the heart to serve and minister to children. 

Gary Meloon

Board Member | 2016-Current

Gary Meloon has a long family history with the boat building industry. He served as the VP and Business Manager for Southeast Marine, previously Correct Craft. Gary understands that our families are our greatest treasure. Gary is an avid boater and enjoys spending time on the water, skiing, and fishing. Gary and his wife, Ardis, have two sons, Nathan, whose family resides in Orlando Florida; and son, Gary, Jr., who passed away after losing his fight with mental health issues.

Summer Darnell

LMHC, Board Advisor | 2018-Current

Summer Darnell has 20 years of experience in business, technology and mental health. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Qualified Supervisor in the State of Florida (MH#17578). Summer understands the challenges facing families and believes that mental health counseling is a God-given resource to help families grow strong and resilient, even in the face of difficult challenges. She is honored to be a part of Liz’s Legacy and its mission to help families access this much-needed assistance.

Lawrence Davis

Board Member | 2020-Current

Lawrence retired after 29 years with the Lockheed Martin Corporation as an information technology professional responsible for developing and implementing the IT strategies. Lawrence has mentored and worked with youth-based organization for over 30 years. He serves on multiple foundation boards focused on youth development. He and his wife have lived in Orlando since 2006. They have a son, daughter, and three granddaughters.  He enjoys traveling, working out and entertaining his granddaughters.

Founding Board of Directors

2017-2019

back row: Steve Cahill, Dave Gabri, Bryce Merideth, Gary Meloon, Michael Anderson Front row: Jim Stokes, Summer Duval, Margaret Stokes, David Stokes, Not Shown: Barbara Stuart, Judd Peterson

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