HENDERSON, Texas — There's a saying that "the soul is fed by needle and thread," and if that's the case, Jackie Powell's soul has enough food for a lifetime.
Powell and her team of volunteers run the Henderson chapter of Threads of Love, helping parents in some of the hardest moments of their lives - when their child is born too early.
"I mean, the parents are under so much stress, every day, it's just like, tearing their hearts out," said Powell. "And so we try to do things to make the nurseries look more comfortable and make little blankets and hats and little things for them."
For the premature babies that don't survive, Jackie makes special dresses, so they look beautiful, just like they did in life. Sometimes, just adding a little color to a stale hospital room and knowing that you are loved by someone is what it takes for parents to take the next step forward. It gives them hope for the future and helps create a bond with their child that lasts forever. Jackie says it's all "about hope that that's...a real baby. and not just a tiny little thing that's not going to live."
She has been at it for 15 years, and it's fitting that by sewing threads together, Jackie is threading love throughout East Texas. "We have been given a real gift from God of sewing. That's our gift. You get up in the morning and you're excited about what you do...we're excited about what we do."
Deborah is Jackie's daughter, and she nominated her Mom because of her strength. "She is what I call my steel magnolia. My Mom's been through a lot physically. She's had a lot of operations, and she's come very, very close to dying numerous times. but she gets up every day," Deborah said. "To have that kind of courage to live in pain every day, but get up and do something for someone else...I just find it humbling."
Because of her hard work, Jonathan Stark with the Daniel Stark Law Firm presented Jackie with a $500 check. Thank you, Jackie, for being so remarkable, and for making East Texas a better place.
RELATED: BE REMARKABLE: Lance McWhorter