4Oct2019 Read more Grace Through SmashSMARD & ELL Dianne Gebhardt-French & Gregory S. French Children bring joy and hope. In the spirit of “God’s Work. Our Hands,” we matched the check and donated half to research dedicated to saving babies from a rare disease. The second half we donated to hands-on help to students, for whom English is not their first language, so they can succeed in Tristate schools and universities. The 501c non-profits are: SmashSMARD (Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory Distress) and the English Language Learning Foundation of Cincinnati (ELL). The faith our neighbors show as grandparents of a baby battling SMARD inspires us. “Brooks the Champ,” as his mom calls this handsome boy with a big smile, has rallied the love and support of every neighbor, friend, and member of his family. We chose ELL as the children of immigrants whose parents and grandparents succeeded because of the support of church and community. We are impressed with the camp experiences, scholarships, mentoring, and tutoring provided by ELL. Comment