From her home in Lexington, Ky., Jody Greenlee runs a non-profit organization called "Children of the Americas." The group provides medical care to children from Guatemala and other countries.
Four years ago, Jody left a salaried position as Head Pediatrics Nurse at the University of Kentucky Medical Center to do volunteer work full time for Children of the Americas. Today, she runs the organization from the basement of her home. Using her contacts in the medical field and the community, Jody has organized and participated in four medical trips to Guatemala in the past four years. She coordinates more than 50 doctors, nurses and other volunteers for each trip, and works to secure and transport the necessary medical supplies as well. While she’s in Central America, Jody assists in free surgeries for Guatemalan children who would otherwise have no access to physicians or medical care.
In addition to this, Jody also runs the organization’s program that helps bring children from Guatemala and other countries to the United States for surgery. Here in the U.S., she calls on doctors, hospitals, and manufacturing companies in an effort to secure free surgery, medication, supplies and travel arrangements for surgery candidates. She writes letters, keeps medical records, makes hospital and doctor visits, and finds host families to provide after-surgery home care. Many of the children require more than one surgery and several months of care before they can return home.
All the money for Children of the Americas comes from donations, and Jody works on that aspect of the non-profit, too. Throughout the year, she hosts several fundraisers and dinners in her home, with the help of friends and family. She and the other nurses, doctors and volunteers pay their travel and expenses for the medical trips to Guatemala out of their own pockets. If that’s not enough, Jody has hosted three children in her home over the last four years, even though she has three children of her own to take care of. She brings new meaning to the word “hero” each and every day of her life.
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