We continue to be completely blown away and beyond grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received since we lost our dear Tyler. We want to share with everyone some incredible plans that are underway to memorialize her spirit by giving back to communities and organizations important to her.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Rocky Mount is the church that Tyler grew up in and all of our family attends. She went to preschool there, she was baptized there and confirmed there. The church is planning an addition to their playground, a piece large enough to accommodate 50 children at one time. As Father George himself said, “I think Tyler will be thrilled to hear the laughter of children as they play in our playground. I have a feeling she’ll be right there with them.”

Tyler’s high school class, Rocky Mount Academy Class of 2005, is also planning a project in her honor that will likely be an addition to the playground, possibly a climbing wall to inspire children to reach for their dreams like she did. If anyone is interested in contributing to this project, please contact Will Kornegay (wekorneg@gmail.com).

Rocky Mount opened its very first off-leash dog park this past summer called “Best Friend’s Dog Park”. The park was built by the City of Rocky Mount, with the encouragement of local organizations such as Animal Crackers. Milly has already spent many afternoons here running around and playing with new friends. A covered bench and shelter is going to be added to the park in Tyler’s memory. To read more about Animal Crackers or to donate to this organization in honor of Tyler, click here.

Our family (Milly included) is headed to Jackson this week to spend time with Tyler’s friends and the staff & children at C-V Ranch. The residential school has received an incredible amount of donations in honor of both Tyler and Catherine Nix, which they are using to build a brand new playground for the students. For many of these children, C-V Ranch is not only their school, but their home, so this playground will be monumental for them. On October 15, Tyler and Catherine’s friends and family will gather at the school for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new playground. If you would like to contribute to this project, donations can be mailed to: C-V Ranch PO Box 899 Wilson, WY 83014.

We are fortunate to have all of these amazing projects to look forward to, and we have all of you to thank. These memorials will hopefully not only help heal our broken hearts, but will brighten the lives of countless children for many years to come. This is only the beginning of our plans to use her spirited, selfless soul to enrich the lives of those in need. We are in the process of creating a foundation in her name that will provide financial support to a number of organizations that Tyler was connected to all in an effort to help others and honor her special legacy. And obviously there will have to be a Tyler Run race, even though she will be outrunning us all up above.