Tammy Gardner

I am Tammy Gardner, a child of Appalachia who was born at The Sheltering Arms Hospital on Athens’ west side. Being born and raised in this area provides a unique prospective on the hurdles one faces when struggling with poverty. In addition, being born and raised in a university town offers opportunities typically not available to others in poverty. I’m grateful that God opened the doors of higher education at Ohio University where I earned Bachelor of Science in Communication with a minor in Social Work and later a Master’s degree in Education.

My path in life would have been quite different if it had not been for a community of people who loved Jesus and loved me. They encouraged, corrected, comforted, and challenged me in my developmental years. Good Works is that community for people struggling with poverty, in many ways much like the community who nurtured me. Good Works serves as a spark of hope in the lives of individuals with whom it connects whether at Kids’ Discovery Club, the Timothy House, the Transformation Station, or one of the other areas it serves our neighbors.

My central area of responsibility at Good Works rests in working directly with financial gifts from our friends who live all over the country and abroad. In my down-time, I enjoy being outdoors as much as possible whether it’s cycling on our local bike path, hiking the trails on The Ridges, walking in my neighborhood, or even push-mowing my yard.