Founder & Executive Director — BLING Foundation

BLING Foundation demonstrates the practical side of leadership: identifying a need, building an organization around it, raising money, recruiting support, communicating a mission, creating a program structure and remaining accountable for whether the idea actually reaches children. Leigh's work since January 1, 2023 has included annual events and fundraising, community outreach, partnerships, volunteer engagement and the development of the Children's Mental Health Scholarship Program.

The program is designed to reduce the financial barrier between a child and licensed outpatient mental-health care. Rather than simply handing money to families, the model works through participating providers and community referral relationships, with the Foundation paying eligible providers directly. The broader network can include therapists, schools, churches, nonprofits, businesses and community organizations that encounter families who need help.

The Foundation's vision is larger than a single fundraiser: build a repeatable support system in which children can receive care when family finances would otherwise delay or prevent it. BLING's Missouri pilot, individual annual events, provider partnerships and measurable program results should appear as child records beneath this parent item. The public website is https://blingfoundation.org. The organization's 501(c)(3) recognition is recorded as February 2026; the exact February 12, 2026 date should remain marked for verification against the IRS determination letter before being stated as independently verified.