Hello to you, our community.
As some of you may know, our world was turned upside down in 2014, when our oldest daughter, was tragically killed by a semi-truck, when it veered onto the shoulder of the road, striking Brianna, and killing her instantly.
Brianna had been struggling with addiction for many years, with windows of sobriety. She got sober while carrying her one and only child, Daniel, and continued her sobriety, as she breastfed him for the first 6 months of his life until his reflux made it medically necessary for her to stop. But gradually, the darkness became too much, and once again she stumbled back into bad habits, mixed with old influencers.
It is believed that it was on one of these unfortunate occasions, that Brianna made a bad choice, and took a lift with someone, and ended up in the desert. She was seen walking along highway 138. Police had noted her presence and stopped to ask if she was ok. She had apparently told them, that she was fine. Just a few hours later, she was deceased.
As a family, we often ask, if we did enough? That is a question that lives with us always.
We now raise her autistic son and provide him with everything he needs to grow into a valued member of society. And it’s because of what happened to Brianna, we made it our mission to help as many families, living in sobriety, as we can.
Every year, leading up to the two main holidays of the year, BBMS, (which stands for “Brianna Brandy Millard Smith Happy Children Memorial Scholarship Fund”) collects a variety of goods, to gift families who are LIVING SOBER. Last year (2020), we were able to supply 11 families with care packages consisting of: Food, softly used or new clothes and toys, and other products to get them through Thanksgiving and Christmas. This brought the families hope and those who donated, a lot of joy when they saw the pictures of the children’s faces light up with glee.
This past year has been hard on all of us, and with the cost of living on the increase, our goal is to at least match the donations we received last year. If some of you are moving, or downsizing, please keep us in mind if you are purging your belongings. That box of old, but barely played with toys, could bring so much happiness to another family. When you go to the store, add a can here, or boxed cereal there. Every item counts.
Your kind donations can make the difference between holidays, where these families feel your love, compared with one filled with sorrow, loneliness, and the illusion of being unseen.
To make things easy for you, here is a list of items that are always needed (and some that are overlooked):
Everyone donates Kraft Mac & Cheese, which is rarely used because it needs milk & butter (A luxury in some houses).
Canned boxed milk can be a treasure, as kids need it for cereal.
They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies & soup unless you put a can opener in there somewhere.
Cooking oil is a luxury and can be used for many things including Rice a Roni.
Spices, salt n pepper also make great holiday gifts.
Teabags and coffee can make a family feel like they are cared for.
Sugar and flour are a treat.
Fresh produce (closer to the Holiday dates) is awesome.
Seeds are cool, as they can plant and grow their own food.
Fresh meat is also a rare gift and best delivered to us, a day or so before a major holiday, but Tuna and ground beef can also make a handsome feast.
Cake mixes and the frosting are always greeted with wide eyes, especially if you can spare eggs, butter, or margarine.
Cleaning products, feminine hygiene products, are always needed and possibly overlooked.
A small body care collection for the Mother/ Grandmother or Teenage daughter can be a beautiful thing.
This list of suggestions was put together by someone who asked what the families needed, not what we all assumed they wanted.
If you can help, please contact Laurie Millard via Tel: 661 904 5956 or send an email to:
And lastly, you may be a family living in sobriety or know of one, please reach out to us so we can start customizing packages, taking into consideration cloth sizes, shoe sizes, and other items that we may have missed.
We would like to thank you in advance. We know this community is something special and always surprises us when they find a good cause to get their teeth into.
For Donation drop off or pick up call: 661 904 5956