Be A Vanessa Foundation, Inc. - 501c3 Non-Profit, Vernon, TX (2026)

09/01/2026

🎀 THANK YOU, THE GRAVES FOUNDATION 🦋

There are some people and organizations whose generosity goes far beyond a donation. They give because helping others is simply who they are — and The Graves Foundation is the perfect example of that.

The Graves Foundation holds an incredibly special place in our hearts at the Be A Vanessa Foundation. They are our largest donor, and their continued generosity makes it possible for us to hold the special events that allow us to honor Vanessa, remember her beautiful life, and continue sharing the kindness and love she showed to others.

But what makes The Graves Foundation so special isn’t just what they give — it’s how they give.

They help people and organizations throughout so many of our local communities, often quietly and without ever asking for recognition or praise. They don’t help because they want their name on something. They help because they genuinely care about people.

Every member of their board has a servant’s heart. They are some of the kindest, sweetest, most giving people you could ever meet. They continually step up when someone is hurting, when a family needs help, when an organization has a need, or when something good can be done for a community.

And so much of what they do happens quietly behind the scenes, where very few people ever know about it.

That says everything about their hearts. 🦋

Our foundation’s motto in Vanessa’s honor is:

Be Happy. Be Humble. Be a Helper. Be a Vanessa.

And when we think about the words “Be A Helper,” we can’t think of a better example than The Graves Foundation.

They don’t just talk about helping others. They live it.

Without their incredible generosity and belief in what we are doing, we simply could not hold many of the special events that mean so much to our family and allow us to keep Vanessa’s memory and spirit alive by helping others.

To everyone at The Graves Foundation: please know how deeply grateful we are for you. Thank you for believing in our mission. Thank you for believing in our family. Thank you for helping us honor Vanessa. And most importantly, thank you for everything you quietly do for people throughout our communities every single day.

The world needs more people like you.

From our entire family and everyone at the Be A Vanessa Foundation, THANK YOU. 🎀

You truly are the definition of “Be A Helper.”

Be Happy. Be Humble. Be a Helper. Be a Vanessa. 🦋

08/23/2026

We are looking forward to our 2nd Annual Be A Vanessa Day! 🎀🦋🎀

Again this year, we are blessed to provide every child at the Boys & Girls Club of Vernon with a full-size hygiene bag filled with everyday essentials.

What started as a way to honor Vanessa has become something incredibly special to our family. Being able to continue spreading kindness, helping others, and making a difference in our community in Vanessa’s memory means more to us than we could ever put into words.

We have also been incredibly blessed by several amazing sponsors who have stepped up to help make this year’s Be A Vanessa Day possible. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be recognizing each of them and sharing our gratitude for their support.

Vanessa had a heart for people, and our hope is that her life continues to inspire all of us to notice when someone needs a hand and choose to be the one who helps.

Be Happy. Be Humble. Be Helpful. Be A Vanessa. 💗

When bad things happen, look for the helpers. There is always someone helping.

We are so thankful that, through Vanessa’s memory and the generosity of our community, we get to keep being those helpers.

05/18/2026

What an incredible evening celebrating the Vernon High School Seniors! ❤️

We were truly overwhelmed by the turnout, the smiles, the laughter, and the love shown throughout the event. Seeing the seniors, teachers, staff, and families all together enjoying great food, snacks, and fellowship made this night incredibly special to our family and foundation.

The food trucks and vendors were absolutely amazing and helped make the night unforgettable. Everyone got to enjoy so many great things including BBQ, crack fries, grilled cheese, salads, quesadillas, speciality soda drinks, funnel cakes, fruit and candy creations with toppings, paletas, and so much more.

We want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the amazing vendors and food trucks that came out and supported this event:
The Snack Spot , FeFe’s Funnel Cakes, Los Amigos Paleteria Vernon TX., Joyful Drops Drinks, Smitty’s BBQ, Kris Kitchen , Sugar Momma’s Bakery.

Special shoutout to Stacy May's Photography for capturing our event! She is awesome! Thank you Stacy!

We are beyond thankful for the Vernon High School Senior Class, their parents, Vernon ISD, the high school administration and staff for allowing us to host this event, our donors, everyone who contributed to the foundation, and every single person who helped make this possible. It truly took a community coming together.

Each senior was also given a special “Be A Vanessa” keychain featuring our foundation slogan:

Be Happy. Be Humble. Be Helpful. Be A Vanessa.

The keychains also included two reminders that mean a lot to our family:

WWJD (“What Would Jesus Do?”) & HWLF (“He Would Love First.”)

This graduating class will always hold a special place in our hearts. The love they have continued to show Vanessa’s memory over the years has meant more to us than words can fully express.

We hope this event created memories they’ll carry with them for years to come.

Congratulations again, Class of 2026. We love and appreciate all of you. ❤️

05/13/2026

We would like to thank Stacy May's Photography for graciously coming to capture this special day for the Seniors and the Foundation.

Thank you Stacy! We sincerely appreciate it!

05/11/2026

We are so honored and excited to do this for the Vernon High School Seniors this Friday. ❤️

This is Vanessa’s graduating class, and from the very beginning, these students have continued to love, remember, and include her in so many meaningful ways. That kindness has never gone unnoticed, and it means more to our family than words could ever fully express.

We spent a lot of time thinking about how we could show this class just how grateful we are. We wanted to do something fun, something full of smiles, laughter, and togetherness — something Vanessa herself would have absolutely loved. So we decided to bring in free food and snacks for the seniors to enjoy as they celebrate this special season of life.

We are incredibly thankful to have 4 amazing food trucks and 4 awesome snack trucks/carts coming out to help make this event possible. This is 100% free for all VHS seniors as the Foundation will take care of paying the vendors!

These seniors will always hold a very special place in our hearts. Watching the love they’ve continued to show Vanessa’s memory has been a blessing to our family, and we truly hope this small gesture lets them know how much they are appreciated and loved in return.

We know Vanessa would be smiling big seeing her classmates together, making memories, laughing, and enjoying themselves.

Congratulations, Class of 2026. We are proud of all of you and can’t wait to celebrate with you Friday.

Be Happy. Be Humble. Be Helpful.

Address

Vernon, TX
76384

Telephone

+19408396353

Website

http://BeAVanessa.org/

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