Team Talen Foundation

04/27/2026

Meet Makell R - She was the 2025 recipient of our Team Talen scholarship. She is the youngest of 6 children and has a brother, Bryce, who has severe autism. She has lived her whole life with Bryce and he is her very best friend!! Although, her life has been very different from her peers. She has missed out on events, quality time with her parents, and other experiences that most her age don’t even think about. Despite this, she has a deep love and appreciation for people with disabilities and their families.

We were thrilled to have our dear friend, Mr Miller, present her with our TTF scholarship last May. We hope this award will allow her to accomplish some of her future hopes and dreams.

We are currently looking for our 2026 recipients. If you are a senior in high school with disabilities or a sibling of someone with disabilities, please apply!! All you need to do is send a short paragraph or two about your life situation, plans for the future, and a couple pictures which you agree to let us share on our social media accounts to our email ([email protected])

We will notify those who are chosen to receive our Team Talen Foundation 2026 scholarship. Please spread the word 😁

11/29/2023

💛💛💛Please join us in honoring Talen by participating in “Ten Days for Talen.”💛💛💛

Talen entered the hospital on Nov 30, 2021 and passed away on Dec 9. Talen’s passing left a huge hole in the lives of everyone who knew him. Help us to keep his spirit of love and compassion alive by serving others in his name.

Please message or email us if you would like some “Ten Days for Talen” pass along cards.

06/29/2023

Last month, Team Talen Foundation awarded two very deserving individuals the first two Team Talen Scholarships. Our recipients were Grayson Rivers and Brylee Ross.

Team Talen Foundation was started in honor of Talen Vaughn. Talen was born with a gene mutation that left him non-verbal and wheelchair bound. Talen passed away in December of 2021 at the age of 15. At the time of his passing, his sister was a senior in high school and in the process of applying for scholarships for her continued education. Because of the demands on a family that has a special needs child, oftentimes, the siblings are not able to participate in extracurricular activities. Talen’s family discovered that organizations and schools are more likely to give scholarships to “well rounded” individuals-meaning those involved in extracurricular activities or sports. Talen’s family felt that caring for and loving those with special needs makes a person more “well rounded” than any extracurricular activity/sport could ever do. Team Talen Foundation wants to thank Grayson and Brylee for their love, dedication, and support for their special needs siblings.

**see future posts for more about our recipients.

11/26/2022

Please participate with us to honor our sweet Talen. He is missed so much and we can think of no better way to keep him close than to do what he would have done if he were able. This is a tradition that we want to keep going for many years to come. My goal is to create a book for our family of all the service that was done in his name. I know many won’t want to post on social media when they do a service, but please dm me or let me know in some other way so that I can include it in the book. Also, we have created some little pass along cards for the Ten Day for Talen. If you would like some, let me know and I can get them to you. Thank you so much for participating with us and showing your love for Talen and those you serve.

11/14/2022

Why? Why did we start this foundation? Why this specific purpose?

Those are all valid questions. First and foremost, we wanted to make sure that even though Talen was no longer with us, he would never be forgotten. We also wanted help others like Talen. If you knew Talen, he had a very deep love for his siblings, as they did for him. So we wanted to help siblings of those with special needs as well.

At the time of Talen’s passing, Talen’s sister Kennedy, was a senior in high school. She was currently in the middle of applying for scholarships so that she could attend college the following year. Anyone that has ever gone through this process knows that it is a very time consuming and arduous effort. Anyway, mid-application process we discovered that if an applicant did not participate in any extracurricular activities, they were less likely to get a scholarship or they would get a lesser scholarship than those who did participate in extracurricular activities. We understand that those who are giving the scholarship want to know that they are giving them to well rounded applicants. However, if you have ever been around someone with special needs, you quickly learn that taking care of them requires the entire family. It is not just a responsibility that lies with the parents, it falls to the siblings as well. Many times, this can limit their ability to participate in “normal” extracurricular activities. So, that is where the idea for Team Talen Foundation originated. We want to give scholarships to individuals with special needs and/or their siblings who want to attend college/trade school. We feel that these individuals learn more from loving and assisting their family members than any sport could ever teach them. So any contribution to this effort is greatly appreciated. 💛

11/13/2022