Kids to Love awards Madison frontline healthcare worker with wedding at Tranquility estate
MADISON – A silver lining has emerged for one Madison-based couple after COVID-19 derailed their wedding plans.
Kids to Love, the nonprofit dedicated to meeting the needs of children in foster care, is paying forward the donation of a $1M estate in Fayetteville, Tennessee by gifting ER nurse Rebecca Greene and her fiancé Caleb Cheatham a wedding celebration at Tranquility. The couple was one of 60 partners that shared their story this spring as part of an online contest to win a wedding valued at $30,000.
Tranquility is a 48-acre mountain estate in Fayetteville, Tennessee. Originally known as Cerro Tranquilo, it is the beloved former home of Rey and Cynthia Almodovar. The estate was gifted to Kids to Love in January and will serve a dual purpose for the benefit of children living in foster care.
In addition to hosting weeklong summer camps reuniting siblings who have been separated by the foster care system, it will also generate revenue for Kids to Love programs as an elegant event venue for corporate retreats, weekend getaways and weddings.
Engaged in February, Greene and Cheatham planned to have a small family wedding in May. However, Greene has been caring for patients battling COVID-19, and the couple has been self-quarantining to keep their families and friends safe. The complexities of the pandemic forced the couple to postpone their wedding. Now, a second chance for a dream celebration has emerged, and Greene and Cheatham are planning an October exchange of vows at Tranquility.
Lee Marshall, Founder & CEO of Kids to Love, shared, “This year has served too many with disappointment and heartbreak, which inspired our pay-it-forward wedding mission. Gifting Rebecca and Caleb with a beautiful celebration of love gives the entire Kids to Love team immense joy and reflects the gratitude we feel for our blessings and for the healthcare work Rebecca is doing to support our community.”
Rebecca and Caleb will receive a total wedding package for a maximum of 50 guests, including:
- Rehearsal space prior to the wedding day
- Full use of Tranquility the day of the wedding for pictures, ceremony and reception, including a choice of three event spaces: The Atrium, The Meadow and The Veranda
- Wedding day décor including an arbor, seating for up to 50 guests, tables, linens and place settings
- Reception charcuterie grazing table for up to 50 guests
- Wedding cake
Learn more about Rebecca and Caleb’s story in this video.
About Kids to Love Foundation
Three-time Emmy award-winning journalist Lee Marshall founded Kids to Love in 2004 to find forever families for foster children and meet their immediate needs while they wait to be adopted. A former foster and adoptive child herself, Marshall and her organization have impacted the lives of more than 265,000 foster children in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi. Every week, she shares with the Tennessee Valley stories of children waiting to be adopted. Out of 350 children featured in the weekly segments, 300 of them have been placed for adoption. Kids to Love is a 501(c)(3) approved foundation and is based in Madison, Alabama.