- This and more, coming up on "The Whitney Reynolds Show."

- We have kids that we feed that have had panic attacks.

And a lot of these people really struggle.

Even two parent homes, where they're just lower-waged.

- And all of a sudden, I heard kind of a strange noise.

I flipped the light on and I could see his eyes rolled back in his head.

- So in the 1990's, the film "My Girl" was filmed here.

And actually in the staircase right behind me is where most of those scenes were filmed.

- Elevator Music is a passion project that started amongst friends.

Let's get some of these local artists that we love so much and see if we can put 'em on a platform.

- "Whitney Reynolds Show" is supported by BMO.

Boldly grow the good in business and life.

Together at Peace Foundation, remembrance, resilience and comfort, creating a hopeful space for those who are grieving.

Kevin O'Connor Law Firm.

When it comes to your injuries, we take it personally.

10 West Real Estate Group, providing multifamily investment and property management services.

Center for Beautiful Living, empowering people to live rich, robust, and beautiful lives.

Additional funding provided by facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Stacey McClain.

Lifeway Kefir.

Respiratory Health Association.

Kevin Kelly.

Kid Friendly Venues App.

Joeperillo.com.

Hi-Five Sports Club, and by these sponsors.

- Hello and welcome to "The Whitney Reynolds Show".

Today's topic is the switch up, or as I would like to say, the ultimate blend.

Today's guests are combining their past and their present to create an extraordinary future.

Awakening the soul of our story.

♪ Come for the stories ♪ ♪ Stay for the heart ♪ ♪ Where every journey is ♪ I'm sharing those in a safe space to inspire others ♪ The truth and all you'll see ♪ ♪ Whitney's here to share your dream ♪ ♪ It's the Whitney Reynolds Show ♪ ♪ From Chicago to your home ♪ ♪ Real voices real lives ♪ ♪ In every episode ♪ ♪ This is the Whitney Reynolds Show ♪ Today we're going on a journey all the way to Texas.

Our first guest kicks things off with this thought of switching up the way we think about food waste.

Let's take a look.

- We are called Charity Road and we're on a path.

I was driving my daughter to work and I saw right behind the building these grocery store workers coming out with these giant bins of food headed straight for the dumpster.

And I told my daughter that food is still good.

I have that eye, I could tell that's good produce.

And right then one of the workers reached in and while he's pushing the bin, started eating a cucumber and I thought something has to be done - And done it was.

In fact, Tess wasted no time to get the bins rolling.

Within 45 minutes, she was on the phone with that grocery store owner and a plan was made for his chain.

- So if you go to your refrigerator, you're gonna see food that you would definitely use for cooking.

But if you go to the grocery store, you want the freshest 'cause you, you want something that's gonna last three for five days- - Right.

- For sure.

If something only has a couple of days left, you're not gonna buy it.

So the grocery stores want everything to appear super fresh.

They don't want people going there and saying, Hey, these things don't look good.

You know, it's not super fresh.

So they were throwing that away to replace it with brand new food.

And we pick up crates of food and our different volunteers pick 'em up, whether they're in a little sedan or a big truck, and then they drop them off at various food pantries, soup kitchens, a lot of the food pantries are small and they can't take pallets and pallets of food.

So this works really well for them to take grocery store donations.

- And with a name like Charity Road, it's only natural that their path kept on trucking.

- We began auctioning off the naming rights to streets to buy meat because we're providing produce, but we have to have fresh meat.

We can't take the risk.

- I was gonna say, walk me back through that.

You're auctioning off roads to provide meat.

- I'm in commercial real estate, so I was working on a development in Paris, Texas, and we were naming the streets and I thought, oh my gosh, everybody's excited about getting their name on a street.

- Oh yeah, yeah.

- We auctioned off the naming rights.

So for this little itty bitty street in Paris, we got $5,500 that will go toward buying turkeys and for people struggling in Paris and then a developer gets a $5,500 tax write off that they would not otherwise have had.

We're going to move this forward with other developers.

We're talking to different ones who have been very welcoming to the idea because they get a tax write off, they get to feel good that they're feeding people.

- I would love a Whitney Way.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- What I love is you are that person that is literally connecting dots and it all goes back to feeding families.

The meat, you couldn't do it the way you originally started, so you needed to find a new path for meat.

- Yes.

- No pun intended, but literally a path.

And so tell me, where does your passion for food and filling bellies come from?

- You know, I think I grew up originally with farmers in the family and food has always been very central.

We have kids that we feed that have had panic attacks.

- That's a real thing.

- It is a real thing.

And people would be surprised.

They'll say, oh well they have a house, they have a place to live, but maybe that's all they can pay for.

And a lot of these people really struggle.

Even two parent homes where they're just lower wage and the inflation is killing 'em.

We have a food pantry we work with that five years ago was doing 300 families and now they're doing about a thousand.

- Wow.

That is proof in your concept too, that people need it.

- Oh, absolutely.

But the need is just, has grown since we've started.

It's not as though, you know, oh great, we can meet a greater need.

The need is getting greater every day.

- And Tess, this concept is really getting noticed, not just in the families that you're impacting, but also making waves for your state.

You were honored recently.

- Yes, Governor Abbott awarded me with the Yellow Rose of Texas Commission.

And that is for significant community service to the state of Texas and we wanna serve the country.

But right now we're doing a pretty good job in Texas.

- Yes you are.

Thank you so much for coming on.

According to Charity Road's website, one outta seven children in America goes to bed hungry.

Last year, Charity Road distributed more than a hundred pounds of food and raised around $20,000 to fight these hard stats.

(upbeat music) Our next piece actually aired on another PBS show, "Eye on the Arts".

And it was perfect with today's topic.

In fact, some might say it takes it to the next level.

- You are now tuned into Elevator Music.

(upbeat music) - My name is Tommaso Conforti.

I am a DJ from Florence, Italy based in Chicago.

Elevator Music is a passion project that started amongst friends.

I'm a DJ, traveling, touring, producing DJ.

This project started as a necessity to get gigs outside of Chicago.

- My name is Mickey.

I am a music producer, manager and friend to all creatives in Chicago.

I managed Tommaso, he's a fantastic DJ.

Originally from Florence, eight years now in Chicago.

And we found that this local scene was fantastic, right?

We have a lot of great bookings locally.

I think the issue right now though, especially with managing a DJ, is that how do we break out of our local market?

- Elevator Music, the name says it all.

The stage is an elevator, a unique space they hope opens doors for their artists.

Literally, here's how it works.

No matter your nationality, ethnicity, social media status and more, they welcome all an equitable ride to the top.

With support coming from Patreon, the concept is twofold, is taped with a live audience, giving the artist the feel of a real performance.

When the elevator doors open from the front, there's the crowd and they are live.

This is a way the artists can showcase their work, put it online, expanding their audience, and stay home based right here in Chicago.

- Back in the day, I think it was like the '20's or '30's, Otis Elevators built elevators in some of the first skyscrapers.

So they included elevator music to help the sway of the elevator ride going up, I think as a distraction mostly for people.

The roots are in Chicago.

It kind of gave me more of a vibrato for doing this.

You know, we take this elevator every day and one day Tommy and I were just walking through the building looking for a space, literally a corner of the room just to shoot.

And we thought the elevator was nice, it was well lit, it had this tone to it.

And then, you know, the idea kind of kept expanding after that.

- The beauty of it, we saw how well it worked for me.

So we kind of just started doing it more and with the intention of let's get some of these local artists that we love so much and see if we can put 'em on a platform where they can shine too.

(upbeat music) - Similar to how elevators transition people to different levels, their platform is helping artists do the same.

- Zach Fox is a fantastic human.

I mean, honestly, one of the best people I've ever met.

Really kind, really generous, but also he's more known, I guess commonly as a comedian, writer, actor.

He DMed us one day out of the blue.

Funny enough, it was a week where we were definitely like, what's next?

And truth be told, at that point of time, I respected him as an artist in other theaters of creativity, but didn't really know him as a DJ.

So we booked him, his episode literally went from a couple hundred, a couple thousand to now over a million.

- Well, we've had many beautiful success stories through Elevator.

I mean, a lot of the artists that you, you see on Elevator Music, you may not know.

And yet, for them their performance on there is, you know, historic and you're not going in there to get to point A to point B.

You're actually going in to perform.

And for many people that actually is off-putting.

To many people, that's enticing.

That's the beauty of Elevator itself.

It's interesting to think about our successes, 'cause I think every episode is a success, because that means that it's out there and that artist has a platform where they can express themselves and potentially reach other markets and other people.

- This ride is one they hope can open the right doors for artists to find success and still stay anchored in the city.

- One of the themes I've found in Chicago is because we don't have that industry, that stable industry, like in we do in New York or LA, we kind of have this sense of community that come together and create something special and come together and work together and put ourselves on the map that we wouldn't really have naturally around us.

I think the charm is that it's a city that fosters a bunch of insanely incredible talented individuals who are willing to collaborate and work with each other.

It's a big city, small town.

I think that grit, that level of understanding, that feeling is truly what makes Chicago creatives unique.

- We can elevate so much that it's fun.

My main focus is DJing.

This is a beautiful side hustle and is gonna help so many other DJs here in Chicago that I'm really happy with this project and I think it will help a lot.

- Our next guest didn't choose her switch up.

In fact, it was that struggle that led her to her current role.

Over the years, she's pitched our show many stories as a publicist, but when the camera stopped rolling, we actually learned that there was much more behind her emails.

Let's take a look.

- I met the love of my life when I was 22, Ryan.

We ended up moving to LA together.

We pursued our dreams.

I became a TV and film actress- - Which is crazy because that doesn't always just happen- - No.

- To people either.

Like a lot of people go out to pursue their dream and it is this big idea that I'm gonna move to LA and do it and y'all did it.

- Yeah, we did it.

And it was like, there's a lot of backstory to it and a buildup.

And we worked so hard to get there.

And then one night we're watching a movie, one of our favorite things to do, and both got tired and we decided, okay, we're gonna go to bed.

And all of a sudden I heard kind of a strange noise.

Lights were out.

And I heard, I said, Ryan?

He didn't answer me.

And I said, Ryan, nothing.

I flipped the light on and I could see his eyes rolled back in his head.

It went on for seven minutes.

It was a grand mal seizure, one of the worst you could get.

Depending on how healthy you are, it could be very, very dangerous.

- How old was he at this time?

- 31 years-old.

And that night our lives changed.

- In 2007, Laura's husband Ryan suffered a significant grand mal seizure and was diagnosed with a grade two astrocytoma brain tumor.

In the midst of it all, they still hung on to hope.

And the dream, six and a half years into Ryan's eight year battle, they began IUI and IVF treatments.

- You'd get that hope in between those occurrences.

- Mm.

- Like, okay, I think this did it.

This is, he's gonna be okay.

And then we'd have another MRI.

- In this progression and these occurrences, did he hold on to hope or did you have to have those tough conversations of like, if we don't make it through this?

- I always had that little bit of fear, but I didn't wanna show him.

- What ended up happening?

- 2013, we had kind of a rough year work-wise.

Things were getting slow.

There was a union strike that had happened and things were affecting us work-wise.

- Mm.

- And we're like, okay, we're just gonna go where the next job is.

So we moved back here and in the process of moving back, I had been going through IVF and we're moving home and we found out I was pregnant and we're like, we're gonna have a family, we're gonna be home with family.

And within two weeks I had a miscarriage.

So here we were moving home.

And then a few weeks later he had another recurrence.

- When you were in those two weeks of back to back losses- - Yeah.

- What got you through?

- My husband, believe it or not, being so positive, even though he was getting sicker and sicker and a year would go by and he was just declining.

And I could see it.

And this time in the back of my mind, I'm like, oh.

- In April of 2015, doctors all agreed that it was time for hospice and Ryan would be home for 13 days before passing.

While processing this profound loss, Laura held on to what Ryan said about moving forward and to keep going as a young widow, this actually pointed her in a new direction.

It is a conversation that needs to be had that like this happens.

- Oh yeah.

- And it can happen even when you're being hit with something else.

- Oh sure.

- And you are such a strong person just across the board as I've gotta know you and know your story.

The details were hard, extremely hard.

- Yeah.

- When did you say, okay, I'm going to do what he said to do and move forward?

- I was in what they call widow brain.

You kind of just can't.

I just couldn't do things.

I was so bad.

It was so bad.

But there was something telling me I needed to do something else.

And I look back, my mom was widowed at 38 and so was I.

- Wow.

- I also had this fear of being alone.

I hate being alone.

And now with all of that loss, I'm like, what am I gonna do?

So I got into a business that involves people.

I became a publicist.

I was helping people to tell their story.

And that made such a difference in my life.

It was such a turning point to be like, wow, I started a business.

This is mine.

- You're telling these stories because you understand the empathy in the chapters.

- It's been such a blessing, 'cause I don't wanna use the word distraction, but it was just something for me to have that was my own.

Hearing my husband's voice in the background saying, talk to people, you can do this, you can do this.

That is what kept me going.

- Well, thank you so much for being vulnerable with your story today.

- Oh, of course.

Thank you for having me.

- Last season, if you might recall, we had Dan Aykroyd on the show.

Now he was really switching things up in his interview, but after we stopped rolling, I started thinking about the "My Girl" home that came up in the interview.

Well, we wanted to find out what's going on in that house.

If you remember in the movie, it was a funeral parlor and now that same house is breathing life in so many new ways.

Let's take a look.

- So in the 1990's, the film, "My Girl" was filmed here.

And actually in the staircase right behind me is where most of those scenes were filmed.

And that the home holds so much history.

It's important to our community because that that movie plays a part.

And I feel like everybody in the 1990's childhood, the movie is terribly sad, but also a very much of a coming of age movie.

And we are taking kind of moms that are in a sad situation and then they're coming here and they're finding peace and joy and getting on their feet.

So it's also kind of like a coming of age house still.

- Welcome to the Hope House.

This iconic landmark was home to the movie "My Girl".

And in the film, this was not only their home, but also a funeral parlor.

Over the years, the house has had many different owners, yet the new occupants breathe new life into its current scene.

We sat down with the executive director to learn more.

- So Hope House's mission is to serve, equip and empower first time expectant moms choosing life for their babies.

And so this kind of spurred off for me personally, because I had an unplanned pregnancy when I was 23.

And I had things like family support, community support, I had a great educational background, I had a lot of things going for me, and it was still the most difficult time in my life.

And so seeing so many other women that are in my position and just, you know, saying to them, Hey, I did it so you can too, just didn't really feel fair.

We really want Hope House to be all of those things for our moms.

We want them to be community.

We want us to be support, we want us to be the encouragement, we wanna give them the tools that they need to be able to survive and thrive in life as a single mom.

In our county here in Florida, we have lots of resources for moms kind of in that early decision making phase.

And then we have resources for moms after they've had babies and are already single moms.

But we don't have any resources for moms while they're pregnant.

And we wanna provide for mom, you know, we want moms to be able to take advantage of those nine, 10 months that they're pregnant and get themselves in the best position possible while they're pregnant, so that when baby's here, they've kind of solved all of those problems and then they're ready to be able to become the best moms for their babies.

We believe that they're gonna create a sisterhood here, that there are gonna be bonds created here that will last generations and we're so to see it all unfold.

- Before we go, we wanna show you all the hope that can be found in season nine.

So many of us, we have all these different things going on and no, I might not be missing a leg, but I had a challenging childhood as well.

And with that I, how did you get to that point of not moving past it, but channeling that?

- I'd say I, I started to learn that through wrestling when I got introduced to it because, you know, growing up everyone said or focus what I couldn't do, but wrestling, that wrestling mat was my platform to kind of control the narrative of my life.

You know, it's like I have the power now to show people it didn't matter what I didn't have, you know?

And it didn't matter what opponent I was facing, whether it was flesh and blood or something else.

And I think that's how I see the world and I think that everyone else in it needs to see it the same way.

It's, yeah, you're gonna have a challenge, you know, you're gonna have something that's negative or that can hold you back, but you know, what is your mentality and what is your focus throughout all of it?

You know, you ultimately, you have the power to respond to an opponent the way you wanna respond to it.

You focus on what you can't do, you know then, then you're never gonna be able to accomplish what you want.

- You know, it's interesting because your dad was a mystery your whole life, but you didn't know it.

- My dad told me, Hey, you're from me.

You know, when I asked him straight up as a teenager and I go, dad, you can tell me now.

Really, it's okay.

He goes, no, you're my son, you're American.

- What made you, other than the looks ask, because some people, you know, people just can feel a difference.

Was there something else where you're like, he might not be my dad.

- No, it was all looks.

- Your mom always stuck to the story too.

- Yeah, because if you look at my birth certificate, his name's on the birth certificate, I just assumed it so.

But then, you know, I found out through a DNA test and found out that, dude, I'm a 100% like Korean.

Are you kidding me?

- If you could pinpoint the emotion when you got that DNA test back, because there had always been this chirping of like, well dad, you don't look really like me.

- Yeah.

- But when you actually saw that, can you name that emotion?

- This affirmation, like these questions and these hidden components of my life that there was clarity just felt like things were sinking into place.

- And season nine is full of inspiration.

You just have this energy.

You walked into the studio and everything just got brighter.

- You know, not for everyone.

It's what I realize in life.

And I'm a Haitian born girl that was raised in Paris and that came to the US without speaking a word of English, and obviously teased and bullied and so forth.

And I knew that I had something in me that, you know, was unique and I kept that resilience through and through while I was learning a new language and battling a lot of different obstacles out there saying, okay, on to St. Barts, I'm going.

And it wasn't until I was on my trip to St. Barts that I get a call that they found something and that was an uninvasive tumor until I went back again for an MRI and then they found a second invasive tumor.

So it was a trickle down slow trickle of information.

And that's what, you know, people don't understand.

Like, you don't, you, you don't just get diagnosed and it's a flat out- - Right.

Deal where there's an A and B solution and it's not a perfect formula.

There's always a wave because there's different tests and different tests tells you different diagnosis.

So it was a very layered process where it started out with me just needing a lumpectomy surgery and I was like, yes, I can do this.

- Yeah.

- And then for me, needing chemo and radiation, yada, yada, yada.

And so the, the journey was definitely emotional rollercoaster that I wanted to get off from.

- What you gotta do, and it's hard to find that talent at a young age.

So don't get caught into one box, you know, venture out into different things and you discover that, wow, you know, this was for me.

I never thought I'd be football, but I wanted to be a baseball player.

When I got outta high school, I was five eleven, a 145 pounds.

Okay?

So the point is that you really don't discover what your real talent is till later in life.

- Right.

- So try a lot of different things - And as we wrap up today, remember it's not just about combining the old with the new for this blend, it's truly about honoring our journeys.

Remember, your story matters.

(upbeat music) - The Whitney Reynolds show is supported by BMO.

Only grow the good in business and life.

Together at Peace Foundation, remembrance, resilience and comfort, creating a hopeful space for those who are grieving.

Kevin O'Connor Law Firm.

When it comes to your injuries, we take it personally.

10 West Real Estate Group, providing multifamily investment and property management services.

Center for Beautiful Living, empowering people to live rich, robust, and beautiful lives.

Additional funding provided by facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Stacey McClain.

Lifeway Kefir.

Respiratory Health Association.

Kevin Kelly.

Kid Friendly Venues App.

Joecarrillo.com Hi-Five Sports Club and by these sponsors.

(upbeat music) - Want to stay connected to all things Whitney Reynolds?

Well, follow us on social media and you'll get exclusive content and updates from the show.

All episodes are available for streaming anytime.

- [Children Together] I love me.

(children laughing) (bright music)