Lisa Dempsey, CEO & Founder
Robert Dempsey, CFO

Our Story

Our family knew that a problem existed for people with disabilities. They often feel isolated and forgotten. We also know that — among people who have a disability that keeps them from living, working, attending school, or socializing without support — 40% do not have a family member or friend who is there for them. We wanted to find a way to fight the feelings of loneliness, spark a moment of joy, and create a sense of belonging for people with disabilities.

Lisa Dempsey, CEO & Founder
Robert Dempsey, CFO

Our family knew that a problem existed for people with disabilities. They often feel isolated and forgotten. We also know that over 40% of people with a disability that keeps them from living, working, attending school, or socializing without support do not have a family member or friend who is there for them. We wanted to find a way to fight the feelings of loneliness, spark a moment of joy, and create a sense of belonging for people with disabilities.

Our adult daughter Lindsey has an intellectual developmental disability (IDD). We always say that Lindsey’s favorite holiday is her birthday. She anticipates this day with great delight because she knows that she will be receiving cards and gifts in the mail addressed to her and for her on her special day! It is heartbreaking to know how many others with a disability like Lindsey will be forgotten on their birthday and other holidays instead of celebrated.

In the past, we worked with a small group of parents of special needs children to write greeting cards and collect gift cards to send to individuals living in local group homes over Christmas and Hanukkah. We saw the delight it generated. It wasn’t the gift cards they received that made them so happy. Unfortunately, many of them had no significant concept of money. They loved the personalized cards and the feeling being remembered during the holidays. We decided this was something we could expand on and we looked for an organization that was already operating that we could support.

In our search we found Cardz for Kidz for “disheartened children and solemn seniors”, Cards for Hospitalized Kids, Operation Gratitude and the USO sends cards and care packages to active- duty military members, but nothing for people with disabilities. That was when we decided we needed to dig in and get started on our own.

The name Forgotten Wishes Foundation came out of hearing people say things like: “Sending you birthday wishes! Wishing you a happy holiday season! We wish you a merry Christmas! May all your birthday wishes come true.” We aren’t going to grant a specific wish. We want to send good tidings and best wishes all year long and find ways to connect with our friends so that they feel remembered.

This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who has a place in their heart for people with a disability to make a difference. There are opportunities for individuals and groups to help us. A few ways to help are to design a card, decorate envelopes, create social media posts and content, become a friend of a friend, or a friendship ambassador. Go to our Get Involved page to find out more.

Having a child with a disability changes everything in your life, especially your perspective about what challenges other people may be going through at any moment in time. You know that for every battle won there were countless failed attempts, resources denied, and strengths of will tested for the family and their loved one. It means being isolated and struggling to find a way to be a part of a normal world. Our daughter has given us many gifts and we have overcome many challenges. We are so happy that she helped to lead us down this path to bring joy and belonging into the lives of so many others like her. We hope you will join us.

Our Mission

Our mission is to find a way to fight the feelings of loneliness, spark a moment of joy, and create a sense of belonging for people with disabilities. We know that people with disabilities often feel isolated and forgotten, and that many do not have a family member or friend who is there for them. We want to send good tidings and best wishes all year long and find ways to connect with our friends so that they feel remembered. We saw the delight it generated through personalized cards and the feeling of being remembered during the holidays, and we realized this was something we could expand on. This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who has a place in their heart for people with a disability to make a difference, whether by designing a card, decorating envelopes, creating content, or becoming a friend of a friend. We hope to bring joy and belonging into the lives of so many others and create meaningful connections that remind them they are not forgotten.

Board Members

Brianna Lum

Secretary

Brianna Lum is a native Houstonian and currently working as a Revenue Cycle Leader within Huron Consulting Group. Brianna received her Bachelor’s Degree from The University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘em!) and completed her MBA at Rice University in 2020. Brianna and her husband are parents of two energetic little girls and one equally energetic pup. Brianna has been a sibling advocate for her special needs sister and brother from an early age, from peer buddies to service on The Children’s Policy Council. Joining The Forgotten Wishes Foundation is a natural extension of her passion for inclusion and understanding and she is very excited to further the mission of bringing joy to the special needs community.

Holly Price

Board Member

Holly Price is an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, specializing in non-profit strategy and organizational effectiveness. She has lived in Houston most of her life, only leaving for school to get a BBA and BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Prior to McKinsey, she interned with several small non-profit organizations and worked for 6 years at Deloitte Consulting as a technology consultant.

Smiling bald man in glasses and a grey suit jacket.

Toby McSwain

Board Member

Toby McSwain is a trusted Financial Advisor. He came to LPL Financial after two post-graduate degrees in theology, having served as the Senior Pastor of a Southern Baptist church for nearly 21 years. His last pastorate was Humble Area’s First Baptist Church. Toby values his relationships and being able to work with people to solve problems and support their goals for a secure financial future. He came to LPL Financial as a Financial Advisor in 2009 to move further away from a transaction-driven industry into one that works to build longevity in their working relationships. He is married to Lisa McSwain, a local business owner, and is the father of three lovely daughters.

Amanda Farmer

Board Member

Amanda Farmer is a freelance technology writer based in Austin, providing ghostwriting and marketing services for global technology companies, including Lenovo, Dell, Samsung, and others. She obtained a BA in journalism/public relations from Baylor University, with a double minor in religion and political science. Amanda is also an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker whose projects focus on the intersection of technology and humanity. She’s a member of Austin Film Society and the Austin Film Festival and is also an avid traveler.

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