Biography
Donna Louise Ross was born and raised in a small village in rural England. Donna’s education focus was the care of Dementia and Special Needs persons. She met her husband Gary while he was serving in the US Air Force at Lakenheath England. When they met, Donna was a single mom raising a 3-year-old daughter named Charlotte. Gary and Donna were married and soon had another daughter named Courtney who was born just one month after Gary’s return from the Gulf War. When the girls were just 14 and 7, they moved to the US and started a marriage and addiction recovery ministry in Utah. Soon after, they adopted Donna’s niece and nephew whose mom had passed away from a heroin overdose. Today, Donna is the blessed mother of 4 children who exemplify the phrase “most families have to love each other, but we all choose to love each other.”
Read her 3-minute speech on “What Being A Mother Means to Me” (To Be Posted Soon)
Parenting Philosophy
My parenting philosophy is fairly simple, demonstrate authentic love and respect to our children and help them visualize and conceive a level of healthy differentiation—the family’s pursuit of distinct individual identities while simultaneously remaining connected in relationship and unity. This simple vision for our family has allowed us to stay laser focused on not only teaching the Golden rule but living it out by passionately serving each other through some of the most difficult challenges a family could ever face. I have been sold-out to the idea that my purpose in life is to serve my family—it is the highest calling imaginable. This servant leadership model does not mean I enable my kids, it means that by constantly working on our relationship with each other, my family has learned that transparency and accountability leads us to a place where we can help each other work through life’s challenges. Together we express the ideals of forgiveness, grace, and mercy in a way that not only impacts us as a family, but also our neighborhoods, communities and ultimately our great nation. Finally, the act of loving each other requires work—it requires cooperation and teamwork which are not easy things to do over the long haul. Yet I believe that this commitment is what our country needs to establish patterns of civility and cohesiveness that can propel us to continue being a beacon of hope to a world that seems to have lost its way.
Motherhood and Community
I have worked together with my husband to establish several outreach organizations. Our main focus has been strengthening families through marriage and children’s programs, but we also have a heart for reaching the homeless and addicted members of our community. One particular way I have been effective is by serving as a marriage counselor. This has been one of the most enriching experiences for me because it not only strengthens other couple’s relationships, it also strengthens my own. I have hosted several marriage retreats and witnessed the power of reconciliation in countless lives.
Another contribution I have made is through service as a teacher and mentor for an in-home caregiving company. I have been able to serve as a caregiver, mentor to other caregivers, and also as teacher for a program that has certified hundreds of caregivers. I was recognized as caregiver of the year and led local business efforts during a recent “walk for Alzheimer’s” event.
Lastly, I have passionately served the addicted and less fortunate in my community by organizing and serving many activities. I led an effort that provides meals and life resiliency skills to people —empowering them with job training skills, access to healthcare and housing, and providing them with a place to sleep through collaboration with 20 other local non-profits. This service culminates each year in an annual Thanksgiving meal and national “Night to Shine” event where special needs families are given an opportunity to be pampered with pedicures and makeovers while their children are all crowned king and queen of a spectacular ballroom event. These events are merely the overflow of my life.
If I’m honest, I get so much more personal joy from these activities than I feel I could ever give away. The biggest significance from these events is that my family serves along with me. Having them by my side allows me to live out my dream for them by demonstrating what compassion and selfless service looks like—ultimately, that’s what my take on motherhood is: developing true character in the children I am so blessed to call my own.
Letter of Recommendation
Donna’s husband Gary wrote:
This letter doesn’t offer me enough space to explain why Donna is the most genuine example of what motherhood is, but it does allow me an opportunity to tell you that I have been gifted a life with her and have witnessed the unpretentious and relentless love that she has shown us all. I remember Donna telling me once that she read of a culture where there existed no actual word for love, and that the only way to express it was to demonstrate it with action. I think Donna was describing the culture she has created in our family.