wfn.org | Shared gifts bring mother, daughter to assembly

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 19, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
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NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.

ORLANDO, Fla. (UMNS) - It was her mother's gift of faith and example of
social activism that led 33-year-old Donna Frisby to the United
Methodist Women's Assembly.

But it was Donna's gift of life - the donation of one of her kidneys
five years ago - that allowed her mother, Lynette Frisby of Willingboro,
N.J., to attend the May 14-17 meeting as well.

It was the type of selfless act that runs in the family.

During Donna's childhood, Lynette often took her and her schoolmates to
civil rights marches and rallies. And, although Lynette worked outside
the home, she "was very much a part of what was happening in my school,"
Donna said.

Both Lynette and her husband, Clarence, are longtime United Methodists,
and religion has always been central to their home life. Donna attended
several different churches as she grew up and even helped found a
Baptist congregation as a teen-ager. After graduating from the
University of Virginia in 1986, she joined her parents' church, Good
Shepherd United Methodist in Willingboro. 

Since then, she has taught in the Philadelphia public schools, worked
for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and founded
Children First Inc., a nonprofit organization aimed at building
leadership skills in urban youth. She was recognized by Ebony magazine
as one of the nation's most promising "50 Leaders Under 30." Currently,
she is development director of "Rock the Vote," an independent nonprofit
initiative supported by MTV.

When Lynette's kidney failed, she considered one of her sisters as a
possible donor over Donna. She was worried about her daughter's age and
the chance that Donna might have the same congenital defect that led to
her own kidney problems.

"I had not asked her at all," Lynette recalled. "It really was a
beautiful gift."

Afterward, Donna went on to earn a master's degree in public
administration from Baruch College, City University of New York in 1995,
and she received the 1997 Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global
Citizen Award. The award, given by the Women's Division, United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, allowed her to travel to South
Africa to assess the need for youth leadership development.

Donna said she has been asked by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation
Commission to help prepare for the 1999 elections by starting a "Rock
the Vote" branch there. She hopes to return to South Africa after the
U.S. Congressional elections in the fall. 

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