Tye Blanton would have turned five next summer. Everyone could think about the what-ifs until their heart hurts. Yet, it was the “what-if” that Tye’s mom and family had that has made the difference.  Their “what if we could give back?” was the first step to what is now known as the Tye Blanton Foundation.

What is truly an amazing feat is the ability to take something such as sorrow and loss and actually harvest joy from it.  Four years ago after the loss of her husband, Trooper Shawn Blanton, and followed four months later by the loss of her infant son, Tye, Michaela Blanton Lowe with family and friends by her side created the Tye Blanton Foundation (TBF).   The outpouring of love and support Michaela and her family received from the Western North Carolina community, and especially from ...