In A Heartbeat

Leigh Anne Tuohy and Delta Gamma representatives
pose for photos after her lecture to students in the Oklahoma
Memorial Union.
Photo By: Ana Victoria Lastra

Leigh Anne Tuohy, mother to NFL football player Michael Orr and inspiration for the movie Blind Side, spoke Friday Nov. 11 at the University of Oklahoma Memorial Union. Tuohy was invited by the sorority Delta Gamma to speak to students and the Norman community about the power of helping and serving.


Tuohy travels across the nation spreading her message of serving communities to save as many Michael Orrs as possible. Society values the wrong things in Tuohy's eyes. Her message to the audience was to get off of the path and talk to people to save one more life.



"We are on a mission right now. We are on a mission to talk about the kids that need a home and a bed to sleep in," said Tuohy.


The importance of helping people who are in need is a principle that Tuohy has instilled in all three of her children. Changing the life of one person could inadvertently change history.  Tuohy stated that she believed that the person with the potential to cure cancer is in a inner-city school.


"If someone is as immensely talented as Michael Orr can fall through the cracks, can you imagine who gets left behind? Can you imagine?" said Tuohy.

Students and fans pack the Oklahoma Memorial Union to listen
to Leigh Anne Tuohy speak.
Photo By: Ana Lastra

Tuohy shared with the packed room stories of small things that her children have done to help people. The smallest gift or kind words can affect people in the greatest ways and inspire more change. She encouraged listeners to pay for college applications for those who can not afford it or other acts for people within the Norman community.



Despite the small similarities between Tuohy and Sandra Bullock, who played the strong willed mother of Orr in the movie Blind Side, Tuohy's animated presence stands above the rest. Tuohy was not there to speak about how strong of an adaptation Blind Side was, but to share the possibilities that each person could bring to the world if they had just a little bit of help.



To learn more about how to help your local community you can search http://www.hud.gov/local/ok/homeless/volunteer.cfm and to get Leigh Anne Tuohy's new book, In A Hearbeat.