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From the 'Blind Side' to the bright side
4:43 PM on 11/30/2009
They look like movie stars, but Leigh Anne Tuohy her daughter Collins are down to earth Mid-Southerners.
"Michael Oher was walking the streets of Memphis, Tennessee and society had deemed him worthless. He had been labeled as homeless for all practical purposes," said Leigh.
The Blind Side tells the story of the Tuohy family's unlikely addition.They adopted an African American teenager from Hurt Village who experiences the culture shock of upper crust white suburbia.
Michael Oher ended up attending high school at Briarcrest. As a gigantic left tackle who protects the quarterback's "blind side," Oher became a HOTLY sought-after college football prospect who went on to star on the gridiron at Ole Miss.
Then, this past April, "The Baltimore Ravens select Michael Oher from the University of Mississippi."
"So you just have to go: how many Michael Ohers are on the street?" said Leigh. Memphis City Schools counts at least Fifteen hundred students like Oher...homeless and hungry.
Leigh Ann and Collins took a tour of Memphis Family Shelter 16 homeless mothers are currently staying with their children.
Though she is an animal lover, Leigh Anne is outraged more attention is given to the situation at the Memphis Animal Shelter than to the hundreds of kids who need help now.
She's become a huge advocate of adoption but concedes it's not possible for every family. The Tuohys do insist that each of us have gifts to share - no matter how small - with less fortunate children
Her family did something so loving people all over the world will now come to know about it.
They'll learn a Memphis love story...that needs real life sequels.
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