Today we’d like to introduce you to Jan Tennyson.
Jan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
From Orphanage to an International Ministry “She Dares to Dream” is the account of my life. Filled with no hope, destined for disaster, orphaned and rejected, I felt utterly abandoned and was left to find my own way. My parents were literally incapable of raising me. My father grew up in an orphanage. My mother had a nervous breakdown and had to be institutionalized shortly after I was born. This scenario didn’t leave me with much of a foundation on which to begin my life. I was separated from my siblings as an infant and placed in the New York Foundling Home. My siblings were taken to a children’s shelter and later placed in the foster care system until they were eighteen. Insecurity and low self-esteem fueled all of our hearts with hopelessness.
When I was considered a misfit in society and told me that I really didn’t “belong” – depression and even suicide could have been the end of my story. However, as an adult, I visited Mount Loretto, a sanctuary for children founded by a Catholic priest who rescued street children. That day, a nun showed me the chapel where my father worshiped as a boy. She told me, “We have a museum upstairs with artifacts and pictures of what it looked like when your father lived here.” In that historic place, my life changed instantly.
Choked with emotion, I could hardly go on. Walls were decorated with pictures of little boys sleeping in the stairwells of New York City. Their expressions were haunting, and their eyes were filled with despair. Tears trickled down my face as I read the caption over one photo – Children Without Dreams. Fortunately for me, I did find hope in my life. The Lord brought opportunities to my life that opened up the world to me. An early career on Wall Street for Bank of America, followed by a job with the Thoroughbred Racing Association and United Airlines, exposed me to a whole new world of business, travel, and adventure.
When I found the love of my life and gave birth to my two precious children, I felt I had truly found meaning and purpose in my life. Although my marriage didn’t last a lifetime as I had dreamed, my own deep heartbreak and tears gave me the strength and compassion to dry the tears of others. Writing this book has been one of the most difficult tasks of my life. Resurrecting broken dreams and remembering heart-wrenching circumstances have helped me realize that this effort was not in vain. The reality of life is that the truth can sometimes hurt.
However, it is still the truth. Knowledge of family is part of one’s history. I have learned to stop being embarrassed by my circumstances. I have also learned that with God’s help, there is no obstacle too great to overcome. I’ve discovered that my attitude determines whether my story becomes one of victory or defeat. This truth has profoundly impacted my life. It is not what happens to us that is important, but what God will do through us that really matters.
As you turn the pages of this book, you will follow my life from a youngster in an orphanage in New York City to playing the piano in Carnegie Hall at age seven. From “globetrotting the world”, to opening my home and housing twenty-seven teenagers with substance abuse, I now know God was preparing me for the day I would step into my destiny and bring hope to the hopeless. Thank you for taking this journey with me. May this story build your faith and inspire you to and live a dream that outlasts your lifetime.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being passed on from alcoholic birth parents who were incapable of taking care of me, to the New York Foundling Home, to a foster home where I truly felt loved, to another foster home where my siblings were residing was difficult. Because I studied piano at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, I was on the radio and TV as a child. My foster siblings and birth siblings seemed jealous. I often wondered, “Who am I? Who are my parents, and “Who is ever gonna love me? The rejection was a common emotion for me, constantly wondering, “Where do I really belong?” After marrying my Prince Charming, who divorced me after 17 years of marriage, I didn’t think I could survive.
Please tell us about Dare to Dream Children’s Foundation.
Dare to Dream Children’s Foundation inspires youth in group homes, shelters, detention centers and orphanages to recognize their value. Most of our youngsters are fatherless and from low incoming families. It has been a joy to watch homeless people gain self-confidence and hope to accomplish their dreams.
Teams of trained volunteers conduct educational life-skills programs, including crime prevention and spiritual development, to help them become productive citizens in our society. Dare to Dream invites youth to cultural events, luncheons and banquets to expose them to people and places they have never had the opportunity to visit. Dare to Dream builds teams and paves the way for volunteers and others to teach, start their own ministries, and change generations to come. With community support, we provide Christmas activities and gifts to at-risk youngsters.
After our sessions, I ask this question: What do you want to be remembered for at the end of your life? Most would like to say – the values they cherish and the hope that they left the world a better place by the life they lived. When I see sad faces turn to joy, it warms my heart and ignites a passion for doing more to make help the next generation impact our world.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me, is to make your life a living example of God’s faithfulness. To take your story and impact others to achieve their dreams.
Pricing:
- Autobiography – She Dares to Dream… the Jan Tennyson Story available at $20
- DVD – Pass the Torch – Jan’s testimony $15 plus shipping
- Dare to Dream T shirt with logo $15 plus shipping www.daretodream-dallas.org
Contact Info:
- Address: Dare to Dream Children’s Foundation
6310 LBJ Freeway, Suite 111, Dallas, TX 75240 - Website: www.daretodream-dallas.org
- Phone: 214-599-9563
- Email: dtdcfnd@aol.com
Image Credit:
These photos are the possession of Jan Tennyson
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