Tennessee Voices, Episode 257: Lillian Beretta of the Joe Beretta Foundation and HOLA
Lillian Beretta's husband Joe was the picture of health, but he was unaware that he was suffering from heart disease until it was too late.
He died from advanced, or end-of-stage, heart failure — a death his widow called "the loss of the century; we have never gotten over it."
However, her family's tragedy led Lillian to found and lead the board of the Joe Beretta Foundation, based in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, to support families in the same predicament as hers.
The foundation, which started in 2016, hosts community fundraisers to provide patients and families emergency housing, short-term financial assistance and holiday outreach.
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices podcast, Lillian Beretta shared her story and passion for helping others, building community and food, be it from her vineyard at her home or meals she enjoys preparing, such as, pernil (pork shoulder, a typical dish in Puerto Rico).
We also discussed the new nonprofit, Hispanic Organization of Leaders and Achievers, or HOLA, which she serves as a board member.
HOLA has held panels on women's empowerment, partnered with other organizations such as the Hispanic Family Foundation, and teamed up with the state of Tennessee to do vaccine outreach to Latino-dominated churches.
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About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Fighting heart disease and aiding patients, families
