{"id":1582,"date":"2021-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nice-cori.104-207-151-122.plesk.page\/?p=1582"},"modified":"2021-05-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-01T00:00:00","slug":"husband-honors-wifes-memory-through-nonprofit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/husband-honors-wifes-memory-through-nonprofit","title":{"rendered":"Husband Honors Wife\u2019s Memory Through Nonprofit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Percilla with her youngest child, before her death in 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tragic loss of Percilla Hodge turned into her husband\u2019s quest to raise funds to fight the disease that took her life. The young widower started PAMAH Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of the deadly disease meningitis, supporting families affected by it, and funding research.<\/p>\n

Meet the inspiration for this foundation: Percilla Ann Marie April-Hodge (PAMAH).<\/p>\n

\u201cPercilla loved everything about the Thanksgiving holiday. She loved it so much we would often tease her about her plans for Thanksgiving dinner, which normally started in the month of July,\u201d husband Shaquille said. \u201cHer greatest joy was spending time with family and friends. Known as a peacemaker, she loved to see others joyful.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the summer of 2018, however, everything changed for the Hodge family. While on a July family trip to the beach, Percilla complained of a headache. Not wanting to spoil the kids\u2019 day of fun, she told her husband she was heading back to the room to take medicine and lie down. Percilla went to the emergency room that evening, and was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis. Even though treatment started immediately, she didn\u2019t recover. She left behind her husband and three children \u2013 Kayden, 7; Korey, 5; Khalini Grace, 3 months \u2013 along with many family members and friends.<\/p>\n

Because of Percilla\u2019s love of bringing people together, Shaquille asked, \u201cWhat can I do to honor her?\u201d PAMAH Foundation launched in the fall of 2018. \u201cWe work to educate the community, advocate for victims of the disease, and promote prevention through vaccinations.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cPAMAH\u2019s mission is community oriented,\u201d said Danielle Hodge, board member and Percilla\u2019s mother-in-law. \u201cOne of our core values includes the idea of cultivating compassion, which is to foster the growth of sympathetic consciousness of others\u2019 distress together with the desire to alleviate it. This is the reason PAMAH began. As a result, we believe it is our sacred responsibility to help our neighbors in every way we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The staff and volunteers at PAMAH raise awareness in the community through events such as the car show, Pork and Torque, which was held in April and featured special guest Shaquille O\u2019Neal. This month, PAMAH is sponsoring its 30 in Thirty Challenge, asking participants to form teams to run, walk, bike or skate to raise funds. Details can be found on the events tab at www.pamahfoundation.org.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Susan Schulz is a wife, mom, writer and mentor who lives and plays along the Etowah River in Canton. She loves serving at Woodstock City Church. Connect with her at www.susanbrowningschulz.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

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PAMAH awards three $1,000 scholarships annually to Cherokee County School District graduating seniors. Students can apply through the website before the May 26 deadline. To learn more about the disease, donate or volunteer, call 678-926-9507 or email info@pamahfoundation.org.<\/p>\n

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PAMAH staff members Executive Director Danielle Hodge, left, founder Shaquille Hodge, and Program Director Maritza Gonzalez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Possible Signs and Symptoms of Meningitis <\/strong>
\n(source mayoclinic.org)<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u2022 Sudden high fever
\n\u2022 Stiff neck
\n\u2022 Severe headache that seems different from normal
\n\u2022 Headache with nausea and vomiting
\n\u2022 Confusion or difficulty concentrating
\n\u2022 Seizures
\n\u2022 Sleepiness or difficult waking
\n\u2022 Sensitivity to light
\n\u2022 No appetite or thirst
\n\u2022 Skin rash (sometimes, such as in meningococcal meningitis)<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t Jaiden Liramzo gets an autograph from the fundraiser\u2019s special guest, Shaquille O\u2019Neal. <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tJaudon Beaton brought his car to the April fundraiser.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tPork and Torque organizer Shaquille Hodge with Kahli Pierce, Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Manny Blackburn. Photos courtesy of Brittany Weir.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tShaquille O\u2019Neal, in blue hoodie, draws a crowd, rain or shine.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tJordan and Jaxon Foster with their car.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tUmbrellas were almost as popular as the cars during the rain-soaked Pork and Torque fundraiser. Photo courtesy of Brittany Weir.
\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Photos courtesy of Brittany Weir.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Percilla with her youngest child, before her death in 2018. The tragic loss of Percilla Hodge turned into her husband\u2019s quest to raise funds to fight the disease that took her life. The young widower started PAMAH Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of the deadly disease meningitis, supporting families affected by it, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feature"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"aroundwoodstoc","author_link":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/author\/aroundwoodstoc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundwoodstockmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}