Lawrence father gives back to nonprofit that has helped family through difficult time

James Parson plays with his daughter Belladonna, 3, outside their home in Lawrence. James volunteers at his daughter's day care center to help cover the costs of her attending the center.

Benefit for 1-year-old

The Parson family is holding a benefit Saturday to help raise funds for the care of 1-year-old Brody, who has cerebral palsy. The money will be used to purchase equipment and therapy to help with Brody’s recovery. The event will feature live music, food and activities for kids. It is from noon to 4 p.m. at East Centennial Park, 2124 W. Ninth St. Tickets can be purchased for $10 each at www.brodyfightscp.com.

James Parson’s family has had a rough few years. But he says Lawrence’s Ballard Center has made things a little bit easier. So the father of four makes sure to give back to the local social services organization.

The nonprofit provides low-cost day care for his 3-year-old daughter, Belladonna, while his fiancee, Jennifer Coon, stays home to care for their 10-month-old daughter, Gracie, and 1-year-old son, Brody, who has cerebral palsy. This arrangement allows Belladonna, a red-haired bundle of joy and curiosity, to play with other kids her age while her mom, who also has a 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, is busy with Belladonna’s younger siblings.

Parson, a landscaper by trade, noticed that Ballard Center employees were using small push mowers to cut their large lawn. So he asked his boss if he could borrow some equipment. The boss agreed, and now Parson does the landscaping for Ballard Center, free of charge, as a way to show his appreciation.

“The Ballard Center has been a huge help, an immense help, to Jennifer, especially when Brody’s not doing well,” the 26-year-old said. “I just can’t say enough about how much the Ballard Center has helped us. I figured we might as well give back.”

The Ballard Center helped the family obtain scholarships to pay for Belladonna’s tuition there, and get set up with visits from Trinity In-Home Care to assist Coon with household chores. Said Coon: “It’s really hard with three kids, and Brady’s in the hospital every two months. He gets aspiration pneumonia. It usually turns into a five-day hospital stay. When that happens, James misses work and he stays at the hospital, and I stay here with the kids.”

So what does Belladonna, who has been going to the Ballard Center on weekdays for the past seven months, enjoy about day care?

“I like ice cream. I like Miss Sarah and Mr. Tim (her teachers). I play on the dinosaur,” she said.

Megan Stuke, director of development and administration at the Ballard Center, said the agency typically works with a lot of single moms and tends not to see fathers. That has not been the case with Parson, who Stuke says drops off and picks up Belladonna and displays an active interest in the toddler’s growth and development. She said he also shows his commitment by mowing the Ballard Center’s grass on the weekends after working all week.

“We don’t have a lot of dads who are here, let alone visible and invested,” she said. “You can tell his priority is with this little girl.”