Donna Terrell to Speak at Project Transformation Arkansas Luncheon in Pine Bluff

Donna Terrell, award-winning news anchor for FOX16 in Little Rock and an enthusiastic advocate for community service, will serve as the special guest for a question-and-answer conversation with Rev. Samantha (Sam) Meadors, executive director of PT Arkansas, at noon on Tues., Apr. 7 at Lakeside United Methodist Church in Pine Bluff as part of Project Transformation Arkansas’s annual fundraising luncheon.

Terrell anchors FOX16 News weekdays at 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. and has been a familiar and trusted presence in Arkansas television since joining the station in 2004. Before moving to Little Rock, she worked as an anchor and reporter in Detroit, Cleveland, South Bend and Battle Creek.

Throughout her broadcast career, Terrell has earned numerous honors for her work in journalism, including several Emmy Awards and a Regional Emmy for her work as a news anchor. She has also received the National American Legion Fourth Estate Award and an Associated Press Award for her special reports on grieving the loss of a child. Her reporting on topics such as cosmetic surgery, breast cancer and patients’ rights has also received national recognition.

Beyond the newsroom, Terrell is widely respected for her commitment to serving others. She is the founder of Donna Terrell’s Yoga Warriors Fighting Colon Cancer, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to provide liquid nutrition for cancer patients currently undergoing treatment who need financial assistance. The organization was created in memory of her daughter, Queah, who passed away from colon cancer but found strength and comfort through yoga during her battle.

Yoga Warriors hosts community fundraising events and offers free yoga classes for cancer survivors and caregivers. Terrell also serves on the board of Women and Children First, a domestic violence shelter in Little Rock, and has previously served on the boards of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House. She has also served as an ambassador for the American Cancer Society.

The mission of Project Transformation Arkansas (PT Arkansas) is to transform communities by engaging children, college-age young adults and churches in purposeful relationships. In the summer of 2022, PT Arkansas launched its first summer program, engaging young adults, partnering churches and volunteers to serve more than 50 children in two host churches located in neighborhoods that are under-resourced in Pine Bluff.

Today, PT Arkansas has two campuses, one in Pine Bluff and another in Little Rock, both of which provide a summer day camp experience to under-resourced elementary school students and their families.

“We provide two key services,” said Rev. Samantha Meadors, executive director of PT Arkansas. “First is leadership development and ministry exploration opportunities for college-age young adults through summer and one-year service internships. The second is community-oriented after-school and summer day camp programming for children and youth.

“Our programs focus on enriching the body, mind and spirit, but we place a unique emphasis on literacy and social-emotional learning. During the summer, each child is paired daily with a volunteer to read one-to-one. Programs are strategically housed in churches in the heart of communities that are under-resourced,” Rev. Meadors said.

For more information about PT Arkansas, visit https://projecttransformation.org/arkansas/. To inquire about sponsoring or attending the Pine Bluff or Little Rock luncheons, contact Rev. Meadors at SMeadors@PTArkansas.org or 501-650-0565, or KD Reep, director of development, at Kelli@FlywriteCommunications.com or 501-766-1260.