Tag: inspiration

Chattanooga, community, Diversity, donate, Environment, outdoors, Philanthropy, reflection riding, Uncategorized

Growing for Change

Written by Ella Sole

Cash Daniels, a 16-year-old conservationist, offers insight into his efforts to clean up plastic waste by focusing on fishing line. With his initiative now operating in six states, Daniels has garnered national attention and accolades for his projects and hopes to continue raising awareness about plastic waste clean-up.

Walking along the shoreline, a small plastic straw reflects the sun’s rays and catches a child’s eye, sparking a life dedicated to making a change in the man-made, polluted environment. At the age of 7, this is precisely what happened to Cash Daniels.

“Before that, I had always loved getting out on the river: fishing, kayaking, swimming, things like that. When I found that plastic straw, I knew it would harm the animals in the environment that I loved, so I knew I had to do something to help defend it,” said Daniels. “Due to that, I have been able to remove 46,000 pounds of trash from the river so far.”

Cash Daniels shows off a jar of his collected fishing line. Throughout Cash Daniels’ conservation efforts, he collected over 2,200 miles of used fishing line. Thursday, October 15, 2025 (Photo by Corbin Winters).

Plastic waste is ever-present on the banks of the Tennessee River and Chattanooga Creek, harming aesthetics and the biodiverse habitats. With these waterways so close to Daniels’ home, he felt a personal responsibility to do something to help sustain and improve them. Daniels, now a 16-year-old Chattanooga, Tennessee native, has shown his passion for cleaning up the environment around him by constructing and placing fishing line recycling bins in six states.

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, Healing, History, Immigration, Love, Philanthropy, Safety, UTC

Still Here

Written by Connor Spelta

Olympia Garcia Lopez talks about her experience as a Guatemalan immigrant in Chattanooga and how she came to find La Paz.

For those building new lives in Chattanooga, the journey often begins with an organization like La Paz. Even at a time of rapidly shifting policy and funding changes, this organization isn’t going anywhere, and remains firmly committed to the people they serve.

La Paz is a Latino services non-profit organization with a stated goal of “empowering and engaging Chattanooga’s Latino population through advocacy, education, and inclusion.”

“From the very beginning we’ve encountered many Hispanic men coming to Chattanooga for work opportunities, and they started coming in with their families. The needs start changing from job opportunities or like documentation to other processes, more programs, more resources that they need for the whole family instead of just an individual” said Daniela Durán, the communication coordinator for La Paz.

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga Audubon Society, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Environment, outdoors, Sustainability

Responsible Recreation

Written by Maleah Holder

“All aboard!” Benny Braden, founder and former president of Responsible Stewardship tied his trash bags and tossed them on his jon boat as his volunteers shuffled back through the woods. The shoreline of Watts Bar Lake, previously covered in loose trash, old tires, and tangled fishing line, was near spotless after Braden and his team took on the challenge of collecting the debris. 

Responsible Stewardship is a non-profit organization that works with a volunteer base to remove trash from outdoor recreation spaces such as Watts Bar Lake to keep the space clean and family-friendly. Braden started his organization in August of 2022 working to clean up illegal dump sites and move them to landfills while recycling what he can. 

“That is something we are striving for in the next couple years to…recycle everything. We typically like to do zero added waste cleanups which means we use the barley bags and reusable gloves,” says Braden.

In just over a year of action, volunteers turned into ambassadors leading their own teams all over the country collecting trash and weighing it to report back to Braden. Recently, a new ambassador in Taiwan took it upon herself to collect trash overseas after being inspired by his work in the U.S. and has so far collected over 1,000 pounds by herself.

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Chattanooga, Daily Life, Diversity, Health, Sports

Mr. No Excuses

Written by Ben Ducklo

How can a man use his disability to inspire others to be a better version of themselves in a world filled with so many obstacles?

Lyndon Stamper demonstrates a part of his workout routine. (Photo by Ben Ducklo)

Lyndon “Linny” Stamper, a Chattanooga local, has cerebral palsy but that does not stop him from working out every day. Stamper has become a local celebrity at the YMCA for his dedication to fitness. Nearly every member that he comes across greets him warmly as he makes his way to the gym floor. Stamper is a beacon of inspiration for many of the other gym members, as he does not allow anything to get in his way.

Stamper says that he does not feel like he has a disability, “People look at a disability as something that brings them down, but I look at Cerebral Palsy as like God has given me this ability to shine the light on people with disabilities and show what we can do.”

Lyndon Stamper demonstrates a part of his work out routine. (Photo by Ben Ducklo)

Local gym members now know Stamper as “Mr. No Excuses” because he drives 15 minutes everyday to work out despite the obstacles that stand in his way. He says that he stays motivated by seeing how his actions are impacting others. “When I first started working out, people told me that I inspire them, or I motivated them to be here.”

When COVID-19 hit, Stamper had no source of income, so he started his own clothing brand called Grind Over Disability. His brand quickly became popular when the YMCA reopened and the members saw his new merchandise. Since the start of his operation, he has sold between 200 and 300 shirts. “What can I do to inspire other people, so I came up with this brand, Grind Over Disability. Something that people can wear and look themselves in the mirror and see no excuses on the shirt. Hopefully it pushes people a little harder,” Stamper says.

Stamper has no plans to slow down. He wants to expand his merchandise beyond just shirts. His hoodies and stickers will be available later this year. You can buy his merchandise and support his journey through Instagram @Lyndonmrnoexcusesstamper.

An interview between Ben Ducklo and Lyndon Stamper. (Audio by Ben Ducklo)