Extended Version: The Story of the DREAMS Foundation of Acadiana with Donielle Watkins

Extended Episode: Empowerment in Action – Donielle Watkins & Coach Damon Vincent

In this extended edition of This Ability Podcast, we revisit our conversation with Donielle Watkins, Executive Director of the DREAMS Foundation of Acadiana, and expand the story by weaving in insights from Coach Damon Vincent, founder of Train Unique.

Donielle shares the heartfelt journey behind DREAMS—an organization dedicated to creating inclusive opportunities for individuals with disabilities through sports, art, theater, galas, summer camps, and more. She also highlights their one-of-a-kind meat pie manufacturing food truck, which not only serves delicious food but also employs individuals with disabilities in meaningful ways. Her deep faith and unwavering commitment to community are at the heart of this powerful conversation.

But the story doesn’t stop there.

Because many DREAMS participants also train with Coach Damon at Train Unique, we’ve enhanced this episode with a special excerpt from his interview. Coach Damon talks about his inclusive approach to fitness, the athletes he trains, and the role that confidence, respect, and tailored support play in helping people reach their full potential—on and off the gym floor.

Together, Donielle and Damon offer a shared vision of what’s possible when we invest in ability, inclusion, and community.

Tune in for an inspiring, two-voice conversation filled with passion, purpose, and real impact across Acadiana.

Transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome back to This Ability Podcast. I’m your host and podcast producer, Mary Baudoin, and today’s episode is something special—because we’re highlighting not just one, but two incredible advocates making a real difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities in our Acadiana community.

In this episode, we’re shining the spotlight on Donielle Watkins, the Executive Director of the DREAMS Foundation of Acadiana. Donielle brings passion, heart, and years of experience to her leadership role at DREAMS—an organization that provides recreational, educational, and social opportunities for individuals of all abilities. From adaptive sports leagues and summer camps to community partnerships and awareness events, DREAMS is more than a foundation—it’s a family. DREAMS is an acronym for Disability, Resources, Education, Activities, Managements, and Services.

You’ll hear Donielle share how the organization was born from a vision to make sure everyone has a place to shine, to grow, and to feel like they belong. She’ll talk about the athletes, the parents, the volunteers, and the joy that fills every game, practice, and event. Her love for the community is evident, and her words will give you a behind-the-scenes look at why DREAMS continues to grow and thrive.

Because many of the athletes and families served by DREAMS also train at Train Unique, I’ll include an excerpt from our Season One with Coach Damon Vincent—owner and founder of Train Unique. Coach Damon has created an inclusive fitness space where people of all abilities are pushed to be their best. Whether it’s a one-on-one session or a full group workout, Coach Damon meets each individual where they are—with dignity, motivation, and respect.

You’ll hear firsthand how he tailors his workouts, builds confidence in his athletes, and sees possibility—not limitation. His connection to the DREAMS Foundation runs deep, and it was important to me that we bring those two stories together in one episode. Together, they show what’s possible when we build spaces that honor every individual’s ability, effort, and humanity. With that, let’s start today’s video podcast.

Mary Baudoin 

Thank you everyone for joining us for this episode of This Ability podcast. I'm your host, Mary Baudoin, and joining us today is Donielle Watkins, the executive director of the DREAMS Foundation of Acadiana.

Donielle, thank you for joining us today.

Donielle Watkins 

Excited to be here.

Mary Baudoin 

Great. So tell us just a little bit about yourself, where you're from, where do you live, your education?

Donielle Watkins

So I am from Lafayette, Louisiana. I was actually born in Breaux Bridge, but shortly after we moved to Lafayette, I went through Catholic school and ended at Comeaux High School. Went to UL for five years and became a CPA, and we were going to leave and get out of here and go to Dallas. And then God had different plans.

Mary Baudoin

Well, I'm glad he did because I'm glad you're here in Lafayette with us. And you are married. You have a few children, right?

Donielle Watkins

Yep. I married Brian. We met in college and we have three kids. One is not the traditional. I adopted her. Well, pretty much raised her since she was five, and the other two are Logan and Lucas.

Mary Baudoin

So tell us about... Well, I guess this is going to be a combination answer because I was going to ask you about your conception of the DREAMS Foundation, and I think that Logan plays a big part in that. So tell us about his story.

Donielle Watkins

Right. DREAMS was not even in the horizon, a twinkle in her eye, absolutely nothing was. It was we were blessed with a child with special needs and we accepted a lot of things and Logan decided that he was tired of accepting and he wanted to change things. And boy, did he change things.

Mary Baudoin 

Yeah, I think I remember you telling me the story initially that he wanted to play softball or baseball or something and he couldn't find a sports area to do that?

Donielle Watkins 

Yeah, well, we were actually sitting at one of Monique's games and he said, "When am I going to play?" And me and Brian stopped us in our tracks. We were like, "Oh, we're not sure, dude. We'll have to look into that." And so Brian did some research on the internet, which at that time was very rudimentary, but he did find a league up north called the Challenger League. And so we came to the Lafayette Little League and asked them if they could start. The only question they had was, "Is there enough kids?" and I was like, "There's at least 50 in town that want to play."

Mary Baudoin 

Oh yeah, definitely. Tell our audience, because I know Logan, but tell us what he has, what he was diagnosed with.

Donielle Watkins 

So Logan, when he was born, had spina bifida, which is where the back does not close properly.

Mary Baudoin

And he uses a wheelchair?

Donielle Watkins 

He uses a wheelchair. When he was little, we tried to get him to walk with a walker and he basically said, "I'll not do it" and basically decided that that was not something that was in his purview and we had to accept that him having to think about every step that he took was not something that he wanted to do. And so we had to accept that.

Mary Baudoin 

I understand. Now cognitively, what is his ability like?

Donielle Watkins 

He's got lots of street smarts and not as much book smarts.

Mary Baudoin 

All right, Logan, my man. That's good. So if we're on the streets, he's the guy to have.

Donielle Watkins 

Oh, especially if there are women around.

Mary Baudoin

Oh, that's really funny. I know that the DREAMS Foundation, you started at what year?

Donielle Watkins 

2007.

Mary Baudoin 

2007. It's been in existence for a while now. I know you're very proud of how much it's grown.

Donielle Watkins

Yeah.

Mary Baudoin 

And you have programs, like you have the arts program, bowling, softball. You guys do a lot. Tell me about those programs and who do they cater to.

Donielle Watkins

So the programs kind of just came about as people wanted to do them. So the first one, obviously softball or baseball. And after the first game, Logan wanted to know when basketball was starting. Little did we know then he just wanted somewhere that he could be on a stage where people would see him. So then we found theater. So he created a theater program also. Although he was in regular CYT, he wanted a stage where he could be with his other friends that are-

Mary Baudoin 

And CYT is a Christian Youth Theater?

Donielle Watkins 

Christian Youth Theater. So now we have a Christian Youth Theater DREAMS Edition. And if you want to see comedy, see.

Mary Baudoin 

It did take Lexi... Speedy and I went to The Wizard of Oz production. I was mentioning that to you the other day and it was hilarious. Especially when the improv. It's never the same. Never. It's so awesome to see. And it's definitely a feel-good kind of show too. It's just when you see this gathering of people with special needs doing things that actors would do, and they do it with a lot of heart, with a lot of passion and a lot of sense of humor too. It's great. I love it.

Donielle Watkins

Oh yeah, their favorite part, which is crazy, is costume changes. The more costume changes, the more they get excited. I don't even understand, but we had to make a dressing room for them.

Mary Baudoin 

Ah, I think that's awesome.

Donielle Watkins

It just proves that they want to be like everyone else. They don't want to get treated special, they want to be treated like everyone else. And even when it's that they get in trouble, it's almost like they're standing up straight like, "Man, they're noticing me and I need to correct this and make it better." So that means that I realize that they can do better and so they will do better because we expect it.

Mary Baudoin 

One program that just wrapped up last week or the week before is Camp Unique. So tell our audience more about Camp Unique.

Donielle Watkins 

So Camp Unique is a week that me and my husband take off of work and a lot of the moms and dads come in and we throw the biggest camp party that you can think of. This past week was Western Week, and we had bad dad jokes, we had horses, we had music, we had water balloons, dunk tank. I mean everything you can think of that is just fun to just have a lot of fun and be yourself.

We had been having camp and the kids are getting older, and so some of them were like, "Well, I don't want to go to camp. I'm too old." I'm like, "Let me tell you something. There is some camps up north. And if I could go, if I can afford them, I would be there. Adults don't go to camp because they don't want to. They does go to camp because there's not really any around and it's not affordable."

Mary Baudoin 

Exactly.

Donielle Watkins 

But adults would go to camp if they could, I promise. So once they wrap their head around that and they're like, "So adults would do this?"

"Yes." And I said, "You have the luxury of having it." And so now a hundred plus kids come every year.

Mary Baudoin 

Right. And every day a different type of... You have a lot of different activities. What are some of the highlights of the activities that y'all have at Camp Unique?

Donielle Watkins 

So this past one was Western, so we actually had some horses that came that were therapeutic horses and they got to paint the horses. So I was like, "You're actually want them to paint on it? She said, "Watch." And you would see the kids walk up and they would see the horse and they were like, "I don't know if I want to touch that horse." And she'd say, "But what about touching it with paint?" And their whole facial expression would be like, "Wait. What?" And so they would kind of forget that there was a horse there and they dipped their hand in it and before you knew it, they were painting the horse all over the place, forgetting that they were touching a horse.

It was just one of those crazy things that I would've never thought to do. But this lady was... She's from New York and she's just very outgoing and those kids just love being around her. And when she left, she said, "It was for the best four hours of my year."

Mary Baudoin

That's awesome.

Donielle Watkiins

She's retired and she came just to do this for us. And one of the other things we had was TMM Music, which is a new group that comes in and they interactive with the kids. So they had this 30 plus year old guy break dancing.

Mary Baudoin

I would love to see that.

Donielle Watkins

And it was crazy. And the kids are like eyes wide. And then he brought them up and showed them some of the moves until about 20 of them got up there and they were just beaming, watching them.

Mary Baudoin

I bet. And I think break dancing is making a comeback. Dancing was a thing back then, and then it definitely left. But now I think it's back again.

Donielle Watkins

Mullet's back, you never know.

Mary Baudoin

That's strange. Some things should be left in the past.

Donielle Watkins 

I agree.

Mary Baudoin

This would be a good time to segue into Coach Damon’s episode, as he talks about being actively involved with camp unique and how he became involved with the DREAMS Foundation of Acadiana.

Tell me how you got involved with Train Unique or how that idea, how that concept, came together for you.

Damon 

Yeah. Back at the UFC gym on Ambassador, the UFC gym and the Dreams Foundation had somehow got connected and we went do a Camp Unique for them one year. We did martial arts-style stuff. And they asked if we would continue doing that in a weekly boxing session.

Mary Baudoin 

Can you tell our audience briefly what Camp Unique is?

Damon 

Oh, yeah. Camp Unique is the best week of the year. Every summer, the Dreams Foundation puts on a camp for special-needs individuals. It is intellectual disabilities, the whole nine yards, kids and adults, two different sessions, one focused on adults, one focused on kids. And we do everything from art to fitness with Train Unique to science to praise and worship, dance, water balloons. It's just-

Mary Baudoin 

You were telling me that's how you first got involved with the Dreams Foundation.

Damon 

10 years ago, they asked a gym on Ambassador to do a boxing class, and that was me. I was the one who led it.

And frankly, it was a disaster. I was 18 years old and never really worked with [inaudible 00:01:49] too much. Had done some stuff in high school, some mentoring, but a big group of special-needs athletes, trying to teach them to box, it was just not what we were going for.

I was like, "Okay, let's switch this to fitness." So I switched it to fitness. And having wrestling and fitness and martial arts background, I started doing things on the mat with them, like movements. We started with bear crawls and army crawls and those things, very gross motor skill-type stuff. But that also improved coordination, balance, strength, all those things. And we started to figure it out. We started to figure it out.

Well, a couple years later, UFC gym shuts down and I move to Headkicks on Johnston Street. We had one class going. It had got huge. I got it to 20 people.

Mary Baudoin 

Nice.

Damon

We're like, "Okay, let's add a second class." Okay. It grew. We started to call it Unique Fitness. Still associated with Dreams, but its own thing now because I had individuals approach me for personal training now. Scott Burdell, Nick Trawhall, those guys. So, I'm doing personal training for individuals with special needs, I'm doing group classes.

We add a third class, officially called Unique Fitness now. And then eventually, the owner of Headkicks was like, "Damon, I really don't have a whole lot more room for you here. I'm not kicking you out, but..." And so, we got our own spot with Dream Foundation on Verrote School Road. I'm not sure if you remember that facility.

Mary Baudoin 

Yes.

Damon 

It was a partnership between Unique Fitness and Dreams, where we did our fitness programming there, they did some programming there, some school and learning-type stuff there.

And then eventually, we grew out of that facility, and then now we're in our current facility, right in the center of town. Big, awesome facility. Actually got a chance to purchase the building, which is really exciting because a lot of times, in the special-needs world you're kind of borrowing spaces from people or doing what people will let you. But it's actually our facility. Nobody can ever kick us out.

Mary Baudoin 

That's wonderful.

Damon 

It is Train Unique's and Dreams Foundation uses it for cheerleading, art whenever they want, and it's my place. So we get to do what we want to do-

Mary Baudoin 

That's great.

Damon 

... which is really create a home for our athletes.

Mary Baudoin 

Back when you were in school, in college, did you think that you would be taking this route, personally?

Damon 

I think that it occurred to me about halfway through college. About halfway through college, I really started to understand the opportunity and the privilege that was in front of me, and so I started to take it a lot more serious. About halfway through college, I was like, "This is what I'm going to do."

From then on, I started actually taking less general pop clients and less athletes and focusing on training individuals with special needs. Actually, I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who connected me with somebody, and he told him in the email, he's like, "I remember Damon telling me..." Let's see, I graduated in '17, so that would've been 2016. He's like, "I remember Damon telling me eight years ago that he was going to one day have a program and program offerings for special needs athletes. Here he is now.

And so I think that I've been lucky to find my calling and early in life. There just ain't nothing else I can do now.

Mary Baudoin 

That is a wonderful story. I love hearing that and how it probably developed you as well. You have probably learned a lot from the people that you work with. These athletes, they need to learn, but you probably have learned a lot yourself, haven't you?

Damon 

Yeah. Perspective is a wonderful thing. I was actually talking about that with some people. I was in a conference in Chicago last week. Empathy is something that I was blessed with. My mom's a very empathetic person. Something about it, I just can't shake that feeling of just wanting to serve this community.

And I think part of it is because watching these athletes go through life, yes, sometimes they have bad days, we all do, but just continuing to show up every week, every day, day in and day out, is incredible.

Mary Baudoin 

I love that you were committed to it too, because you said at first you did the boxing with them and it was a catastrophe.

Damon 

Yes.

Mary Baudoin 

But that didn't break you down. That didn't stop you. You found a way to be flexible with it. You found a way to work with it and say, "Okay, you know what? I'm going to modify this and I'm going to see how we can mold it into something that they can do." I think that's so admirable, so thank you for doing that.

Damon 

Yeah, thank you. I think that's probably one of my favorite things about this population. Like you said, how much I've learned, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of how. That's the real question.

Going back to your question before, what have I learned? Probably that. It's not "if" or it's not "when", it's "how." That is the big question. How are we going to do it and why we're going to do it, of course, but you just got to keep on going and finagling things until you find it.

Mary Baudoin 

I know you have some different fitness programs within Train Unique. One of them very specifically that appeals to me, because I do have a daughter who is in a wheelchair, but you do wheelchair fitness. Talk to me about some of your athletes that you've had in the past and/or now and how that's changed them.

Damon 

Yeah, where do I start? We have a huge adaptive athlete population at the gym. We have everyone from athletes with cerebral palsy who can get out of their chair and stand, but who use a chair of course because it makes daily life a little bit easier for them. All the way to severe, profound, nonverbal cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal stroke, amputees. Everything that you can think of, our adaptive program covers.

I'm going to give you two athletes off the top of my head. Number one is an athlete that I think of really often and who I look forward to seeing every week. Her name is Katherine Swallow. She has cerebral palsy, uses an electric wheelchair, doesn't have fine motor skills, so we have to find lots of ways to do what we do with her. I'll give you an example.

Monday morning, every Monday at 10:00 AM, we have an adaptive athlete session. Sometimes we call it Hot Wheels. Big wheelchair group session. And in that session, you'll find a range of athletes. Like I said, athletes who can get up out of their chair but maybe use a chair all the way to Katherine.

For example, we're doing chest press, dumbbell chest press. That is the movement. I have some athletes getting out of their chair and getting on the mat to do it, I have some athletes like Katherine leaning her wheelchair back. We have to strap the weights in her hands so that she can hold them and she is squeezing with all her might. And her only goal is to touch those three pound dumbbells together.

On the other side of the gym, I got somebody on the ground doing 40 fifties in each hand and it is just so incredible to watch that. But Katherine has learned to compare herself only to herself.

Mary Baudoin 

I think that's great that Katherine is able to find what works for her and how she can have goals.

Damon 

Right. That is the beautiful thing about fitness. I have one more athlete that I want to tell you about before we move on, but that is the beautiful thing about fitness, is it is an individual sport, but it's in a team environment.

In that 10:00 AM group session, the other athlete I want to tell you about is John Deja. She had a spinal cord injury years ago, whenever she was a child. Those acquired injuries to me have always kind of boggled my mind because it's different than being born. She has taken the bull by the horns and she will get out of her wheelchair and get on the mats. This past Friday, she had a 50-pound dumbbell in each hand and she was going all the way from elbows on the floor to weights touching. It is insane, chest pressing off-

Mary Baudoin 

Look, dude, eight-pound weights kill me right now.

Damon 

She has learned to compare herself with herself and just fallen in love with, "Okay, this week at the gym, I'm going to get a little bit better. This week at the gym, I'm going to get better." And she's working now, she has a full-time job doing some call center support stuff. She has a worker that gets her to and from the gym. She's living life and it's incredible.

Being able to have those two athletes with such a gap in between them, but there for the same reason, being able to, once again, compete with themselves only, but have each other in the same session to look to for inspiration, we're all here supporting each other. I'm not comparing my weights to her, but we're all here just getting better in a team environment, cheering each other on. Cortland's in that session, Logan's in that session, Katherine, John Deja, Caleb, Mr. Milton. It's incredible to watch.

Mary Baudoin 

Definitely inspiring. And I know you have a good website and also a Facebook page. If anybody's listening and they want to find more information, where could they go?

Damon 

On Facebook, we're Train Unique. Post all kinds of awesome videos, pictures of our athletes. Instagram, wetrainunique. Our website is wetrainunique.com, and then we're also on YouTube, which has a lot of cool athletes' spotlight videos, Train Unique as well. And then we're on Google, if you just type in "train unique."

And now back to Donielle’s episode: 

Tell me about the Night of DREAMS Gala. You guys had that event that, I don't remember the annual number, but it's been going on a few years. And I think each year it just grows. Tell us about that.

Donielle Watkins 

Exactly. So it started with the Tim Tebow prom. One of the things that a lot of the parents were saying, and even the kids are like, "We're going to prom again?" Which is true. I mean, you're in high school, you go to prom twice. Maybe three times if you get asked by an older kid, but you're not going to prom the rest of your life. So that's when we realized that we wanted it to be more like a gala, more like a Mardi Gras type thing. So we changed it to that and we did our own thing and it has just exploded. We have 300 plus kids that come every year, 150 to 200 volunteers, plus all the parents are invited. So we have a thousand people that were packing into the Blackham Coliseum.

Mary Baudoin 

Right. And it just looks like an incredible living. Everybody gets to dress up and just have a good time.

Donielle Watkins 

Yeah, they're treated like royalty. They get announced when they get on the red carpet. And if they didn't bring a date, they get to select their date for the night, which is the cutest thing to watch. "Oh, yeah. I want you."

Mary Baudoin

I bet.

Donielle Watkins

And then that person who gets selected just feels so special.

Mary Baudoin 

And everyone gets selected, right? You don't leave any behind?

Donielle Watkins

Well, the volunteers, if they don't get selected, they just go dance with us.

Mary Baudoin 

Yeah, you know?

Donielle Watkins

So that it's truly inclusive. Oh, everybody has a blast.

Mary Baudoin 

No hurt feelings. Yeah. Yeah.

Donielle Watkins 

No. I saw a volunteer yesterday and she's like, "I did not leave the dance floor." And he knew every single person there. I get introduced to some people I couldn't even keep track.

Mary Baudoin 

You're just doing some incredible things in the community, Donielle. Speaking of, and I didn't know how much this was in your initial plans with DREAMS, but you've branched off into the DREAMS manufacturing and meat pie production. And now you've got a food trucks. Tell us all about that.

Donielle Watkins

Yeah, if you'd have told me that when I got out of college I would have a manufacturing company and a food truck, I would tell you were crazy. With meat pies, no less. But yeah, we... Probably five years ago I was at a board meeting and I told my board members, I said, "The kids are getting older and they want to have jobs, so we need to get Lafayette on board." And so one of my board members came up to me after and said, "I think I have something for you" and I'm like, "What is that?" He's like, "Well, y'all can make some meat pies." He must have been like... I know my face was like, "What are you talking about?"

We went. He said, "Let's go look." So we went and watched the... It was basically a similar line and I was like, "Okay, well maybe we could do this." Although it was a long process, which I didn't think would ever end of USDA, God got us through it and it happened. And then two years later after Covid, applied for a grant, said, "I'm going to get a food truck if we get it." Got the grant. I was like, "Oh my goodness, I have to buy a food truck."

From the date I found out I got the grant, we opened two months later. Everything was done. It was all inspiring and crazy how fast donation coming in right at the right moment when I needed to do the rap. Food truck standing in my lap with a friend of mine who wanting to sell hers. I mean, it was just-

Mary Baudoin 

Everything fell into place.

Donielle Watkins 

... divine intervention. It was crazy. It has hit the roads. I mean there are slow times, but for the most part it's doing really well.

Mary Baudoin 

Yeah. And you guys have a lot of variety. Tell me about the different types of meat pies you sell.

Donielle Watkins 

Right, so we have 12 different types of beef and pork, which are in most local stores, [inaudible 00:10:28] and all the other local stores. But then when we opened the food truck, we were going to do just late lunches. And so our logo is, "You dream it, we stuff it." So I said, "Brandon, I said, what if we took... That's who the chef. I said, "What if we took all the stuff that we were going to put in those containers and we shove it in the pie?" He's like, "We could definitely do that." So then came the pool pork and the pepperoni and the chicken alfredo, which is probably one of the most unique ones we have. And then spinach and artichoke and-

Mary Baudoin 

Oh, nice.

Donielle Watkins

... taco. I can't even think of them all right now. Food and cheese.

Mary Baudoin 

And you guys have branched off into sweets too, right? I see apple.

Donielle Watkins 

Yeah, we have apple and we have cookie dough.

Mary Baudoin

Oh my God. Cookie dough. Jesus.

Donielle Watkins

Oh, it is so good.

Mary Baudoin

I bet it is.

Donielle Watkins

Oh, yeah.

Mary Baudoin 

I need to get some of that.

Donielle Watkins

They're all good. And every time somebody says, "Why don't you do this?" we try it, you know?

Mary Baudoin 

Right.

Donielle Watkins

I mean, our dream is to have a cafe where we'd be the subway of meat pies and you walk in and you tell the person what you want in it, put it in the oven and you have your homemade pie.

Mary Baudoin 

I love the meat pies too. I usually get them from the frozen section in the store because it's so easy for me. I am a non-cook, okay? And it's just that's been in my blood. Even I can't use Lexi as an excuse like, "Oh, I have a special needs child. I don't have time to cook." No, not really. I don't like to cook. So for me, just throwing these things in the oven and then just a few minutes later they're ready and they're so tasty and good. Love the meat pies.

You mentioned about DREAMS and the different ways that you guys raise money, but how are you primarily funded? Is it through grants or just private donations, sponsorships, things like that?

Donielle Watkins 

It's mostly private donations in our fundraisers, but mostly private donations. We have a lot of people that really believe in what we're doing and we can't do it without them, to be really honest.

Mary Baudoin 

Right. If someone is listening and they live in Acadiana area or another state and they just want to come down and help you with an event, how does someone go about volunteering to help with the DREAMS Foundation of Acadiana?

Donielle Watkins

We love volunteers. Volunteers can go to our website, www.dreamsfoundationaca.org. And underneath volunteers, there's a form you fill out and then you'll get a response saying, "Thank you for joining." And then as things come up, you'll get emails. The gala, you always get an email. And then you always get an email for camp. But then there's also other times that we need volunteers.

Mary Baudoin 

Right. Just throughout the year for different events.

Donielle Watkins 

Right. Right.

Mary Baudoin 

Definitely. Throughout the interview, and I've known you for many years, I know that faith is very important to you, and you've mentioned it throughout the interview. How important is faith to you and your family?

Donielle Watkins

It's extremely important because when I'm going down a path, my hardest thing to figure out when we're thinking about DREAMS is, when do I push for something or when is it not God's will yet and we need to push back and let him open the path? The factory was a big one. We kept running into these what I would call brick walls and they would vanish the next day. And so I'd say, "Okay, if you want me to go, I can't fix this." And the next day it would absorb and I'd be like, "Okay, I'm continuing." So it is definitely a big part of what DREAMS is. I know we wouldn't be where we were if God wasn't moving mountains. In fact, for camp there's always a big chance of rain. And our big group, all the moms, "What are we going to do for rain?" And my answer is always the same. "That's not our department. God's got it."

Mary Baudoin 

Yeah, good answer.

Donielle Watkins

And they laugh and they're like, "Okay. Are we bringing ponchos or umbrellas?" I said, "I don't care. He's going to take care of it." And every day it would be cloudy, which means it wasn't hot. So it was perfect. And there would be this 85, 95% chance of rain. We would go in there and we do three praise and worship songs at the band of camp. The last one is rain. The roof would come off because the kids absolutely love it. It gives me chills every time I hear it. And it would not rain till 12:00.

Mary Baudoin 

See, you guys were doing a sunshine dance.

Donielle Watkins 

I'm telling you. And every time I would say, "Did you just see that? The rain went away." And they'd all laugh. I mean we'd get drizzling, but it was no-

Mary Baudoin 

Yeah, it's okay.

Donielle Watkins 

... no thunderstorms like that.

Mary Baudoin 

Donielle Watkins 

Especially the day that the horses came. Horses can't be there. No rain, not a drop.

Mary Baudoin 

Wonderful. And it's been raining y'all like every day here, so that's been crazy. But that was definitely some intervention there.

Donielle Watkins 

Oh, absolutely.

Mary Baudoin 

That's out of your control.

Donielle Watkins

No doubt.

Mary Baudoin 

What is in the future for the DREAMS Foundation?

Donielle Watkins

The DREAMS Foundation right now is really pushing toward job training. We have so many individuals that are graduating high school, 18, because... You can go all the way to 22 if you like, but at 22, it's like a lead balloon dropping. There is not much opportunities out there right now. 90% of it to me is that there's no education to the businesses in town that our kids are probably a more positive asset than any employee that you can hire.

Mary Baudoin 

And speaking to other parents that have older special needs children, they're loyal to their employer, they're also eager to get to work every day. They look forward to putting on that uniform and going to work. You'll never find a more loyal employee, I think.

Donielle Watkins 

And besides that, they'll do the jobs that nobody else wants to do for a fraction of the cost. So that's a big thing that we're working on. And we'd like to start to open up a place for job training, doing some outsourcing. And when we do the outsourcing, them learning how to wash dishes, do the laundry and even copies or shredding and then sending it back out to the employers and then possibly them getting hired by maybe other employers or anywhere in town that will give them a chance.

Mary Baudoin 

Yeah, absolutely. And for those of you listening, if you're not familiar with The DREAMS Foundation aside from the website that she mentioned, they have a good following on Facebook. So you'll want to check out their page because you guys usually post at least once a day, several times a week of the activities that you have going on. There's always something going on with the DREAMS Foundation, so be sure to look them up on Facebook because it's just incredible organization to be involved with.

Donielle, are there any other topics that you want to talk about that we did not discover?

Donielle Watkins 

The only thing that we do want to do in the future, which is a good ways off but we're hoping that it will start with our job training center, to have a community where the kids can live once the parents aren't around anymore. The Unity Village community, the dream has been there for a while. It's just, it's a big undertaking and we don't want to do it until it's God's plan, until He's ready for it. And the parents are more than ready for it. I probably get asked at least once to twice every six months when it's going to happen. And I used to get really nervous and agitated when people asked because a lot of the people who are asking aren't helping. The answer is now, "It's God's plan." You can see a lot of people run fast when you say that.

Mary Baudoin 

Either run towards you or away from.

Donielle Watkins 

They don't know how to respond to that.

Mary Baudoin 

Love it.

Donielle Watkins 

But I truly believe it and it's given me peace because it is the truth. It will happen. I just don't know when.

Mary Baudoin 

Well, Donielle, thank you so much for being here today. This was an interview that was great and just kind of flew by. Thank you so much for talking about your family and DREAMS and everything else you guys do. I don't know how you do at all, but...

Donielle Watkins 

Thank you very much.

Mary Baudoin 

Definitely. All right, everyone, that's going to wrap up this episode of This Ability podcast. If you enjoy listening to our podcast, be sure to like our Facebook page and subscribe to our YouTube channel for video podcast at This Ability podcast for updates and new episode postings. Goodbye everyone, and thank you for listening.

Thank you so much for joining us today for this special extended episode of This Ability Podcast, where we took a deeper look into the work of the DREAMS Foundation of Acadiana through the voice of its Executive Director, Donielle Watkins, and paired it with an inspiring clip from Coach Damon of Train Unique—who trains many of DREAMS' athletes and has become a powerful motivator in our community.

Together, Donielle and Damon reminded us how vital inclusive recreation, mentorship, and a sense of purpose are for individuals of all abilities. Their stories of resilience, teamwork, and never giving up speak directly to what This Ability Podcast is all about: celebrating strength, spirit, and the power of community.

Next week,  we’ll share our interview with Vanessa Lomas, founder of TheraCare Music Therapy of Lafayette and president of the Autism Society of Acadiana.

Until next time, I’m Mary Baudoin, with This Ability Podcast—where every story matters and every voice is heard. Thanks for watching.