Taking Flight

By Anna Grace Moore
Photos Contributed

Salty tears welled up, washing down Denise Slupe’s rouge-stained cheeks. Crying softly, smiling through her grief, she cradled her precious bundle of joy close to her chest, ever so gently rocking back and forth.

Half an hour had not even dawned since her daughter Lauren Slupe’s arrival, and yet, what was supposed to be an occasion for elation had turned somber, muddied with polarizing jargon from the obstetricians.

“She has Down syndrome,” one doctor said, apologetically.

Those words haunt Denise for all of a minute. This was 20 years ago, when the world knew so little about genetics and life expectancy, much less the quality of life, for those with intellectual disabilities and developmental delays.

Denise wipes away her tears and gazes longingly at her daughter’s sweet face, praying not to survive this then-daunting diagnosis, but to help Lauren thrive.

As bleak as hope seems to be, Lauren smiles, and Denise feels a twinge of hope, like a light in her soul.

“We’ve got this,” she says, smiling.

Bridging the Gap

Growing up around Alabama fans, Denise jokes that her family has always stood out, being staunch Auburn fans for as long as she can recall.

“I was finishing Decatur High School, and all of my dear friends were going to Tuscaloosa,” she says. “I went in and told my dad that’s where I was going to go, and he said, ‘Honey, that’s just fine. You can go to Tuscaloosa, but your tuition checks will be going to Auburn.’”

Chuckling, she remembers going to The Plains and falling in love with the community. After graduating with her business degree, she worked as a broker and an investment advisor for several years, later marrying and starting her family in Vestavia Hills.

Now a proud mother of four, Denise says when her youngest, Lauren, was born, she took a step back to focus on raising her children. When she and her husband Frank Slupe realized their daughter would have Down syndrome, they both dedicated their efforts to helping her live a fulfilling life.

Lauren’s older sisters have also been some of her strongest supporters. One teaches dance classes for children with special needs and volunteers at Unless U. Another works with children who have autism spectrum disorder.

The entire family has advocated strongly for inclusion and equal opportunities for the special needs community since day one, with Lauren as their shining cheerleader.

“The young lady is fearless,” Denise says of Lauren. “She knows she can do it, and with anything, she wants to try. She’s not intimidated or afraid, and I wish that I could embody that boldness.”

Where others see limits, Lauren sees limitless opportunities. She rushes into any situation with headstrong confidence, never bowing to difficulty.

It’s this bravery in the face of adversity that defines her—and it is this very trait that opened Denise’s eyes to the capability of deserving individuals just like Lauren.

In 2019, Denise partnered with her dear friends Katie Basden and Sarah Newton to expand educational opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. Denise and Sarah already had strong connections with the EAGLES Program at Auburn University, so the trio decided to channel their efforts into raising awareness of its benefits.

According to the Auburn Bulletin, 2025-2026, “The Education to Accomplish Growth in Life Experiences for Success, or EAGLES, is a comprehensive transition program for students with intellectual disabilities. The program provides a post-secondary education opportunity for students with intellectual disabilities to engage in a two or four-year campus experience to help students achieve their employment and independent living goals.”

After witnessing EAGLES students’ successes, Denise, Katie and Sarah decided to tackle an underlying issue—financing tuition. Their collective efforts gave way to the Eagles Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to funding scholarships for EAGLES students.

“Just sending a typical student to college is a big expense, but layering on a program fee for a program like the EAGLES Program is more expensive,” Denise says, later adding, “the cost of raising a child with special needs is significantly more. We were just looking for an opportunity to give families some relief, and we’re quite passionate about it because I specifically didn’t want a student who qualified for a program such as this and could reap the rewards of it and have a fulfilling life not to be able to go because it wasn’t affordable. That’s when we started our fundraising, and it has been truly amazing.”

With humble beginnings, the foundation got its start, thanks to two of Katie’s friends and Auburn residents, Tim and Kim Hudson. The Hudsons hosted a fundraising kickoff in their home, even getting Auburn University Head Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl to make an appearance.

More than 100 people attended the gathering.

Back in Birmingham, this grassroots movement was growing. The Slupe family’s friends Greg and Lisa Lee were members at the invitation-only Shoal Creek Club.

They offered to help host the foundation’s first-ever golf tournament, which proved widely successful.

“I didn’t know if anybody would come,” Denise admits. “There were so many sleepless nights on my part, wondering and hoping, ‘Are we going to be able to fill our teams? Are we going to get other people to even care?’ We ended up having more players than we needed, and it was very, very encouraging.”

The annual golf tournament took place there for two years before moving to Auburn.

As word about the foundation spread, more and more people across the state became involved. In 2023, a Birmingham-based, event-planning company, LIVE Design Group, approached the founders about hosting a fundraising event in the Magic City.

As a result, the inaugural Eagles Foundation Gala took place at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook in February 2024, drawing hundreds of attendees and raising thousands of dollars. It was one of the nonprofit’s most successful events to date.

Local artist Shannon Harris donated paintings for auction, and corporate entities such as Alabama Power and Regions Bank purchased tables and donated funds, too.

The heartbeat of the event, however, were the testimonies of the scholarship recipients.

“They spoke about the program and what they’ve enjoyed about it and what their success was afterwards,” Denise recalls. “That was really meaningful for everyone there.”

One such student was Grace Davis, a Vestavia Hills native and now-graduate of the EAGLES Program.

“That gala was unbelievable,” Laura Davis, Grace’s mother, says. “The special needs community is just a very special community, and the foundation is made up of parents like us, who want the best for our kids and want to push our kids to their fullest potential. That’s what the foundation did for us—not only did it help financially, but it also provided a support system for us.”

When Grace was born, Laura says she and her husband, much like Denise, were frightened and uncertain of what the future would hold for their daughter. Grace was born with a heart condition, and affording her medical care took priority over other goals such as saving for the future.

It wasn’t until Grace was in high school that she expressed the desire to go to college, and the Davis family began searching for solutions.

“Lauren is in my son Jack’s grade,” Laura says. “They grew up together and have just always had a special bond.”

As Lauren and Jack became friends, so did Denise and Laura over the years. When Denise learned of Grace’s dream to go to college, the foundation did not hesitate to award her a scholarship.

Grace went on to attend the EAGLES Program and graduated in 2024 with flying colors. She joined Alpha Omicron Pi and became a familiar face all around campus, esteemed for her loving spirit.

Today, she works two different jobs—around 30 hours a week—and still makes time to swim at her local YMCA every morning at 6 a.m. She is also making waves across the nation, challenging stereotypes surrounding individuals with Down syndrome.

Miss America 2025 Abbie Stockard, who is also a Vestavia Hills native, befriended Grace during their time together in school. When Abbie was speaking at a Best Buddies conference in January 2025, Grace surprised her on stage, later speaking to the 2,000-plus-member audience on the impact of friendship.

Inspired by her speech, a scout in the audience invited Grace to model for Sephora’s campaign with Best Buddies. Then on Sunday, Aug. 17, which is National Nonprofit Day, Sephora and Best Buddies debuted their signature billboard in Times Square, featuring none other than Grace herself.

“We have a lot to thank the Eagles Foundation for,” Laura says, smiling.

Funding Hope

Since 2019, the foundation has donated more than $2 million to the EAGLES Program and its students. In late 2024, the founders saw fit to create an endowment fund at Auburn University, which will fund scholarships for these students in perpetuity, thereby ceasing the foundation’s current active fundraising efforts.

However, donations can still be made to the endowment, and Denise, Katie and Sarah still continue to advocate for the special needs community, daily.

“I hope that instead of looking at them with what they aren’t able to do or what their disability is, others will step back and go, ‘Wow, they’re here, and they’re doing this!’” Denise says of EAGLES students. “I hope it will encourage others to offer them opportunity and jobs or community and friendship because they’re seeing what students with special needs are capable of. I hope that the world begins to see our students that way, too.”

This yearning—to rise above and redefine the narrative—still guides her today. For her daughter, Denise hopes for independence, but more so, for friendship.

“Ultimately, what I want for Lauren is for her to be able to have some financial independence and responsibility and reward through work,” she says, pausing. “But, I also want her to have a network of people in her life that makes life worth doing.”

Her desire is simple yet profound: that life be more than just survival—rather, a journey to thrive.

With winds of hope guiding their flight, hundreds of students are now soaring to new heights, thanks to the vision of three friends willing to act on a dream. Because of their efforts, the world is starting to change, to see people with special needs not for their limits, but for their light.