Lee Marshall is the Founder & CEO of Kids to Love, a non-profit organization in its 20th year of service meeting the needs of foster children and families. Lee’s purpose began the moment she was born. Her biological mother placed her for adoption at birth, and her adoptive parents became her “forever family” when she was 2 years old.  So, Lee’s motivation to impact foster children through her Kids to Love Foundation is simple: It could have been her.

Since 2004, Kids to Love has grown from one program that ran out of Lee’s garage to equip foster children with school supplies to more than a dozen programs that operate across three campuses impacting the lives of more than 300,000 in 20 years. The Kids to Love Center is home to a fully stocked warehouse that provides emergency assistance to foster families year-round, school supplies serving 6,000 children yearly, and Christmas gifts that fulfill Christmas wishes for more than 2,000 children living in foster care each year. The Center is also home to KTECH, a licensed private school offering certifications in Mechatronics, Robotics, Soldering, Virtual Reality, and Snap-on. The Davidson Farms campus has a home for girls ages 10-19, the Whitaker Cottage Community, which provides housing for women and their children, and the Damson Family barn for Equine Therapy sessions. Kids to Love also operates The Shoals Campus to serve foster children and foster families in that area of the state.

Kids to Love also operates the Smith Family Wellness Center, Home of the Grant Hill Trauma Team, The center is a state of the art trauma therapy center offering a range of evidence-based, trauma-focused therapies for both children and adults. A place for hope and healing is Lee’s vision for the center, where clients will experience a holistic approach to care with 12 therapeutic modalities.

2024 was a landmark year. It began with Lee & her team championing legislation in Montgomery to amend Alabama’s Safe Haven law, allowing baby boxes to be installed at fire stations across the state. Three babies have already been safely surrendered at Madison’s baby box. Kids to Love also launched the Smith Family Mental Wellness Center, Home of the Grant Hill Trauma team already serving more than 200 children and families in its first year of operation.

In 2024, Kids to Love was also named a “Best Places to Work” by the Huntsville-Madison Chamber and received the Milestone Moment of the Year Award from the Madison City Chamber for our work to bring baby boxes to the state. In 2023, Lee was a nominee for the Russell G. Brown Executive Leadership Award through the Huntsville Madison County Small Business Awards.  At the Small Business Awards in 2021,

Kids to Love was named Non-Profit of the Year and Woman-Owned Business of the Year.

Lee earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Murray State University and her Master’s degree in Social Work from Walden University. She also received a scholarship and completed Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspective in Nonprofit Management Course.   Lee earned a certification in Instinctual Trauma Response therapy, a therapy specifically designed to heal trauma for children in foster care.

Amongst all the amazing accomplishments, Lee will be the first to tell you the greatest is her family. She and Jeff have been married for more than 30 years and have two daughters, Ella and Emma.