Annette Dove with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.

Annette Dove, the founder and CEO of the Pine Bluff nonprofit Targeting Our People’s Priorities with Service (TOPPS), is the subject of a glowing column profile by the New York Times Nicholas Kristof. In the wake of a a dispiriting election, Dove is “a salve for our aches and wounds, for she represents the American grass roots’ best,” Kristoff writes.

TOPPS works with at-risk youth and families in Pine Bluff, providing an array of services, including after school, feeding and mentoring programs.

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From the column:

Dove, 60, is a black woman who dropped out of high school when she became pregnant and who has endured racism and domestic abuse. Drawing on her own experience overcoming difficulties, she now runs a widely admired program for troubled children. Funding the program in part with her own savings — even going into personal bankruptcy to keep it going — she transforms lives.

Dove works seven days a week and struggles month to month to pay the bills with donations, foundation support and a state grant; when the money runs out, she prays.

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