Jackson Community Care Alliance began in 2025 with a simple question—and an answer that was supposed to be “no.”

At the time, Emilee Card was already serving as secretary for two nonprofit organizations and had recently taken on the responsibility of chairing a large, county-wide event. Knowing just how much Emilee already had on her plate, Stacie Hall was determined to help her practice one important skill: saying “no” to taking on anything else.

So, Stacie decided to test her.

“Do you want to start a nonprofit with me?”

Without hesitation, Emilee said, “Yes.”

Stacie laughed. That was definitely not the answer she was supposed to give.

But what started as a lighthearted attempt to teach a friend to set boundaries quickly turned into a much bigger conversation. Emilee shared that she had already been thinking about starting a nonprofit of her own, but wanted someone alongside her to help develop the idea. To her surprise, Stacie had been thinking about it, too.

Over the next several months, the two talked about what was missing in their community, the people they hoped to serve, and what they wanted a new organization to accomplish. Together, they developed a mission, explored different ideas, and ultimately chose to focus on creating opportunities, resources, support, and inclusive experiences for neurodivergent individuals and their families.

From those conversations, Jackson Community Care Alliance (JCCA) was born.

Once the mission and direction were established, Stacie and Emilee began building the foundation of the organization—developing bylaws and policies and assembling a Board of Directors. From the beginning, they intentionally sought people with different backgrounds, experiences, and connections to neurodivergence. Their goal was to ensure that JCCA would be shaped by a variety of perspectives and that the individuals and families the organization hopes to serve would remain at the center of its programs, events, and decisions.

In the summer of 2026, JCCA received its determination letter from the IRS officially recognizing the organization as a 501(c)(3) public charity.

What began with a question that was supposed to teach Emilee how to say “no” became a shared “yes” to something much bigger: building a community where neurodivergent individuals and their families can feel supported, included, and empowered.

And, for the record, Emilee is still working on saying “no.”