Roses From Linda to be Featured on the "Steve Harvey Show"

Effingham native and Roses from Linda Founder and President T.J. Hodges will be featured on an upcoming episode of "The Steve Harvey Show".

Roses from Linda Executive Vice President Jessica Riley is responsible for the appearance. Riley explained that persistence, dedication and some secrecy paid off by completing surprising Hodges when he was contacted by the show's producers about being a guest. She sent an e-mail to the show and asked others to do the same.

Riley said, "T.J. has done so much to help families over the last couple of years, and I just thought it was time for him to get some recognition for all of his work. He didn't know anything about it."

As to the e-mail, Riley said, "From there, it kind of just blossomed into this beautiful social outreach. People really believe in what T.J. is doing and were more than willing to help get him some recognition."

(T.J. HODGES AT THE "STEVE HARVEY SHOW" STUDIOS IN CHICAGO)

"I was completely blown away," Hodges recalls about his first conversation with producers from "The Steve Harvey Show". After the phone call, the Roses from Linda founder had an idea that this might have been the work of his executive vice president. "I called Jessica to see if she knew anything about what had just happened and she just said 'Good, you deserve it.' That was when I knew." Hodges said he was most excited about being able to share what Roses from Linda is all about and hopefully use this national platform to reach and help more people.

Roses from Linda was created in memory of T.J.'s mother, Linda Hodges, who died from cancer in April 2008. She was living in Phoenix, Arizona at the time while most of her family lived in Illinois. Before her passing, some of her children could not afford the travel expenses to see her. Roses from Linda was formed to help other families see each other during such trying times and be able to say their goodbyes. The Roses from Linda tagline is: Why Send Flowers? We Send Family.

The segment featuring T.J. Hodges and Roses from Linda can be seen on "The Steve Harvey Show" on Wednesday, December 3 at 2pm. Check your local listings.

If you'd like to learn more about, or donate to, Roses from Linda, click here. Roses from Linda is a 501(c)(3) organization.