Brenda and her husband Mark, have been life-long residents of Niagara County. Their hearts have been dedicated to serving individuals with disabilities since the birth of their boys, Mark and Mitchell. They founded Challenger Sports of WNY, a nonprofit volunteer organization that provides recreational and social activities for individuals with special needs. Their faith and compassion for individuals with special needs has directed the recent purchase of the property at 6515 Ridge Road, Lockport. This property was owned by the Presbyterian Church which was originally built in 1872. The initial focus of this purchase was to provide a potential site for an accessible Day Hab to provide a safe community-based program for intellectually and physically challenged adults.  Modifications to the existing lower portion of the site continue to provide a safe environment to maximize a persons independence of daily living, personal health and safety, socialization, recreation, community inclusion and leisure skill building.

Their aspirations for the church property have grown into an Antique and Gift store, The Checkered Poppy. They have blended their talents in the past to successfully build and operate Amish Blessings Cabins in Berlin, Ohio since 2005. The mission of the Checkered Poppy is to establish a profitable business and use a portion of the profits to benefit any non-profit organization that provides services for individuals with physical and/or intellectual challenges. The Checkered Poppy at present has several local vendors selling unique handmade gifts as well as antiques. Brenda also has plans to host additional vendor fairs, as well as rent the "Gathering Place" for smaller venues (60 to 80 people) in the lower portion of the church on weekends and in the evenings.