About Emma Bell Foundation

The Emma Bell Foundation was founded by Brent and Amy Savoie in 2022 to honor their beloved daughter, Emma Bell Savoie, and create a lasting legacy in her name that will protect children, create joy and support families.

Emma was a ray of light; a tiny dancer; a loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, neighbor and friend. She was joy embodied and touched many lives in the time she had on Earth. She was taken suddenly from her family and community at the age of 6, when she was killed in a tragic car accident on her school campus. In the wake of their enormous loss, her parents, neighbors, friends and community have come together to honor Emma. Through the work of the foundation that bears her name, students will be more protected at school; more children will dance for joy; more lives will be saved through organ donation; and more families undergoing the worst possible grief will be supported, as Brent and Amy were.

Emma’s untimely death could have been avoided with common sense measures that simply were not in place nor required by law. This unfortunate reality was the motivation behind the Safe Path to School Task Force, an initiative funded by the Emma Bell Foundation. As architecture and design professionals, Emma’s parents researched the standards of school safety and found them sadly lacking in the state of Louisiana. Through their advocacy on the Safe Path to School Task Force beginning in 2022 and with the successful passage of Louisiana House Bill 169 in June 2023, history has been made, and many lives will be saved through its implementation.

Advocacy is just one part of Emma’s lasting story. She was characterized by joy and love of life;these qualities shined through her eyes, smile and even in how she moved. Her Foundation hopes to bring back some of the light and joy that she brought to the world through the NOBTdance scholarship in Emma’s name. Dancing was part of Emma’s DNA, an inherited talent that was cultivated out of sheer love of beauty, expression and movement. A dancer herself, Emma’s mother Amy returns to Emma’s studio to give the gift of dancing to rising ballerinas. With the slogan #DanceForJoyEmmaBell, these young dancers practice an art they love and share the its beauty with the world. 

Emma’s gift back to the world included the life-saving donation of her organs. As they were navigating their immediate loss, Emma’s parents gave the greatest gift they could have given to anyone else - that of life. Through their support of LOPA, Emma’s spirit continues, in some way, through the lives of others she saved.

The Savoie family will always be grateful to Savannah Smiles, an organization founded to support grieving parents and families in Southeast Louisiana. They provide immediate services to serve families as they navigate the unanticipated realities and challenges of losing a child.

Though families never truly recover from their loss, Savannah Smiles helps them to find their feet again, and the Emma Bell Foundation hopes to help other families find a path through the darkness.