The Women’s Fall Conference this year will feature speaker Leigh Anne Tuohy, the adoptive mother of Baltimore Ravens tackle Michael Ohr and the woman portrayed by Sandra Bullock in the 2009 film “The Blind Side.”

During a telephone interview Tuesday, Tuohy said she emphasizes the importance of giving and of improving others’ lives when she speaks to people.

She said it starts by helping in whatever way you can and taking a good look at your motives for doing so. “I tell people not to worry about saving the world,” Tuohy said. “Start by getting to know your own neighbors.”

If you can write a big check, go ahead, but if you can’t, do something else, she said. “It’s cheesy, but I tell people that for one day, smile, say please and thank you, open doors, help someone put their groceries in their car,” Tuohy said. “You can’t be everything to everyone, but you can be something to someone.”

In her book, “In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving,” Tuohy writes about her family, which is like any other family, running to and fro to keep up with hectic schedules and laundry.

She doesn’t cook — something the movie had fun with — and she and her husband years ago were on their way to get breakfast when she saw Ohr walking in the cold, dressed in shorts. Going back to give him a ride was “an unconscious act and happened in a heartbeat,” she said.

To register for the conference, to be in the Lake Charles Civic Center, visit www.womenscommissionswla.com. Online registration will end Oct. 7. On-site registration will be $40 and will open at 8 a.m. Oct. 17.

For more information, email registration@womenscommissionswla.com.

Leigh Anne Tuohy