Philanthropy

Hello Weight Breakers,

 Let’s keep it real, life can be so hard. Through my journey, and seeing the ebbs and
flows of life first hand, I have ultimately realized that our primary goal attached to our
unique assignments is to lean in to help one another. This epiphany came about early
on when I was attached at the hip with my paternal grandmother as a little girl. Although
she would live to be 99 ½ years old before she went on to glory, wisdom saturated her
effervescence when she took various platforms as a requested speaker. She never
used a microphone, because— “God put a microphone in me!” she stated at each
speaking engagement, as she prolifically drew her audience in with her words anointed
with God, that rang hope in the spirits of the souls that listened to her. Based on her
words, and work, many would fall in line to volunteer for the Helping Hands organization
that provided social determinant needs for the community at large. This level of
philanthropic spirit, spilled into my father that would give anyone the shirt off of his back
and onto me. At an early age, you could find me: sorting through produce to give to the
less fortunate, working with clothing drives to clothe those who were displaced, leading
blood drives (as a high-school student) to help those with chronic anemic conditions as
well as  life threatening blood loss and leukemia, furthermore any effort to participate in
to end well homelessness.
 
Moreover, my philanthropic spirit leans into my late great Aunt Desi, who provided a
place of refuge and lodging for people of color that needed a place to stay during the
civil rights movement. That was her mission in life, to serve those left behind. One of her
distinguished guests was MLK, as he traveled through the Midwest on his quest to
make a change for the world, to allow everyone’s life to be of value regardless of their
race or creed. As she embraced each lodging guest, she filled their bellies with her
southern delectable cuisine before they would rest in a safe haven—then venture on to
their next stop of their journey on the way to impact the world.
 
As an author of numerous mystery suspense thrillers; a chick lit novel and even non-
fiction motivational self-help book, I have found that words have power—however, talk
is cheap. In my spin on that, philanthropy is ingrained in every fiber in my being. And I
am blessed to have a husband who is aligned with me, in that we boost each-others
giving as a family, through: philanthropic donations; mentoring; coaching; community
time investment and so much more. Those efforts have supported: community
improvements, scholarships through all educational levels, churches; creative projects;
and public service announcements regarding health initiatives.
 
Weight Breaker, a part of your journey is to “Forward Blessings” as a part of The
Inspirational Pathway (TIPs!). I am so proud of you for finding ways to give back,
because indeed we are all in this life together! Whether it is: monetarily; volunteerism or
through mentoring—your life experiences will bless the world.

A few examples of where I show my support, are the following: