Girl Power!

Today I was asked to visit the Boys and Girls Club. This after school organization lives under the motto of "Inspiring and enabling all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens."


It is such a great program and I was very happy that they asked me to join them this evening. I had been excited all week to see the kids, but when I had arrived I was almost nervous! For the first time I felt nervous because it all of a sudden hit me. When I was these little girls ages, I use to watch Miss Mississippi on tv with my mother every year. I looked up to those women, and they became my role model. I could not believe when I saw my reflection walking in, with that crown on my head, that I was about to be that role model for those girls, I had once admired. It's so crazy to think this is what I have dreamed of for so long. I had carefully planned out what the younger generation needed to hear, to care for them, to give them the very best of me, and now its what I'm doing everyday! 


The girls were instantly fascinated by the crown. So we had a little one on one time. We discussed dreaming big, the importance of working hard for your goals, the success of rewards from dedication, and last but not least.....making good decisions, good morals, and picking good friends. I wanted these girls to understand that the importance of their future starts NOW. They were full of questions and eager to listen. 


Words cannot describe how thankful I am for the opportunities I have been given to be a role model to the younger generation. It really is a motivation to keep working hard. I want to give them the very best of me. And I have had so many wonderful talks with kids making a ton of changes in attitude and behavior. They are my biggest fan. Honestly, I need them just as much as they have shown they need me. God is so great for leading me into such wonderful opportunities. I hope I can continue to glorify His name, with my many blessings He has so graciously rewarded me. 

There is no such thing as a dream too big....

So as always I have big things planned for the future! Had a great meeting this morning with some awesome people. Hopefully by the weekend I will have all information organized and I can hit the ground running, and I can share exactly how YOU GUYS can eaaaaasily get involved! So stay tuned, and get excited! :)

With all the big things coming up, I know how an email dedicated specifically to this! Of course I always appreciate and respond to all comments, and the wonderful messages received on fb, but now for bigger things I can be reached at HumanizingtheHomeless@yahoo.com Like I mentioned earlier a lot of big things are currently being planned so this email is needed to keep business organized. Plus it will be easier to send attachments, applications, and flyers to YOU ALL :) It is such a wonderful feeling to see how big this organization is becoming. It really is heart warming to see my 16 year old dream, becoming so real, so strong, so amazing.

                                                                         <3

Another awesome thing that happened today.......So I'm sitting in my religion class where I always chat it up before class starts with the students I have met in there. Of course I'm always sharing my awesome news or stories that are constantly going around me with the homeless, etc. Randomly one of the girls, who had listened all semester, pulled out her check book and asked if SHE could donate!!!!! What a w o n d e r f u l blessing!!! God is SO SO good ALL the time!

People are always asking me if I ever get discouraged when I talk to hundreds of people a day, and sometimes walk away empty handed. The answer? NEVER! If one person out of that group has a change of heart, or years later makes a decision to better another person, then I am successful! I have tooo much proof to ever believe other wise. Just take a look at what started out to be a 16 year old dream. There is no such thing as a dream too big =)

Fundraiser Results

Finally I have time to post more details about the WOMANLESS BEAUTY PAGEANT! It was def a success! Like I mentioned earlier I am so impressed as well as THANKFUL for the boys who volunteered! They really did go all out and truly out did themselves! It was a great show! Very entertaining, and so much fun!!! We had parade of beauties where the men walked and showed off their dress, hair and make up. Then we had TALENT! Everything from a tumbling act, Katy Perry, Snake whisperer, Glow Stick dance, Animal balloons, and Patty LaBelle! We finished up with on stage questions, and then the winner! I'm very thankful to the staff who volunteered, the fellows aka the contestants, the sponsors who donated gift cards to my winners, my friends and faculty who were judges, and of course the audience. A lot of people were very nice and gave donations. I did not expect to make a large amount due to this being a student function, and wanting to keep it reasonable so the student body could have fun and get involved. But people were very gracious, and like I've said countless times, a little bit goes a long way!!!! I believe we came close to $300. That was 300 more than the shelter had, and I'm super excited to surprise them with the check!

William Carey's Motto is "Expect great things from God, Attempt great things FOR God." With this idea in mind I felt like WCU was a great place to hold the fundraiser, and I was very thankful for them allowing me the opportunity.

Now for the moment you all have been waiting for!!! Let me post a few pics of the evening :)

For a full album and a variety of entertaining pictures go to https://www.facebook.com/HumanizingTheHomeless  "LIKE" the page, and check out the other albums as well. You may see something you "LIKE". Always feel feel to comment and message me, and COME HELP OUT! We always have a great time (if you can't tell by the pics!) =)

Dude looks like a LADAAAAY!

TONIGHT TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO EXCITED! After a lot of organization tonight is finally the first Fundraiser of the year Humanizing the Homeless is getting to put on. William Carey University has let me use their Student Conference building to host a WOMANLESS BEAUTY PAGEANT! We had a rehearsal last night, and I can promise it is going to be a great show! I can guarantee laughter all night! The guys are not only BRAVE, but so wonderful for volunteering their time to do this for a good cause! The Stage is all set up, and I'm putting finishing touches on our prize packages for the "Contestants". These guys have gone all out! We have dresses, wigs, and talents galore!!!!! I will post more later, because I have a TON of thank you's to give =) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is going to be a great time for everyone involved! Prayers we have a lot of donations, and a good audience to support these brave fellows, and support the HOMELESS!

If you haven't heard....................7PM TONIGHT STUDENT CONFERENCE CENTER $5 for WCU STUDENTS and $10 FOR NON-STUDENTS

                                                      You are NOT gonna want to miss out! :)

A FEW Moments of One's Time Can Change Another One's LIFETIME

This post is dedicated to my BEST friend Lindsay Lockert. We met years ago at Mississippi State University. Never did I think we would be as close as we are today. After MSU we have gone our separate ways, but never lost touch. By that I mean we talk almost everyday!  :) I have been very lucky to have a good friendship like hers, even tho we live over an hour away, and stay busy with our own lives!

All in all no matter what she has always supported me, and believed in me no matter how big my goal was. This is very important to me, because I stay very busy, and some times it can be overwhelming! I have always appreciated her kind words, and friendship.

This shout out is dedicated to Lindsay. I am lucky enough that all my friends support me, but Lindsay has actually taken the time to join me on a few of my journeys of helping the homeless. As everyone knows, the homeless have a huge spot in my heart. Humanizing the Homeless is a nonprofit organization that I created myself. I started working with the homeless at the age of 16, Humanizing the Homeless began at 21 years old, and now I am 23. The organization is still not huge, but so much has been accomplished over the years, it really brings happiness to my heart. Nothing could be as amazing if it was not for the few who unselfishly decided to give up their time to help along the way. Lindsay joined me to visit her first homeless shelter. This was a smaller shelter for battered woman who are trying to get back on their feet. It is more like an apartment, because living arrangements are not permanent, so it is very important for the less fortunate to establish goals and get back on their feet with a plan. In the meantime the children, who are innocent and clueless on the situation, get little if any attention. Lindsay joined me as we met with 2 little girls and 1 little boy, who were all siblings to a single, homeless mother. They were so excited to have new friends to play with them. After only a few hours, the kids had really opened up to us and started sharing information about themselves, their personalities, hobbies, school, etc. Heading home Lindsay instantly shared how she found herself attached to the children, and heart felt for them. We knew we had to go back. But she did not go back just to offer them her company again, we talked about ideas for an inexpensive arts and crafts project to give the kids something out of the ordinary to do! After a trip to Hobby Lobby, Lindsay eager chipped in and paid for HALF of the supplies. Needless to say the kids had a great time, and even more heart warming was the response "We were hoping you guys would come back", from the children. Lindsay and I knew we had made the right decision.

It did not stop there. She still asks about the children, and even called me up to say she had saw a few things out that they kids needed and so she bought them. She came to visit me and brought all kinds of FUN things!! From toys, to crafts, to jewlery, to goodies, everything nice for boys and girls and JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER! Hooooraaay! It could not have been better timing, So many children got to have AWESOME treats because of Lindsay!!!!!!!!!!

So again I cannot describe my thankfulness for people like Lindsay who do these acts of unselfishness. Of course, I am constantly working with children and trying to provide them with the best. And I know I say over and over these things are so inexpensive, but when I am the only one providing for the children and families it really does add up. Because Lindsay was so thoughtful to pick up a few items that were on sale to donate to me, these kids really got a great EASTER. I can still hear her say, "It's just junk, but it's a little something to help out." No it was a BLESSING! I know I say this phrase a lot but it's so true. A few moments of your time, can really change another person's lifetime. 

One teenager who received a gift that had some of Lindsay's goodies in it, explained to me while we were talking about her goals and dreams, that she wanted to be a social worker. She said she had such a hard life, and it was people like me who took the time to remind her to believe in herself. She went on to explain its the little things that she will remember forever, and she wants to make sure she can make a difference in other children who go through a tough time. I will continue to do what I can for these kids, but like I just said it is not JUST ME.....Sometimes God has sent special people like Lindsay to continue to make this opportunity a success. 

This is one of my longer blogs, but I think about it all the time. I wanted to share my thankfulness and pride to call Lindsay my friend. All well as share at how easy it is to change another person's life, and help make a difference,

Lindsay Lockert and I <3 

Practice Makes Perfect

So I went back to a local shelter where I have been talking to the children about the importance of their future. They are all at the age where this tough time they are going through really makes them grow up faster. Because of this I want to make sure that they stay focused, and motivated so that they can be the very best of their potential. I hear so many people say, "oh they are hopeless because of their background, nobody leads them in the right direction, and due to what they are raised in they have no future." THIS HURTS MY HEART SO BAD. It is not true. I am so thankful God has led me to be a role model to these kids, because they really do pay attention. Every time I come to visit they eagerly sit down, and are so polite and full of questions! The other day I shared good people skills, as well as how to speak, stand, posture, etc. I then sat down with them to hear  THEIR dreams! The children really painted a beautiful picture in my mind of how focused they were on their goals, and motives. One kid wanted to be a Psychologist so he could he could help others. (Sound familiar?!) Another wanted to be a football player for the NFL not just because he loves the game, but because he wanted the opportunity to be a role model, and DONATE money to children who needed it. Another girl wanted to be a social worker, to prevent children going through a hard time such as she had to do. All of their dreams were so planned out, so unselfish, it really was beautiful.

Each girl received a crown, because everyone was a winner. Also everyone got goodie bags for working so hard, and being so eager to learn. Another Successful day!

Easter Bunny Surprises

I had the joys of bringing Easter Baskets to two small children this weekend. A brother and sister, are in a temporary foster home due to their parents being homeless. It was a great successful weekend. The kids were so excited to have the gifts!!! I am so thankful to have wonderful friends that donated gifts for me to be able to use in the Easter baskets.

The total visit took lil over an hour. It just goes to show that a few minutes of one's time can change another person's lifetime! The gifts were very inexpensive dollar items, but worth so much more to the children. It does not have to be a holiday to get involved! Feel free to contact me if you are ever free and want to help out!!!

If any parents have any children's clothes they would like to donate please please please contact me. I am always looking, and children are always needing!