I have several people in my Family and Friend Circles who have fought Breast Cancer Head On. I have sat through doctor’s appointments and given insight and wisdom about outcomes and treatments. I have spoken to colleagues at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Moffit Cancer Center about best care for my friends and loved ones.
Breast Cancer has touched my life deeply, and it has taken some people away from my life whom I miss dearly: Mrs. Bea Whitted & Mrs. Pattie Calliham.
We share our Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser through out our communities because we know that 1 in 8 women will develop Invasive Breast Cancer in her lifetime. In addition, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with Breast Cancer every single year. If you don’t know someone personally who has or has had Breast Cancer, you will.
Breast Cancer does not care about your age, height, weight, race, or sex. We are all vulnerable to this disease. Men can develop Breast Cancer too!
Kids Can Help 2 partners with companies and community organizations to stand together to share scientific-details about Breast Cancer and provide necessary screening opportunities. We are squarely focused on raising money for Breast Cancer Research and finding ways to support Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors.
The Guardian Angel Project was created as a way to HONOR our elders (Men and Women) who reach the Golden Age of 90. I have always loved spending time with this wise group of people. My Gorgeous Great-Grand Mother, Estelle Cannady, was the 1st person who I met who was over 90 years old. She was so nontraditional in the way that she thought about life and education. She lived a modest life, but she was full of wisdom and tenacity! She was one of the 1st land owners in our community where women and African-Americans were not allowed to own land. She “found” ways for her daughters to access education at better schools that seemed to be out of reach for most people in her community. For example, she negotiated with a local mail delivery person to transport her daughters 40 miles to Augusta, GA to allow them to have a better education. At that time, segregation was alive and well, so I have no idea how she convinced the mail carrier to do this.
I have always been amazed by her ingenuity, strength, focus and grit. She cared about giving her children a fair chance at a good life. I see her qualities shining though in me an in my family members.
In a way, The Guardian Angel Project is a way for me to remember women like her. Another legend of a woman is Beautiful Berenice Nelson, my husband’s Grand Mother. Berenice was beautiful, witty and “tough as nails”. She is the only Great-Grand Parent that my kids got to meet. She loved seeing them when we came over for a visit. She always complimented me on how beautifully they were dressed. I actually “dressed” them just for her because I knew that she was a “Southern Bell” kind of woman. I miss her still. My husband was “Her Bob (short for Robert)”, and he deeply misses her too! She was a pillar for her ENTIRE community.
I also honor my Amazing Aunt Mable Martin with The Guardian Angel Project. She raised at least 100 children who were hers and those of her community. She was also a pillar for our community, and her contribution in my life will never be forgotten. She always had a cake in the kitchen and a chuckle in our conversations. I miss her infectious laughter.
The Guardian Angel Project was formally created in 2021, just two weeks before the passing of my sweet Astonishing Auntie Essie Thompkins of Greenwood, SC. She was 92 years old when she passed away. I enjoyed my special moments with her. I loved arching her eyebrows while we talked for hours about how I can be a good wife. She was determined to teach me how to “properly” slice and wrap a piece of pound cake. She constantly had God on her lips and kindness in her heart.
I sent a Beautiful Crown of Honor to her in the mail, but it did not get to her before she passed away. I know that she loved me because she told me so. I know that she was very proud of me because she shared her thoughts about my accomplishments freely.
We decided to Honor this Golden 90 Group because they have seen more and lived more life than most of us here will ever see or live. I wanted them to have an Earthly Crown. I wanted the men to have an outward symbol of a life Well-Lived (Specially Designed T-Shirt).
The E.I.E. Sight Diversity Workshop was created in 2020 after the death of George Floyd. In American History, there have been some specific defining moments that affected the United States in areas of Equality and Diversity Awareness.
The death of Emmit Till was another defining moment that caused a shift on how Americans experienced the painful sting of discrimination and racial injustice.
I was not alive when Emmit Till was murdered, but the entire world watched as the last breaths of George Floyd was recorded and shows on full visual display for all to see. My household was affected so deeply. My children has so much question about how this could happen in 2020. My husband and I were moved to action. We helped our children to create a mural on a side road to honor the life of George Floyd and other people who had been killed because of inconsistent and unfair police arrest practices.
Our children reached out to friends to have a “Peaceful Protest March”. Our family joined with numerous families our communities to discuss inconsistencies in policing, discrimination in upper management in companies, inequalities in education and the lack of health care nationally. It was refreshing to connect with families of different races and ethnic backgrounds and have open discussions about our experiences in life that now had become “their” experiences too. We made picket signs and marched a half mile loop chanting, “No Justice-No Peace”. The moment was powerful. The moment was meaningful. The moment was memorable. The moment was history.
I was moved to create this 1 hour workshop to help children to understand the real meanings of Equality, Inclusion, and Equity. This hands-on workshop allows youth to engage and have meaningful conversations about the topic of Diversity without taking on current events.
We believe that parents are responsible for teaching their children about what is happening in the world. We are focused on helping children to have the correct language to share how they feel and how humanity will allow them to care about each other…without any thought of race, vocation, sexual orientation, or cultural experience.
The Dr. Nelson’s E.I.E. Sight Diversity Workshop is meant to allow children to lead with HUMANITY so that they can become the best VERSION of themselves. If someone needs help, DON’T look the other way. Your E.I.E. Sight is important!
BECOMING THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF
STARTS WITH HAVING
GOOD E.I.E. SIGHT!
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