Meet LaShanda Pitts of Classy Living Society in Metropolitan

Today we’d like to introduce you to LaShanda Pitts.

Classy Living Society was founded by LaShanda in 2013 as a women’s community service organization with a commitment to change the world! CLS endeavors to inspire and cultivate genuine friendships through a membership-driven private social club. As a hands-on community partner for local charities and nonprofit organizations, CLS members volunteer their time and resources to enrich the lives and futures of those in the community and to bringing awareness to those causes CLS is passionate about. CLS also provides a superior platform which allows women to connect with other like-minded women, by hosting high-end, exciting and premier events, galas and social functions throughout the year. Among many community and national recognitions and accolades, CLS is a proud recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award issued by President Barack Obama in 2016.

With over 200 members, CLS is committed to expanding their membership throughout the country and abroad! CLS established its home base in Atlanta and since then has expanded its membership rolls to cities throughout Georgia and in California, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Growth and expansion is on the horizon for CLS in various areas, including but not limited to:

-Increasing the number of subscribers of its digital magazine, Classy Chronicles, which has currently has over 80, 000 subscribers
-Expanding the number of attendees of its Annual Red Dress Gala, which began in 2014 with 100 attendees, growing to 300 attendees at its recent 4th Annual Gala.
-Adopting a Block/Road in various U.S. cities.
-Expanding membership rolls nationwide with New York, Houston and Washington, D.C. chapters on the horizon for 2018
-Classy Living Society’s 501(c) (3) organization launch in 2018
-A membership level for college students to foster relationships and mentorships with young women in college

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of very first goals of CLS was to become an innovative organization of excellence that would stand out among others of its kind. Making that happen posed a few obstacles and challenges; one of the biggest ones was a lack of funding from outside sources. Mrs. Pitts and the founding sisters wanted to bring CLS to a desired level of notoriety and popularity, and in order to do so, personal funding had to take the place of any outside funding there was to be had. In addition, other sizable and prominent women’s organizations around the Atlanta area were similar to CLS, but were more well-known than CLS. With the help of a novice group of marketers, and visibility in the community, CLS’s membership rolls grew, and so did its popularity in the Atlanta area. Despite these obstacles, CLS continued to grow and thrive into the premiere women’s community service organization that it is today.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
CLS is committed to changing the world! It is our mission to spread our call to service through civic engagement by transforming lives one community at a time. Our goal is to become innovators in volunteerism and to make a positive and lasting impact on those we serve with our time, talents and compassion. We partner with nonprofit organizations and community service organizations that stand for cause we are passionate about, we provide a premiere sisterhood bonding environment unlike any other, for like-minded women to promote and advance themselves and each other. We mentor youth and care for those who might otherwise be neglected or forgotten. Some of our initiatives include:

-SHADE – CLS has its own line of socially conscious lipsticks bringing awareness to causes affecting the world — $2.00 from each lipstick purchase is donated to a number of non-profit organizations that are making a difference in the lives of people who need it most.

-CLS’ Biz Zone: facilitates development and growth in businesses and their proprietors through education, promotion, networking opportunities and a number of forums through which members can advertise and promote within the organization to build an entirely new customer base!

-CLS Cares: CLS’ green initiative, CLS Cares, CLS is committed to preserving our environment by providing resources for carpooling/ridesharing to member events, recycling, adopting local roads, gardening and urban sustainability. CLS ensures that member events are eco-friendly and makes “going green” a priority.

-CLS Book Club: Classy Woman Reads is CLS’ very own book club – in which CLS sisters join together to discuss the latest books at periodic Dine and Discuss meetings. These quarterly gatherings are held in various locales to accommodate our nationwide membership with the goal in mind to present an annual national collaborative meeting. Classy Woman Reads Book Club is designed to inspire women to think outside the box, socialize with like-minded women and READ!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I attribute two qualities to my success with CLS — consistency and relentlessness!

When I think of the early days of the organization and compare it to now, I feel as if I am settling in more than ever! No matter the obstacle or roadblock I may face, I dig in even more! Such setbacks seem to give me more drive as I am determined to be successful at virtually any cost. Consistency is key to success – you have to foster your business non-stop, on a daily basis. There’s no such thing as picking it up and putting it down for a while and expect success to happen on its own.

CLS has become my heart and soul; it is my child. I nurture it, care for it, pour my love into it, watch it grow with undying admiration. I feel like I’ve even taught it to read, write and spell!

My relationship with CLS is similar to a new love affair – can’t stop thinking about it, can’t wait to check in to see how things are going, and it makes my heart flutter!

Finally, an amazing sisterhood with so many amazing women keeps me going!

Contact Info:

• Address: 5990 parkway north blvd., #15
  Cumming, GA 30040
  our mailing address only
• Website: cls-volunteer.org, iwearshade.com, cls-reddress.org
• Phone: 404-348-4500
• Email: classyinfo@cls-volunteer.org
• Instagram: Classy Living Society
• Facebook: classy living society
• Twitter: cls_volunteers

Image Credit:
Jason Brydell @ Enphocus Photography

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