Today we’d like to introduce you to Katina Davis Holland.
Katina, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am Katina Davis Holland, the founder and CEO of Wear It Well Inc. (Wear It Well), a 501c3 nonprofit organization serving Memphis, Tennessee and Tupelo, Mississippi. The mission of Wear It Well is to educate, inspire and motivate individuals facing cancer or life-altering events and to enhance the quality of life by renewing the mind, body and soul. It all started at a young age watching the most influential woman in my life, my loving grandmother, lead by example. Her name was Leona Givhan Davis, also known as Old Mama. She was a God-fearing woman, prayer warrior and pillar in the community who taught us to care for others, not expecting anything in return.
I watched her take care of the sick, feed the hungry and take in the homeless. She was the epitome of what is means to be a phenomenal woman. I vowed to be just like her and developed a zeal to lend a helping hand. I volunteered at hospitals, nursing homes, gave money to needy, organized fundraisers for causes and volunteered with organizations that served cancer survivors and others. I remember teaming up with Old Mama to go on what we called “Missionary Journeys” to help those in need, pray for them or take food to folks in bereavement. My family has a history of entrepreneurship as my mother and her sisters ran a successful home care private sitting business and personal care facility for over 40 years.
I have been actively volunteering since college working in soup kitchens, spending time at nursing homes and hospitals, helping the homeless and mentoring youth. I have also spent time volunteering for the Salvation Army and a group called C.O.M.E. (Christians On Move Evangelizing) for several years, serving and delivering meals. During my early career in health care, I began volunteering for Camp Bluebird, a camp for adult cancer survivors, where I cared for adult cancer survivors as a counselor, as well as served on the Board. My passion sparked an interest in family and friends to join in on the journey by attending Camp Bluebird each year as well.
After spending time at Camp Bluebird and seeing the many difficulties cancer survivors faced, I had an idea to do makeovers on cancer survivors. This camp played a huge factor inspiring me to live out my dream. In 2012, I enrolled in graduate school to learn the process of how to start a nonprofit organization. This was the beginning of my dream becoming a reality. Subsequently, I began to face my own personal challenges in pursuing this dream.
In 2013, my grandmother, Leona Givhan Davis passed. She was my inspiration and role model. Through her life example of caring and sharing, she had planted the seed of “caring and giving’ in my spirit to do the same.
In 2014, I suffered a traumatic brain injury that put me through some of the same physical and emotional struggles as the people I sought to help. According to brain maps, my brain works in a 40% capacity and doctors said I would never work again. I gained weight, suffered a concussion, long and short-term memory loss, slurred speech, nerve damage, pain in my left arm, severe headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and was forced to shave my head for neurological treatments – that I decided to extend the organization’s services from solely cancer patients to anyone suffering from a traumatic, life-altering experience. This setback caused me to put a hold on starting the nonprofit organization.
After feeling I had recovered from the brain injury, at the end of 2016, I vowed I would start the nonprofit in 2017. However, in January 2017, I slipped on wet grass shattering my right ankle and breaking my leg and foot. Once again, I felt I would have to wait to start the nonprofit organization. While dealing with all the aftermath of this accident, I asked God if He wanted me to launch Wear It Well, why did He keep allowing bad things to happen to me. God said everything I went through was necessary for me to be an example to others and to prepare me for the journey He was about to take me on. Instead of waiting, while still in a wheelchair and recovering from the injuries, I launched Wear It Well Inc. on June 13, 2017, as a mobile unit on Old Mama’s birthday and in her memory and honor.
After its inception June 2017, Wear It Well hit the ground running with the Extreme Makeover program. The goal was to complete one makeover a month. Within six months, Wear It Well was featured in the Daily Journal, a local newspaper, and had completed 28 makeovers. We also were named Crowd Favorite at a Night for a Hand Up, an event put on by Create Foundation to feature local nonprofits. We were featured on WTVA’s Making a Difference segment doing a makeover live on a local television station.
January 2018, Wear It Well launched the Love The Skin You’re In a program that is centered around anti-bullying, suicide prevention and teaching self-confidence and life skills. After presenting this one-hour program in the second middle school, Wear It Well was featured in the Daily Journal again and schools in seven counties called to have the program presented to their students. This program was created because of my 14-year-old niece committing suicide in 2015. The next program Health is Wealth was launched, bringing awareness to living a healthy lifestyle and to raise awareness for various cancers and diseases such as lupus and breast cancer.
Wear It Well was featured on WCBI news, a local television station, for our men’s health awareness run, pretty in pink breast cancer fundraiser and fitness event (health fair). In 2018, I was named Humanitarian by Black Business Association and Wear It Well was named organization of the year by Black Girls Rock, Inc. for our accomplishments and achievements. Wear It Well also does quarterly days of service and projects such as handicap accessorizing homes, cleaning yards, giving packed purses with toiletries to girls and women in homeless shelters (Project Pack the Purse) and feeding the homeless when the Salvation Army kitchen was being renovated. We were also featured in a video done by Just My Memphis, featuring Project Pack the Purse and Love the Skin You’re In.
In 2019, after operating as a mobile unit for 2 1/2 years, Wear It Well was approached by a family with a vacant home in Tupelo, Mississippi Larry and Pamela Morris, who had researched nonprofits in this area, chose Wear It Well as one that stood out from the rest. They offered the space free of charge for us to expand our services and have a place to call home. Our team of volunteers began painting and repairs to the space that is 100 years old or more and had our grand opening on January 10, 2020, hosted by Community Development Foundation with the Morris family attending from Jacksonville, Florida.
We have added an after school feeding program, mentoring program, will continue makeovers and house a repeat boutique where we offer clothing, shoes and accessories free of charge to those in need. The concept is to have those in need come in and try on the clothing, shoes, and accessories, pick what they want, and have it placed in a shopping bag to give them a sense of dignity even in their time of need. In addition to the space, we now call home, a new 15 passenger van was donated by the Davis family in honor of Leona Givhan Davis. Wear It Well has partnered with several organizations and built a great reputation in the cities of Tupelo, Memphis and surrounding areas.
I have endured many challenges and struggles, but through it all, I choose to –WEAR IT WELL.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I can’t say that it has been a smooth road, although we have been extremely blessed and supported by our communities at large. We have worked hard to keep Wear It Well going in order to serve those in need.
Some of the struggles along the way include limited finances and resources. This limits the amount of individuals we are able to serve. So we plan and spend carefully and I am very frugal. However, I am thankful for my mentors and those who have reached out to help steer me in the right direction.
My advice to young women who are just starting the journey is to stick with it, find a mentor who is trustworthy and remember: “dreams don’t work unless you do.” Consistency is the key. You can’t give up because of struggles. They help you find your inner strength.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
The organization has four major initiatives, (1) Extreme Makeover (2) Love The Skin You’re In (3) Health Is Wealth and (4) Ready, Set, GOALS.
(1) Extreme Makeover is a community-based program that provides individualized makeovers for people with cancer – to help them cope with the aftermath of cancer treatments, and how it affects their appearance and self-esteem. This includes men, women and children. It is also for those who are going through other life-altering events/illnesses. The program includes but is not limited to Hair (wigs & extensions), makeup/cosmetics, manicures/pedicures (nail care) and new clothing along with spiritual and mental motivation. Wear It Well also provide training sessions and workshops as needed to ensure the recipients feel confident beyond the makeovers.
(2) Love The Skin You’re In raises awareness for anti-bullying, suicide prevention, diversity inclusion, self-confidence and teaches life skills. Wear It Well educates the community, schools and organizations on what it means to Love The Skin You’re In, no matter what you are facing in life.
The program enables at-risk youth to effectively deal with battling suicidal thoughts, depression, low self-esteem, anxiety and feeling worthless due to bullying or other traumatic experiences. This is done through utilization of awareness events held at schools, in the community and in private settings. Through professional interactive presentations, those attending these events receive statistics and examples of others battling the same issues.
Following each event, attendees identified as bullies – or being bullied – will have opportunities to connect with appropriate professionals for additional individualized interventions. The goal is to increase their confidence and self-esteem – leaving a lasting impression – which will help enrich and empower the lives of those served. A community rally, “Bullying is Banned,” is held annually to compel the youth, families, schools and other organizations take a stand against bullying.
(3) Health Is Wealth is a program designed to shed light on the importance of diet, exercise and, ultimately, living a healthy lifestyle. A fitness specialist and personal trainer provide group and one-on-one sessions that include workouts without the gym; nutrition fun tips on diets, including sweets; how to meal prep/diet on a budget; facts about diet myths and how to use supplements. Your health is your greatest wealth.
This program is also designed to raise awareness of causes such as autism, heart disease, lupus, Alzheimer’s, various types of cancer, diabetes, etc., with designated events for the cause. Wear It Well also hosts health fairs throughout the year – providing complementary health consultations. We host annual events: Lunch & Learn for Multiple Myeloma, Lupus Awareness Walk (started with a Chat & Chew), Men’s Health Awareness Walk/Run, Pretty in Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Brunch.
(4) Ready, Set, GOALS is a program that equips and educates individuals through a comprehensive employment and training program. Wear It Well teaches them to write resumes, prepare for job interviews, dress for success (complete makeover) and master financial literacy/budgeting after finding work. Participants learn to establish goals and work towards achieving them. Transportation is also provided after jobs are secured if needed.
We are also excited about launching our newest program, called The Bridge Enrichment Program for children. Our goal is to bridge the gap of what is not learned at school, home or otherwise by teaching life skills.
The thing I am most proud of as an organization is the unity among our team, volunteers and partners in the community. So much hard work and dedication is displayed time and time again, event after event. And it is displayed with such distinct passion. Whether serving snow cones on a hot summer day or passing out blankets to the homeless on a cold winter day, we truly show we care.
I am also proud of our brand. It feels good to wear anything displaying our name and logo and have people say, “I love Wear It Well and the work you all are doing.” Just to know they recognize us and think we are doing a good job speaks volumes. What sets us apart from the rest is that we are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We have been called “game-changers” by those we serve and our peers. We say what we mean and we mean what we say. At the end of the day, if we have made a difference in one life, our job is done.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
I believe there are so many opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for. We are in the right place at the right time. Women are powerful beings who work hard to achieve our goals. We can run any company or start our own. We can invent things to help others along the way. The opportunities are endless. We just have to keep our minds focused and work hard to pursue our hopes and dreams. We can’t allow obstacles to stop us. They might slow us down, but we must keep moving.
Contact Info:
- Address: The Charles & Ruth Morris Home for Wear It Well
826 W. Jefferson | Tupelo, MS 38804 - Website: www.wearitwell.org
- Phone: (901) 504-6133 and (662) 350-3475
- Email: info@wearitwell.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/wearitwellinc
- Facebook: facebook.com/wearitwellinc
- Twitter: wearitwellinc
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