Today we’d like to introduce you to Andre Henry.
Hi Andre, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
This journey started back in 2012 when I was in the 10th grade at Riverdale High School. After being introduced to a few great leaders around Riverdale and taking their advice, I joined an organization called Gentlemen of Quality 100 (GQ-100). We had an exceptional advisor by the name of Mr. Jermale Jenkins that would always take us on trips, tour colleges, and have a heavy presence within our community doing community service. For many of us, Mr. Jenkins was our father figure away from home. One service event in particular that we would do yearly was called “Fill the Basket”. Fill the Basket was a food drive initiative geared towards battered women and children. This specific service project hit home for me because I grew up in an atmosphere of domestic violence. After graduating high school, I attended The Unsinkable Albany State University. During my second year of my collegiate career, I decided to carry on the “Fill the Basket” food drive initiative down in Albany, GA. While in the good life city of Albany, I donated to Liberty House domestic violence shelter yearly. Outside of doing the food drive, I would participate in campus/street cleanups, do feeding for the homeless, visit nursing homes, and local schools to give back. Upon completion of my Bachelor of Science degree, I relocated back to Riverdale, GA and continued being heavily involved in the community.
At that time I partnered with Securus House domestic violence shelter that services the Clayton County area along with Atlanta Mission: My Sister’s House in the downtown Atlanta area. During COVID there was a heavy demand with many shelters needing assistance with supplies, food, and funds. Understanding my purpose, I knew I had to step in and provide assistance. Later, in September of 2020, it was placed on my heart to start a nonprofit organization. At the time I had little knowledge as to where to start with creating my nonprofit, how a name would come about, who would help me, where the funds would come from, etc. All I knew was that I was called to do a great work in the community despite the obstacles of life and my day to day functions. Reflecting on the man that I was becoming and foreseeing where I wanted this organization to go, I was reminded of a few things. Don’t start something without seeing it through, put God first, and keep the faith. Every time I said I was going to do something, I always seen it come to past. Even through the ups, downs, tears, and financial struggles, it always worked out for my good and I came out on top. Attempting to start this organization during that time in my life was difficult for me mentally and physically because I already had a lot on my plate.
However, the word persevere came to mind. What is the definition of persevere? It is to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success. Through every attack, struggle, financial loss, limited assistance, and long nights that came with starting this organization, I kept hold of the vision. I didn’t throw in the towel. That is where Persevering Through Purpose came from. This heavy presence in wanting to give back to others has had a hold of me for many years, I knew it was a part of my purpose. Daily, it is a fight but it is a fight to make all things right. Persevering Through Purpose was birth in January of 2021 and is a 501(c)3 organization. Now, we are growing, have a solid group of volunteers, feeding hundreds of families, making many connections, and are doing better than ever! I am so glad I kept persevering.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road was not smooth at all. The process of getting my organization to become a nonprofit came with a lot of different fees that I was not aware of. To make my nonprofit organization a 501(c)3 was the most difficult of it all. It took me five months for my organization to get stamped as a 501(c)3 organization. Furthermore, getting your nonprofit off the ground takes a lot of personal funding. I had to make adjustments with my personal spending habits just to create a separate saving for my nonprofit. Not making anything easier, I told myself when starting my community service work that I would always go all out 100%. As for the monthly feedings, I never wanted to give just sandwiches and chips or soup and bread. On the outside looking in, I put myself in those shoes. If my life was to ever be turned upside down, I knew that I would still want a decent meal. The problem many of the homeless individuals face is that they are treated like the bottom of the barrel. My organization prides ourselves on doing our best work. During feedings, we have provided steaks, salmon, red velvet cakes, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, collard greens, asparagus, deviled eggs, grilled chicken, fried chicken, ribs, and the list goes on. Every meal is prepared from scratch and that takes a great deal of time and money. We prepare every meal as if we are preparing it for ourselves.
During the Fill the Basket initiative, there are a lot of moving parts. A lot of running back and forth to stores, going through each food item to make sure nothing is expired, and making sure every family is being provided a decent meal. For many years, I had to do this alone. During clothing drives, we make sure every item is in decent condition, For our community cleanups, we do a thorough cleaning and converse with the less fortunate while we are out there to see what all is needed for them. Currently, things have gotten much better but the start of building this nonprofit was difficult. When working to do something for other individuals that many people do not get paid for, it will often leave you lonely. However, this was my vision so I knew I had to always be the one to see it through with or without any additional assistance. Even going back to my experiences in college, I feel it all prepared me. There were times I was feeding the homeless with my church in Albany and I did not have anything to eat in my own refrigerator. I would get in line to get a plate after the less fortunate had an opportunity to get seconds. When getting items together for the shelters, I contributed the majority of the items for the first couple of years. There were a few friends that would donate what they could as well, but mind you, we were all college students and that was a struggle in itself at most times. However, I still persisted and carried out what was in my heart to do.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
For my full-time job, I work as an account manager over the Aetna market for a non-emergency transportation company managing six states. Although this is a great job to have, my passion has always been for the Entertainment industry. I have been granted the opportunity to work as an Event Assistant and PR Escort on red carpets and awards shows. Some of those awards shows are the BET Awards, Black Girls Rock, Soul Train Awards, Black Music Honors, BET Social Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, and a few others with Tyler Perry. Furthermore, I throw and plan events through my LLC, Dream Snatchers Entertainment, while also working part-time at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in the Live Events department. One thing I am most proud of is being able to represent myself with something new and having the capability to balance it well. When stepping into a new opportunity, I always give my best shot while finding my niche. Furthermore, putting myself in a position to learn as much as I can, and then working towards moving up the ladder and finding the next best thing. Three things set me apart from others and that would be my drive, discipline, and discernment. There is a lot that keeps me active and the juices flowing into creating adventures for me within the industry but the drive has to be there. It is something that I have to physically wake up day to day wanting to do. My discipline allows me to focus on the now while putting in extra time to prepare me for my future. Lastly, having proper discernment. I have learned to discern how long to stay with something and when to get out of it. Asking those questions on is this beneficial for me? Is there an opportunity for growth? What can I take away from this? Is the timeframe of me working here applicable of where I plan to be? So on and so forth.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I am not huge on podcasts or blogs, however, some books that I read that has shaped my thinking in how I do best in my life are: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, Champions Break Chains by Dr. Chandra Gill, The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy, How To Get Out of Your Own Way by Tyrese Gibson, Crazy Faith by Pastor Michael Todd, and The Blessed Life by Robert Morris. The lessons that most of these books taught me were to shift my way of thinking into always wanting to be a better version of myself, remain humble, trust God, and know that anything is possible if I just believe and put in the work. The power of social media has helped me drastically too because we live in a world where everything in life is geared towards technology and social platforms. On various apps, we are all able to learn so much and retain answers to any question in a matter of seconds. When it comes to my nonprofit, I have been able to reach a larger audience on what my organization does and in return gained many connections.
Contact Info:
- Email: perseveringthroughpurpose@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.canva.com/design/DAE52_6Pw9I/-vz9vM1QrXMwuuw4-rC3Rw/view
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perseveringthroughpupose/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/perseveringthroughpurpose
