Today we’d like to introduce you to Alfreda Coleman.
Alfreda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am the founder of Genuinely ZOE, a non-profit located in upstate South Carolina and established in November 2014. Genuinely ZOE is a women’s portal providing accountability, and personal development to women of all walks of life. Over the past years, we provided classes and extracurricular activities to clients who had a desire to grow and experience a deeper yearning of life; which we called ZOE. We engaged trained facilitators to volunteer their area of expertise in the following areas: Procrastination, Operation Declutter, Hack Your Brain, Accountability, Use Your Voice, Boundaries, Self Introspection, Personal Value and more. Once the pandemic halted physical interaction, we used a virtual platform to encourage and communicate.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
One of the biggest hurdles was the pandemic. Not being able to physically interact was indeed a challenge, however, once our minds shifted and took peanut butter and added jelly, the experience proved to be quite profitable for our team and clients. The one thing we love about GZ is that we love serving others, but we also believe that we can easily become the student as well as being the teacher. This has created authentic relationships that allowed us to create a safe place for women to be vulnerable and confident.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are most grateful for the authenticity of GZ and the ability to evolve. We absolutely LOVE seeing clients pursue purpose and using some of the key foundational elements that make us true to who we are while allowing failures to develop us into stronger and confident contributors to our families, businesses and community. We have served women in SC and VA.
We are mostly known for Accountability. After getting over the initial myth of ‘no one cares about what I do’ or ‘I don’t like sharing my failures’, we have built relationships that still consider GZ as a ‘Safe Place’. Many of the women have moved on but also know that we are still a space that allows tears to flow, the fear of failure to be removed, questions to be asked without judgment and authenticity to be maintained. Our team is committed to never violating the trust we have built with women who have come through the program and even those who ‘come by night’. Currently, we use the social media platform to share inspirational thoughts, videos, promotion of community events, news and information. We are here to Serve!
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
We believe success has many facets and beneficial to many. Genuinely ZOE defines success as although serving many, if only one takes the principles we share and pays it forward, our work has been profitable. We are grateful for the shared reviews of many who have supported and shared their experiences that have proven to herald our success.
We are Genuinely ZOE. We Serve. We Promote ZOE Life!
Contact Info:
- Email: genuinelyzoe@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/genuinelyzoe
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/genuinelyzoe
Image Credits
Photograpers: Lady Lattimore, Stephenie Robinson
