In part, my parents played a vital role into the shaping of who I am today as an entrepreneur. My father was an entrepreneur by trade and my mother spent years working effortlessly as a social worker (helping others through her job and those in my childhood neighborhood). Fast forward after high school, I matriculated through college majoring in Criminal Justice. After earning a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice, I began working as a Juvenile Probation Officer and later as a case manager in the private sector. However, several years later I advanced in my educational journey and obtained a Master of Public Administration and then a Doctor of Education with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership. Needless to say the shaping from my parents, experience gained through previous employment and higher education, I developed the necessary skill set needed to form and launch my own non-profit organization.
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 journey of developing a non-profit organization has been by far one of the most challenging goals I have ever undertook. The challenges I have faced include but are not limited to lack of financial support, establishing community buy-in, gaining recognition, and developing partnerships.
As you know, we’re big fans of Easton Banks Learning & Life Center, Inc. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Easton Banks Learning & Life Center (EBLLC, Inc.) is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The goal of the organization is to provide a loving, caring, and safe
learning environment that promotes and encourages children to achieve their fullest academic
potential. Our motto is “Where educating children and serving families is our commitment.”
At present, the organization oversees and facilitates three youth development programs: Project G.R.A.P.E, the Sister Linkage Mentoring Program (SLMP) and Thumbs-Up-To-Youth Gardening STEAM Virtual Summer Camp. The purpose of Project G.R.A.P.E. is to empower and uplift youth of the greater Atlanta, Georgia, and surrounding areas to become leaders in their respective communities and provide them with the tools and skills to overcome childhood hunger. Because of Project G.R.A.P.E. we have donated bags of produce to youth participants and community members in need.
The Sister Linkage Mentoring Program is for girls eleven to seventeen years of age. The program focuses its efforts on equipping young girls with the necessary tools through reinforcement of positive self-image and teaching elements of social skills and leadership development, educational, career and entrep
Thumbs-Up-To-Youth Gardening provides fun, learning and interactive summer activities to children in the comfort of their homes. Because of these programs, the organization has been able to work with a variety of youth throughout the community. It is worth to say that the produce that was planted and grown through the efforts of Project G.R.A.P.E., the organization was able to donate bags of produce to needy families in the community including those youth participants enrolled in the program.
As the Executive Director of Easton Banks Learning & Life Center, I am proud to say that we have made a positive impact on the lives of the youth we work with and provided support to their families. Because of the strives and accomplishments we have made in our efforts to impact change in youth, other organizations have reached out to us wanting to forge a partnership with them. Additionally, we offer participants in our programs the XCEL Book Scholarship which assist them in reaching their goals in college.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Helping others become the best version of themselves is particularly important to me. Everyone (young and old) have a right to grow, transform, evolve and obtain all that’s good in life. Because of my stance, I therefore thought it would be apropos of me to develop a place where the adults of the youth we serve through the non-profit can gain support in their goals and aspirations in life. This thought extends to the concept of the whole child, “if the family is whole and healthy, the child has a chance at being whole, healthy and happy themselves.” Hence, the development of Life Achiever’s Coaching & Consulting was birthed. Alongside being the founder of EBLLC, Inc. and Life Achiever’s Coaching & Consulting, I am the owner of a publishing company known as Conscious of the Heart Publishing and have authored inspirational books: In Finding Him I Found Me, Fear the Other F Word, Girlfriend I Forgive You and a children’s book series entitled Sophie’s Garden (Available this upcoming summer). All of these books can be found on booksbybessie.org, Amazon.com and other online bookstore platforms.
These accomplishments are in part the reason why I am so passionate about helping others succeed academically and in life in general. With that said, if readers would like to find out more about Easton Banks Learning & Life visit www.ebllcinc.com or connect with us on social media @ebllcinc. Readers can also connect with me @essiesbanks.
Contact Info:
- Email: info.bankslearning@yahoo.com
- Website: www.ebllcinc.com, www.cothpublishing.com
- Instagram: @ebllcinc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWxmbc4WmrFgD_Ykrd4IbXw
- Other: tictoc.com/ProjectGrape
Image Credits:
Images credit realimagesbymccoy
