From the very beginning I knew I wanted to give back to the community. I knew that if I had a little more time, I would be able to provide some type of gift to the younger generation.
My first attempt at doing this very thing was last year at Fe’s school for Career Day. I spoke to the 6th graders and had a great time doing it. I received a lot of great feedback from the students and knew I wanted to do more of it. But I had not quite figured out how to do this.
3 Degrees of Separation
With the birth of the internet and more so with social media, I believe that we are a lot closer to each other than ever before.
A few months ago, I began to use Facebook more aggressively. I enjoy it and at times find it addicting. I use it for various reasons which include my marketing efforts for my business.
However, some of my greatest successes has been non-business related. Facebook was the channel by which I found Dallas Comedy House and improv.
About a week ago a friend from back in the day put out a request for anyone that would be interested in speaking at her son’s school for Career Day… BINGO! Things are going well with the business and I knew I wanted to follow through on my commitment to myself.
I sent her a message and she gladly has assisted me and plan on speaking at the end of this month.
Mentoring and Giving Back
On Tuesday I received a message through Facebook from a guy that is responsible for locating mentors for LULAC. He was referred to me by the same friend that was looking for a speaker.
He mentioned that he heard great things (or at least that’s what was hearing in my head) and was curious if I would be interested in mentoring a 6th grade Hispanic boy.
Would I? Would I? Of course, I would. I am not ashamed to tell you I got really emotional when I read the message. I immediately found myself in the past as a 6th grader not having a clue what to do with my art.
Not having a clue what to do with my life. Simply not having a clue. (some would suggest I still don’t have a clue :p)
To have had a mentor at that age would have been amazing. I never really understood what a mentor was until a couple of years ago when I had a successful businessman volunteer to mentor me and I was a very young 32 years of age.
He gave me some of the toughest love I have ever had. He laid the some of the groundwork for me in my life and business.
Coming back to the present, I felt so honored to even be considered worthy enough to mentor anyone and look forward to being a positive influence.
One hour a week is all they ask. I am sure I blow an hour a week daydreaming.
My Ultimate Goal
For anyone that has not read my About Teeveee, I have a dream to build the Oak Cliff Center for Arts and Communication.
It has been renamed numerous times in my head, but ultimately, I want to be able to give back to the community and allow the youth to express themselves through their preferred medium.
I want them to be able to comfortably communicate their message to the world. It may be something as simple as asking for a raise from their employer. Or perhaps asking for funding from a bank to start their own business.
Or it can simply be to share their voice through their art. And this is just the beginning.
