Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Frelow.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kimberly Frelow has a plethora of relationships that are well established and respected among small businesses and community organizations. For over twenty-five years she has dedicated her professional and personal endeavors to supporting youth, inspiring entrepreneurs to start businesses, and assisting low-income families with their pursuit to become employed and self-sufficient. She is a tireless trailblazer and supporter of economic growth through business and job development.
Kimberly’s work as a small business owner/advocate has made a positive impact on many lives. Her most fulfilling role is “Mom”, to her son Kyle and “Friend”, to the awesome village of family and friends she has been blessed to walk this journey of life with.
As the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Work-Based Learning Coordinator she works in the Linked Learning Program supporting schools and teachers by bringing in industry professionals to the classroom to provide “real world” experiences for students in the Middle Schools and High Schools. Being the consummate entrepreneur, and mom to a high school student-athlete, who aspires to be in the professional National Basketball Association league, she was inspired to start the Careers in Sports non-profit organization to help youth realize their dream of working in the pros.
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?
The road to success is paved with bumps and challenges for everyone. Launching Careers in Sports (CIS) has been the most purpose-filled endeavor I have ever pursued. My vision and the realization of the organization have been completely aligned and thus far a seamless process to fruition.
However, I have had a multitude of business challenges and experiences in the past 25 years as an entrepreneur and working with small business owners. I started a cellular phone company while in college (early days of mobile phones), I have had a training and consulting firm for the past 12 years, and I have managed non-profit business programs, assisting entrepreneurs with starting and growing their own businesses. Due to my past experiences, I have gained the knowledge, secured many partners, and I am financially stable allowing me to be the founder of a non-profit organization.
It takes a lot of passion, commitment, and dedicated work to be an entrepreneur. I live daily by three core values, taught by my mother as a child, “Have faith in God and commit my plans to his purpose; Be loving, kind, and generous to others at all times; Speak positively, your words create life…I am the eternal optimist; constant believer that there is a solution to all challenges. With God on my side, all things are possible! Thereby, eliminating any notion that any person or situation cannot evolve and have a positive outcome.”
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
I have been a business owner since I was 13 years old, selling fashions imported from Africa to open a cell phone company in college, to maintaining a small training and consulting firm pursuing government contracts, and recently launching a non-profit organization, Careers in Sports, (CIS) to introduce high school student-athletes to the vast careers in the professional sports industry, off the field.
In collaboration with the Los Angeles Football Club (Professional Soccer Team), this past summer youth from the San Fernando Valley to South LA came to the first CIS EXPO. The EXPO featured former athletes and professionals that have crafted substantive careers in various fields in the sports industry; Digital Programmers, Business Managers, Sports Agents, Therapists, Trainers and Newscasters.
Our singular purpose is to give young student-athletes a fair chance to make it in the world outside the playing arena providing them with other career options in the sports industry. There are too many sad stories of young athletes being lost once their playing careers are over. We are driven to show them there are many viable options that they can explore to keep them close to the sports they love.
CIS will host its first fundraiser on February 27, 2020, to primarily raise funds to assists students with internships and scholarships this summer. We are actively pursuing partnerships for monetary sponsorships and jobs.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I grew up in a generational neighborhood. My mother’s childhood home has been in the family for 65 years. In my childhood, there were a lot of neighborhood children, older adults, lots of laughs and a ton of good home-cooked meals. My favorite memory is going between my grandparent’s home with my neighborhood friends, and then to my aunt’s house (dad’s side) to hang out with my cousins.
I cannot pick just ONE memory, as on both sides of the family, I had lots of fun with kids and grandparents, aunts, and uncles that could cook! I am still friends with my “diaper friend,” she and I get together with our friends and families to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.careersinsports.org
- Phone: 818-912-6830
- Email: info@careersinsports.org
- Twitter: @CISNGO
- Instagram: @careersinsportsngo
- LinkedIn: Careers in Sports
Image Credit:
Donyell Kennedy-McCullough
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