Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Evans, Shekalia Johnson, and Miyana Evans.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Our story began when our mother became her father’s primary caretaker when she was only 12 years old. He had suffered a stroke, which left him permanently disabled. Out of fear of being separated from her father, my mother tried her best to step up to the plate-sacrificing much of her childhood and the option of doing things most children her age did. No father-daughter dances, no parent conferences, and no walks to the park with her father. Eventually, due to her father being the only parent in her household, as his health worsened, she was sent away, where she faced a lot of traumatic experiences and situations. Her father passed away shortly after, and became a teen mom 3 years later at 15. Now, as an adult with her own family, my mother decided to start her own non-profit to empower families who have a parent or guardian with a health disadvantage or disability. Experiencing first-hand how much a child with a parent or guardian with a health disadvantage or disability faces and the important milestones in their lives that may be overshadowed or overlooked, my mother, Jackie, started a birthday program out of her own pocket called “Your Special Day” which provided personalized birthday cakes for children in Watts and South Central whose parent or guardian had a disability to make them feel seen, heard, and valued. This started in 2017. However, she and her two daughters, Shekalia and Miyana. However, we realized that these families needed so much more. So, we each vowed to come together to further develop it into something greater, IMPACTFUL, and healing. Thus, we launched three more programs. A bi-weekly produce delivery program delivered directly to the doorsteps of parents and guardians with disabilities called Nutrition 4 All, in which we have made 700 deliveries to date. The next was a referral program for the parents in our program called Bridge 2 Hope, which connects our parents with vital services such as rides to doctors’ appointments, housing programs, mental health services, and even assistance with medical copayments. The last program we created was the Teen Leadership Academy, which was created for the children of our parents with disabilities. We are dedicated to reducing the prevalence of prevalent health conditions such as diabetes, which, if not addressed, can lead to physical disabilities or health challenges, particularly in the Black and Brown communities. We also teach them yoga, provide mental health training and Community Resiliency Model (CRM) guidance, and train our Junior Health advocates to speak up for their parents in healthcare settings. We successfully launched our Teen Leadership Academy in Watts, California, in the Summer of 2023, and we had a blast. We were able to send our teens off with fresh new perspectives, skills to navigate tensions/anxiety/frustrations that may arise by growing up in a household impacted by a parent or guardian with a health disadvantage or disability, and interests in pursuing careers in the health care or public policy industry and changing the lives of other children like them. Over the years, we have also been sure to do annual events and programming for our community of parents and guardians with disabilities or health disadvantages, such as our annual Christmas Party and toy giveaway, our Thanksgiving meal deliveries, and our Your Special Day birthday cake deliveries. Most recently, we had the privilege and honor of partnering with the Healthy Room Project and providing one of our families with a surprise room makeover. One of the children’s parents suffers from unknown seizures and is caring for her children. While we cannot make many of our families’ disabilies or health disadvantages disappear, we can make sure that we do our part in filling in any gaps and making sure their kids feel like little princesses and princes and have the opportunity to just be kids, enjoy themselves, see and try new things, and now they have a safe and nice place for them to lay their heads.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a long time coming. With a very small team of just us three and full-time jobs, serving our 20 parents and 46 children has been a lot. However, it has been nothing short of fulfilling and the labor of love involved makes it feel like it is no labor at all. My mom, Jackie, is the founder & President, my sister, Shekalia, is the CEO, and I, Miyana, am the Director of Programs. We have a team of a few volunteers and have had the privilege of having the support and mentorship from the Watts Leadership Institute, which whipped us into shape as a baby non-profit. Now that the training wheels are off and we are 7 years in the game, we are ready to take our non-profit to bigger heights. We have formed so many meaningful partnerships. However, we would like to attain more funding to assist with general operations and help us further build out and develop our programs. We have been blessed to receive grants from foundations, and that has shown us that we are making a difference, and we are picking up traction here in Watts and South Los Angeles. We are now looking into diversifying our funding initiatives, getting even MORE grants, and enhancing our program even more. We are committed to decreasing the rate of common health issues that, when left untreated, like diabetes, can turn into a physical disability or health disadvantage here in Watts and South LA. We will keep moving forward to teaching our community how to incorporate healthy and nutritious choices in their diets, regulate their central nervous systems when they are stressed, and train young leaders who will occupy public policy and healthcare careers to make a difference in their families lives and their communities. It hasn’t been easy; we still have a ways to go for our funding goals, BUT we are so grateful for the funding that we do have, and without that and our amazing funders, mentors, and community, we would not be where we are today. Thank you, Watts!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What sets our nonprofit aside from others is that we service parents and guardians with disabilities or health disadvantages. There are a lot of organizations out there that provide services for children with disabilities, but there are limited resources for those caring for children while also struggling and needing assistance caring for themselves. What also is unique about our org is that it is a Black woman founded, led, and developed through the lenses of a little 12-year-old girl who had to experience the hardships, difficulties, and challenges of growing up with a parent with a disability. This non-profit is driven by us! I, Miyana, a UCLA graduate who double majored in African American Studies and Sociology to be able to best assist the communities we serve and be able to develop the Teen Leadership Academy and become the Director of Programs; Shekalia Johnson, my big sister and CEO, a health and fitness enthusiast who developed the Nutrition 4 All program and spearheads our bi-weekly produce deliveries and cooking classes (coming soon), and Jackie, our mom, and founder of Voices of Impact who uses her experience as the child who yearned for her own special day amid chaos and doctor visits to shape and inform all of our programs initiatives. We are a dynamic team of a mother and her daughters who each breathe life and our own voices into this organization. We are so proud that we have molded this non-profit into something great and that we have and continue to make an impact on our community of Watts.
How do you think about luck?
We’ve had nothing but good luck along our journey. So many wonderful mentors and organizations have cheered us on and supported us along the way. We are very blessed
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.voicesofimpact.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voicesofimpactnonprofit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voicesofimpactla?notif_id=1689685271889144¬if_t=page_user_activity&ref=notif
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VoicesofImpactNonProfit
