April 1st was the official marketing launch for The Pop-Up Care Shop. If you didn’t know, I am officially a co-founder of a non-profit organization called The Pop-Up Care Shop. We’ve existed as a charity since 2016 but made it official in 2023. After not having a shop since 2019 due to the pandemic we are gearing up for our first shop at Covenant House New York. When we set up shop, we create a boutique of donated clothes, shoes, accessories, and toiletries and allow the clients to shop until they drop, at no cost to them. We fundraise throughout the year and are always looking for volunteers. Visit thepopupcareshop.org to learn more.
Not going to lie, the first week of April was hella stressful for me. I had a really rough work week and my health was impacted. My blood pressure skyrocketed and I realized my lifestyle is not healthy. I am going to find all the ways in which I am cognizant not to get stressed at work because my health being compromised is not worth it. I started this year saying my health is my priority and I mean that. On another note, during the most stressful day of this particular week, I talked to my Career Coach who helped me put into perspective my options and really think about what support in this moment could look like for me.
At the end of my hell week was a light at the end of the tunnel, which was Chanel’s birthday dinner. Chanel is a new friend of mine that I met while doing community service. She was celebrating her 30th birthday hosted by her hubby and you can tell just by the vibes she cultivated at her dinner and the people she invited that she is an amazing human being. I also enjoyed seeing our friends that we share mutually. Overall, after a long week, being surrounded by community was just what I needed.
I joined an Emerging Leaders board for JASA a few months ago and attended a board meeting cocktail reception where I got to meet my other fellow emerging leaders board members. Initially I was nervous as I didn’t know what to expect but those nerves subsided immediately after meeting the group because they were all really cool. JASA is an organization that means a lot to me because it provides housing and food to senior citizens in New York. I am overjoyed to drive impact over the next two years through this board and can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together.
I attended the T. Howard Foundation dinner for work which is an amazing dinner celebrating the scholars coming out of the T.Howard program and internships and the amazing media organizations that support them. T. Howard Foundation is a mission-driven organization dedicated to increasing diversity in the media industry. It was awesome to catch up with my colleagues as well.
My grandmother stayed with me for a week to help me with Ginger since I had some late nights at work. It’s always such a treat when Ma stays with me for a few days, we go grocery shopping, we cook, we laugh and watch game shows. On this occasion, I took out some of my cook books and we looked through them to see if there were any interesting recipes that we could try. We found a bacon, tomato, and green beans recipe from the Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking cook book. We also made lasagna and scallop potatoes. It was so good and I didn’t want Ma to leave but she said she would come back soon.
LifestyleByKy 