Ashley Lawal Talks Holiday Guide on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Join Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes as we profile organizations and leaders who lead by example. With extraordinary acts of kindness and charitable giving that help countless lives daily, these organizations and leaders embody "Be the change you want to see in the world."  Throughout 2015, listeners have heard from presidents of organizations who are global change agents. We will also heard from CEOs of social enterprise businesses who are changing communities, educators who are taking their students out of the classroom and into surrounding neighborhoods to learn and serve others and from activists who keep the community engaged and empowered.

On Small Business Saturday, November 28, 21015, tune in to hear founder Ashley Lawal of Urbannite discuss the importance of supporting local small businesses not just on Small Business Saturday but throughout the year. Hear how Urbannite has used its online platform to bring traffic to businesses' websites and store fronts. Listen to her share her about her latest venture since her last visit to Living Your Best Life's studios and what are the plans for next year's big homecoming guide.

Genma and Ashley having fun at WENO.

Ashley and I will also discuss the benefits of partnering with other brands to increase awareness of your goods and services.  And why doing good in the community by volunteering is an awesome way to make others learn more about your company while putting your mark on helping others.

Tune in for a fun show that will help guide you through the maze of holiday shopping while supporting local small businesses.

Living Your Best Life, a radio show that empowers, inspires, and motivates us to live our BEST life, is heard on 760AM The Gospel in the Middle-TN area, Tune In,  military bases and on Ustream.TV worldwide from 9:00-10:00am CST.

More About Small Business Saturday

First there was Black Friday. Then Cyber Monday.  And on November 27, 2010, the first ever Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is the day we celebrate the Shop Small movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.

More than 200 organizations have already joined American Express OPEN, the company’s small business unit, in declaring the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday.

More About Urbaanite's Ashley Lawal

Urbaanite was founded by Ashley Lawal, born in Nashville and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Home is definitely where the heart is and moving back to Nashville after graduating from Northern Illinois University was one of the best things she considers she could have done.  She is a Christian, wife, daughter to the best Mom ever and foodie, with a huge love for family & close circle of friends. She is a marketer by day and unofficial chef by night, trying out the latest recipes she seeks out on her favorite blogs.

Her love of all things entrepreneurial started when she launched her first business in 2009, iHospitality, an eco-friendly packaging company in the city. On Urbaanite she states, "I am so excited to now have the opportunity to share and connect with other like-minded folks in the community that make up our culture here in Nashville."

Steps of Success Founder Demetrius Short on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Join Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes as we profile organizations and leaders who lead by example. With extraordinary acts of kindness and charitable giving that help countless lives daily, these organizations and leaders embody "Be the change you want to see in the world".

Throughout 2013, listeners will hear from presidents of organizations who are global change agents. We will also hear from CEOs of social enterprise businesses who are changing communities and college educators who are taking their students out of the classroom and into surrounding neighborhoods to learn and serve others.

On Saturday, August 10, 2013 tune in to hear us kick off the The 3rd Annual Steps of Success 5k Run/Walk with Demetrius Short.  Now in its third year, Steps of Success was inspired by the Demetrius' struggles as a college student who overcame hardships to chase his professional dreams. Without either a scholarship or personal transportation, every day Demetrius Short made a grueling 3-mile walk from his college campus through rough neighborhoods to get to his internship jobs. Dressed in a business suit and carrying his briefcase, he knew that every step he took was a step toward success.

Today, Demetrius is a successful member of Nashville business community and is the Chair of Fisk University's Young Alumni Association.  He runs the race each year in his business suit. He founded this unique 5K to create scholarship opportunities for college students and support after school programs for inner city youth in Nashville. Listen as he shares about the power of mentoring and how mentoring can open doors for future opportunities for our youth while strengthening communities and families. Learn how you can volunteer, support his efforts, or register for the run-walk.  

Demetrius' determination to succeed is a testament to his faith and shows us that the road to success starts by putting one foot in front of the other. This show promises to empower, inspire, and motivate you to move into action.

Tune into 760AM in the Middle Tennessee Region, on Tune In,  streaming live on line at UStream.TV , and on military bases on Saturdays from 9:00-10am CST. 

More About Steps to Success Mentoring Programs

Youth Encouragement Services (Y.E.S) strives to enrich the lives of children in inner city Nashville by encouraging them to reach their full potential. Through daily programs such as tutoring, summer camp, a basketball league, job skills training, and other recreational and cultural activities, low-income children are given a positive alternative to the streets and opportunities for a bright future.

The Fisk 50/50 Protege Mentoring Program was developed by the Fisk Young Alumni Association to aid and foster positive results in the personal, educational and professional development of students. Fisk students enroll and participate in workshops and seminars facilitated by Fisk Alumni and industry professionals. Each student is matched with a mentor with the overall purpose to aid in the student's successful graduation. In return, the 50/50 protege's provide free volunteer service hours to inner city youth of Nashville participating in programs like Y.E.S. They fulfill the motto: "Moving Forward by Giving Back" in their capacity as mentors and tutors in hopes to inspire and encourage youth to pursue higher education. 


 



 Photo credits: Steps to Success and Y.E.S

Tennessee Respite Coalition on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

This Mother's Day weekend, Living Your Best Life will focus on the role of Caregivers and the importance if taking care of people who take care of their loved ones.

As of 2003, nearly 36 million people in the United States were 65 years of age or older - 12% of the population. By 2030, this group will DOUBLE in number to 72 million and will constitute 1/5 of all people in the US. In the US, more than 50 million people, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year. The average caregiver is female, 56 years old, married, employed outside the home, and frequently provides care for elders and children simultaneously.

Join us on Saturday, May 12, 2012, to hear Jennifer Abernathy, executive director of Tennessee Respite Coalition discuss her how agency's mission is enhancing the quality of life for family caregivers through respite. Family caregivers in Tennessee provided 634 million hours of care last year. But often very few hours are provided for the care of the caretaker.

Living Your Best Life, is a radio show that empowers inspires, and motivates one to live their BEST life. Living Your Best Life can be heard on 760 The Gospel in the Middle TN Region, Inspirational Networks, military bases, and UStream.TV from 9-10AM CST.

More About Tennessee Respite Coalition

The Tennessee Respite Coalition (TRC) works with family caregivers across the state of Tennessee to help provide them with short-term, temporary relief from their duties caring for adults or children with disabilities or special needs. Temporary relief can enable caregivers to satisfy their own needs and get a much-needed break from the demands of providing ongoing care.

TRC assists caregivers who look after individuals of any age, and allows them to choose their own respite provider. While their loved ones are cared for, caregivers may engage in a variety of activities, from taking a trip to spending time with other family members and catching up on other errands such as grocery shopping. In the past year, TRC has provided more than 200 families across the state of Tennessee with access to respite services. For more info about TRC click here.

More About The Art of Time Fundraiser

The Art of Time is an evening filled with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, entertainment and exciting live and silent auction items featuring local artists and some other fun items! Proceeds from the event assist the TRC in supporting the many programs serving family caregivers in Tennessee.

The Art of Time will take place Friday, May 18th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Whiskey Bent Saloon’s Frontier Room. The Frontier Room is Nashville’s best private event space on Broadway. It will be a wonderful space to view the art up for auction. Directions to www.Whiskeybentsaloon.com

Entrance to the event will be off Third Avenue just off of Broadway (look for the banner). We will have a private entrance to the Frontier Room off the upper patio behind the Batman Building.

Food Service Workers by The Numbers at MNPS

After months of listening to many female food services workers share in whispered tones their agony of working in an environment that has been described as being hostile to anyone with “thinking skills”; I finally realized the depth of those conversations when an email from a male supervisor hit the internet in December. It was not that I did not believe anyone but often times the stories shared would remind me of overhearing my grandmother and mother talk about work life in a rural community.

It was hard to digest that derogatory statements, intimidating attitudes, and a demeaning workplace atmosphere were alive and well in Nashville (a city I love dearly) and being openly discussed in the community that seem to look the other way. I would often ask, “If everyone knows about the plight of the food service workers, then why are we whispering about it?” My question was often met with blank stares but on one occasion an older woman said to me, “Child, the more things change, the more they remain the same”.

As many changes are being made to help improve the educational infrastructure at Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), maintaining good support personnel is an essential part of the foundation of a good school system. Food service workers are support personnel. They are not the principals leading the schools or the teachers in the classrooms who teach a child his or her ABCs but they are part of the village that influences and prepares students for a brighter future.

To have an unstable support personnel system undermines any short term goals or long term strategies to creating a healthier school system that will produce higher test scores and drastically improve graduation rates. When an email gives you a small glimpse of much bigger issues, MNPS leadership should hit the pause button and begin to dig deeper. When we are flying at 30,000 feet, one can easily mistake a dirt mound above ground to be hills that can be easily flatten by a bulldozer. In Tennessee, those hills can actually be entrances to deep dark caves.

As we learned in fifth grade, cave formations date back thousands of years. Many are veiled in darkness with acidic standing water while carbon monoxide permeates the air. Caves have tunnels that lead to other tunnels that lead nowhere. A school system should not be seen as a cave with endless nowhere leading tunnels by parents or the community who should be loyal supporters. Nor should educators and support personnel who work in the system see it as dark depressing cave-like atmosphere filled with administrators with toxic behavior.

As MNPS continue to look at various ways to improve the all-encompassing educational experience for all students attending public schools, parents and the community at large must take the time to become more educated on all matters surrounding MNPS. To continue to drag out employee disputes on issues like being able to file a grievance, to appeal a disciplinary action, or who will answer the phone on Mondays, takes time away from ginormous test scores concerns that makes one wonder if the students are learning from stone tablets. While at the same time, many of the buildings are beginning to look like caves forming right in front of you.

It came as no surprise that some believed that the media attention to the now infamous caveman email was an overreaction by hyper sensitive female employees to a harmless joke. In actuality, it was a delayed reaction for many food service workers who have watched MNPS for several years use intimidation and fear as the primary form of communication to over 700 women who make up the food service department.

Women are often known as society’s first teachers in life. The women in the MNPS food service department are mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, primary caretakers, neighbors, church members, Girl Scout leaders, football team moms, and lifelong cheerleaders of the family. They come from various socioeconomic backgrounds and throughout the district. The women in the food service department touch the lives of thousands of young people every day: at home, at the schools they work in, and in the neighborhoods and communities where they live. They can be influential in helping MNPS transition from a school system in crisis to a district with well-rounded students who score higher on tests and graduate from high school.

MNPS Mission and Vision

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools will provide every student with the foundation of knowledge, skills and character necessary to excel in higher education, work and life.

We embrace and value a diverse student population and community. Different perspectives and backgrounds form the cornerstone of our strong public education system.

With so many deep caverns to climb out of, it is vital that MNPS build partnerships at every level in the school system, with families, and in the community. No one should be overlooked or devalued when looking for solutions to prepare our young people for "higher education, work, and life". It is going to take an entire village to help turn things around. MNPS may not have realized it yet but the “lunchroom ladies” are part of that village and are valuable in the community. Let us treat them with dignity in their work environments. Ultimately, the students being educated are the benefactors of improved employee relations at MNPS and the community will reaps the rewards for years to come.