Success Stories | Jada
Jada is a single mom raising 2 kids by herself. Her struggles began in high school where she did not have the support system and lacked the resources to finish successfully. Jada acknowledges rock bottom was when she attended her high school graduation but only received a certificate of completion because she did not have enough credits for her diploma.
“I was devastated. I lost all my fight. I was homeless, unemployed, and had no diploma when I found Eckerd Connects and met Ms. Strickland.”
When Jada enrolled in our program, she was a high school dropout, homeless and unemployed. With our program, Jada was not only able to earn her high school diploma but was also chosen to speak to her graduating class!
“If you knew my journey, then you would understand what a huge honor that was for me. I titled my speech ‘The Rose That Grew from Concrete.’ No matter how heavy life became, I grew and blossomed.”
In addition to her high school diploma, Jada found a job, stable housing, and transportation. She even opened her own business, all while raising 2 small children on her own. She credits Ms. Strickland for providing the support system she desperately needed.
“She encouraged me, was my biggest cheerleader, and refused to let me give up, no matter how many times I tried.”
Jada has worked hard to open her own business making candles and skincare products called Chi’s Whipped Creations. As with most great ideas, Jada first thought up this business to help her own kids.
“I noticed a lack of all-natural products available for those with sensitive skin, like my children. This became my passion.”
Since Covid hit, Jada has struggled financially to support her family while trying to invest in her small business. She applied for a Success Award that would give her the necessary means to keep creating her products, and the technology to help improve sales, with the hopes of being able to create a better financial situation for her family.
Not only does Jada create these products from her kitchen at home but she also designs and creates her own labels and packaging. Her local customer base is growing, and her product was recently picked up by a local store!
The Success Award is important because it will help take Jada’s growing business to the next level, including streamlining her business process and helping her present her products in a more professional way online. The gift cards to Michaels and Nature’s Garden Candles would purchase the much-needed jars, soap, lotion, oils, and butter bases needed to create the products and supplies to package them. The Dermaplaning & Chemical Exfoliation course will help further her education so she can build towards her goal of opening a spa selling her own handmade products.
Jada’s dreams are big, but her resolve is bigger:
“My goal one day is to buy my kids a house with a big backyard and their own room to play in. I will never give up because I know one day it’ll be worth every battle I’ve ever been through.”
Jada is the reason for our Success Awards program. She is on a path to victory and her family is the driving force behind her determination. Jada knows that this award is just a starting point, and she will need to work harder than ever to achieve her goals and create the life she wants for her children… but she is ready for the challenge.
“It’ll be an epic story of perseverance to tell my children one day.”