From a Small Town in Georgia to Nationwide Impact: A Leadership Story of Growth & Collaboration

[0:16]  Welcome back to another episode here on the Heart and Hustle Podcast. I'm Efrain. We have Ms. Lauren. Ms. Lauren, where are you visiting today from virtually?

[0:22]  I'm here from Charleston, South Carolina.

[0:25]  South Carolina. You have an accent, do you know that?

[0:27]  I do know that. I'm from Georgia and it's I'm not able to to get rid of it.

[0:33]  I love it. How long were you like born and raised in Georgia, then moved to the Carolinas or

[0:36]  I did. Moved here after an intern or after college for an internship and then have never left, but from a small town in Georgia.

[0:46]  What did you love about it? What what made you wanna stay? There has to be something other than the job or the opportunity.

[0:52]  And Charleston's a charming place. You're you're at the beach. it's historical. It's beautiful. Met my husband here, so made me fall more you know, more in love with the city.

[1:02]  That's it. That's what kept you there. That's what kept you there. I I've thought about Charlotte. Is Charlotte a good place? People have been saying it's kinda growing.

[1:13]  Yeah. It is very it's it's a much bigger city than Charleston. It's about three hours from here. Restaurant, shopping, all fantastic. I kind of like a little bit of a smaller town feel.

[1:29]  Got it, got it, got it. I'm gonna have to check it out. I have my one of my mentors that moved up there and now he moved up there for a job and loved it, finally bought a house and he's like, I I'm stuck here now, like it's a good place. And you know, I'm in Florida where it's super hot and we have summer like nine months out of the year. Is it like mixed up there or?

[1:47]  Well, you're an hour and a half from the mountain, so if you need to retreat, you can easily do so. but no, it is hot.

[1:55]  You say mountains, I love mountains. That's one of the things that we do not really have here in Orlando. So just being able to see that different scenery could also just be relaxing. I am one that loves to go hiking. We just can't really go hiking and climb rocks and mountains here in Orlando. It doesn't exist, I don't think.

[2:08]  Well you would love Charlotte 'cause it is in close vicinity to a lot of different things. The mountains, three hours from the beach, Atlanta, other big cities, major airport.

[2:21]  I'm gonna go visit. I'm gonna go visit. I'll I'm gonna have to go over that. I'm gonna have put that on on my my list for sure. Lauren, so you represent Kids on Point. what brings you to that organization? Mat matter of fact, what is the role that you actually play for Kids Point?

[2:34]  Do I'm the executive director. I've been with the organization actually going on eleven years at the end of this month. So like two days. Yeah.

[2:40]  Eleven years. Does it f does it fly by? Like did does it feel like eleven years?

[2:47]  No, not at all. It's ch it's organized chaos every day. It's a challenge every day. so I've I've enjoyed every minute of it.

[2:56]  Loving. Tell us a little bit about Kids on Point. What exactly are you guys doing there? What what is your audience? What does that look like?

[3:02]  Yep. I mean simply put we're an after school and summer program providing year round services for students, but deeper than that, it's about opportunity and access. So we're embedding in academic support, athletic support, nutrition support, all through the aspect of after school and summer.

[3:02]  Mm-hmm. How many schools you guys got?

[3:02]  So we have thirty-two schools that we serve through Charleston, Dorchester County. It's it's a tri-county area.

[3:03]  Yeah.

[3:37]  I apologize for the dog.

[3:38]  The dog I mean, I was gonna ask you the next question was what kind of dog? Don't worry about it. We're gonna get the dog involved too.

[3:44]  he's a little French bulldog so any time anyone knocks on the door or, you know, an Amazon package gets dropped off, he's he's getting after it.

[3:50]  Mm. He sees a lizard move, he starts barking. Yeah. I l I lost now we're s switching topics. I lost my rat terrier, and I'll tell you my rat terrier did. Probably a little bit more nicer, probably more mean than the French Bulldog. But I'm letting the dog in before it passed, and it has a possum just hanging from its mouth. Like, mind you, my little dog is only butt so big. So me being scared, I said, I'm not letting your ass in. So I walk around the yard.

[4:04]  That's correct. Yes. All the time.

[4:19]  To try to get my dog out the Lanai, because it was inside the Lanai. And yeah, the dog wasn't listening to me and left the possum right there. So left the possum at the door, heard me come around. So walked. I brought the dog in from the front yard. The possum is at the back door playing dead. I'm thinking it's dead. And I checked about 30 minutes later. It was the funniest thing. I actually have a picture of it. The possum is like at the door, because we left the screen door open. At the door, kind of looking back like, yeah, I'm out. And I'm saying like you damn possum. I thought you were dead and we were having gonna pick you up, but good thing I didn't have to go pick it up.

[4:53]  So this is a fun fact that is actually related to kids on point. So we're in the midst of summer programs or weekend, and we had a great organization come by that rescues possums and armadillas and bats and beavers and baby otters. So Walter the Possum made a grand appearance at camp last week. I found out a lot about possums. They only live like two years max. They can't get rabies because their body temperature is too low. So you're not gonna get hurt. They're great for the environment and they like strawberry yogurt as their favorite food. Yes.

[5:17]  Really? Strawberry yogurt. Well listen, they look scary, don't they?

[5:41]  They do look scary, but Walter I I really I really like Walter. I would consider having a pet possum.

[5:47]  I no I do you know what I think about? Have you ever remembered Bernstein Bears? They used to have a possum as matter of fact, they used make like possum soupers. Like it was some nasty stuff. I don't know. Me and possums definitely not my thing. Anything that's not a dog, actually, I'm not okay with. So a cat, I'm not okay with a cat. armadillos I think are cute, but I'm still not getting close to them either. but yeah anyway, kids on point. Let's talk about that. The d y dog what's the dog's name by the way? Just made

[5:57]  yes. Yeah. I hear it. Yeah, I'll do that.

[6:07]  Cameo without making a cameo.

[6:17]  Benny, like Benny and the Jets. Yeah.

[6:21]  That's it. You know what? I my neighbor, I'm about to make fun of him when I see him later today. Benny, my neighbor, is short and stocky and always make fun of him. And you said French Bulldog. Now I'm gonna call him a little French Bulldog next time. Haha when I see him earlier later today. That's funny. so go ahead, tell us what Kids on Point is is doing. So you said 36 schools.

[6:55]  There you go. So again that year around thirty-six schools, we've got five hundred kids in summer camps currently. we go down to pre-K. But I let me get into like the unique part about kids on point. So we start with kids in elementary school, we follow them through middle high school and post-secondary. So it's really a 15-year commitment per child. And over the course of the organization's 16-year history, when we started summer programs about 10 years ago, we noticed that a lot of our older siblings were staying home watching their younger siblings in the summer. So we expanded down to pre-K intentionally to remove that barrier for families. So right now we have students pre-K through eighth grade participating at two site locations. Students coming from 36 schools and all of our high schoolers are placed in internships and job positions. So again, back to that access, that exposure. kids are going on field trips every day, they're taking swim lessons, playing athletics, STEM activities, all the things to it make that light bulb go off.

[7:30]  Mm-hmm. Yeah. And the you talked about the seniors or those high schoolers kind of being in that leadership role purposely, right? To teach those kind of skills beyond high school, is that correct?

[8:05]  Yes, life schools are incredibly important. Being able to kind of function, being college and career ready is something that we deeply focus on. So they have to have those communication skills to be successful in those environments. And we wanna start embedding those things in early to all the aspects of programming.

[8:25]  No, I love that. I mean leadership is so important and sometimes kids don't even know that they have it. so when you get everybody to tap into that, definitely kinda helps out. I didn't know, I tell you, I didn't know I had leadership skills and at nineteen years old someone says you could run a store and I'm like, Me? And that's the first time I realized I had leadership skills because someone told me that I did and definitely s needed to be worked on. I wasn't who I am today. But I n also never thought I'd be running a store. I never thought I'd be leading people. so sometimes it's it's cool to tap in really, really early because they just have now such a a bigger world out there for them, you know, when they realize what they have, at that leadership perspective. It's pretty cool. And and you said is this only summer or are you guys doing drunk school as well? After school that's what it was after school. So after school, what does it look like after school for these students? Is it very similar to what you guys are doing this summer or?

[9:09]  We do after school as well. Yep. So yeah year round programming. Yep. I mean To provide that opportunity and access, we're primarily working with underserved populations. So what are those barriers to entry? Transportation is one of those main barriers to entry. Nutrition is one of those main barriers to entry. So we're busing the kids in. We're also a bus stop for the local school district, but those other students that are coming from charter schools or potentially homeschooled or whatever it may be, we're busing those students in so they have access to the program. Nutrition wise, we're providing meals and snacks every day. But what a day in the life looks like is they're coming on site, they're working on homework, they're working on enrichment activities. We intentionally break programming into six week blocks for goal setting. We also bring in different partners that are providing whether that's cooking, STEM, arts integration, different athletic activities that they're embedded in within that six weeks. Then the next six weeks is something different. To have students for that long, the f within the 15 years, you really you have to spice things up. It can't be the the same thing day in and day out because retention is such a big piece of what we do. And it looks different for every age group. So elementary is really those foundational skills, middle school, a lot about exploration, and then high school. What is that path in life?

[9:09]  Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. What brought you to this organization? Wha why would you 'cause this is not a space one that I often hear, people do, but I can imagine there's a reason that not only brought you here but kept you here eleven years. What's the why behind it?

[9:09]  Thought I wanted to go to med school, was a public health major, really loved the preventative aspects of the public health field. I moved here for an internship at a HIV AIDS clinic and just fell in love with the outreach aspect of things. And similar to you, ended up meeting an individual who brought me on to Kids on Point. He said, you know, he he knew that the kids were were the the selling point and he he said, you know, go in and meet the kids and

[9:10]  Yeah.

[11:09]  And I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the consistency. personally, I think to like solve big systematic issues, you have to have that consistency. And you know, I've been here since then. And he was a great mentor to me. He still is a great mentor to me. That belief that you can do something before you even know that you can do it, similar to your story, is it really changed me.

[11:35]  Yeah. Love it. Okay, okay. I love I love that you said you had this mentor and he's still around. What is what was a mentor pouring into you? What are some of the things you've remembered?

[12:02]  He poured a lot of patience into me initially. He he he never kind of came in and said I was doing the right or the wrong thing. He would listen, he would challenge.

[12:02]  Yeah.

[12:16]  And then he was sub would support me every step of the way. And you know, I think I met with him very early on, like probably once every week. He was always available for phone calls. And he really gave me that autonomy to develop my specific leadership style. And I will be forever grateful for what he poured into me.

[12:52]  Yeah. Love it. You you you lead me into my next question. Your leadership style, what are you now pouring into others? Other than patience. Cause I th I I do agree. I think patience is key. I was just telling actually I moved my editor to a lead editor role and he's like, I've never been like a leader, right? Like I hope that I'm doing good. And and really what I told him, I said, just be authentically you. Like I gave you the opportunity because I knew who you are. And as long as you don't change that, you'll be good. But listen, you also gotta remember to listen. 'cause sometimes people just want you to, you know, listen, not always r respond. and remember that everyone's the same. I mean, everyone's not the same, right? So everyone's going to be a little bit different. what are you what are you saying to leaders as you're kinda molding them into the next generation of of people to take over?

[13:28]  I think it shifts as you develop within the organization. I mean, early on there were two staff members. One of those was part time and so you're kind of the chef in the bottle washer. You're doing everything. You're driving the van, you're designing programs, you know, like all the pieces you're just so deep in it. And then as you start the organization starts growing, you start hiring more staff. I think for me it's always, you know, be adaptable, be flexible. make sure that number one priority for us is that we're showing up for the kids and that we're doing

[24:41]  Okay. Yeah.

[24:41]  it really well. If we're not, I'm always encouraging the team, there's always ways we can improve. When we start getting static and saying, we're just doing this perfectly, we're it's time for us to leave our positions. Because

[24:41]  Yep. Yep. Yeah. Don't get too comfortable.

[24:41]  No, not at all. There's always ways that I can improve. Everyone on my team have aspects that they can improve and programmatically things shift. I mean, we all saw saw that in COVID. I mean, we all had to pivot completely during that time period. And and we are really dependent on the kids and the families to to share with us what they want to see from programs. So I mean where it started sixteen years ago and where it is now is is completely different. So I think

[24:41]  Yeah. Hundred percent.

[24:41]  That leadership styles evolve.

[24:41]  Do I know you mentioned so we mentioned like after school, you mentioned summer and how are you guys working with those that may are not part of your school systems that you're already a part of? Like if someone wanted to find more information and they just went to a website or the QR code, like how does people find out more about this information if they're not within the schools?

[24:41]  Absolutely. I mean, we're on the ground. We're developing relationships with students and families. We have a lot of sibling pairs. We have a lot of cousins. And and for us it's about that trust. And so word of mouth has been really good to us over the years. We're de also developing relationships with principals and guidance counselors who who refer kids in. But we're also out in the community and we're spreading the word about kids on point. We want students to have access to it. We have pretty extensive wait list that we're trying to resolve right now to provide more opportunities for students. but you have to get on the ground. Like people. People aren't gonna seek you out. There's a lot going on. And so you have to get on the ground, you have to show them what you're all about. And then you have to continue showing up.

[24:41]  Yep. Consistency, huh? Yeah. I love it. I mean, those are true leadership skills that we're talking about here. The patience, the consistency, the multiple hats. we're really talking. You mentioned that that when you started, there were two people, one part time and I'm guessing one full time. Where do you guys sit today? Are you is it a little bigger than what you started or? Okay.

[24:41]  Yep. Consistency. Yeah. There's ten of us. It's it's it's still a lean team, but we have roughly a hundred students that volunteer with us annually. A lot of people in and out, a lot of positions to manage. And and that's really helped us kind of punch above our weight.

[24:41]  A lot. W what is the roadblock? You mentioned the wait list. What is stopping and that's which is a good problem, right, to have those people waiting, but what stops them from entering the program?

[24:41]  We're at facility capacity.

[24:41]  Needed a bigger building or another building.

[24:42]  Yes.

[24:42]  So we we're we're we're in raising money Tom that I can only imagine. What a what a problem to have, huh? Like we're too big, we we need to raise more It's a good problem. I mean how long have you guys been raising money? And for those that may want to who knows who's listening? what is the goal? Right? And how long have we already been raising?

[24:42]  We are in raising money time. Yes we are. So it's a fifteen million dollar goal and we launched it about a month ago. We're we're very early on, so I'm learning all the things.

[24:42]  so where early on is the you say okay. Yeah. Yeah. Jesus, I have an event coming up and I think my ask is very small, but we're trying to hit fifty thousand dollars. and really what pretty cool, unique, this organization been around for 37 years and they created an endowment so many years back with the goal to reach a million dollars and with that million dollars when they reach it, now the organization could actually it's a completely volunteered-based organization. would actually have fifty thousand dollars to operate on a yearly b basis plus whatever they else they raise. But knowing that we're so close that million, I think they're like when I took over six hundred and seven thousand, like really the story is how do we get to a million dollars so that we can provide the school with this resource f for life, right? Like sometimes when people understand what that that story is or what that end goal is, people are willing to give. And in your case, it's like While sometimes it may seem like a big ask, is understanding that it's not what we need just for today, but we're talking about the future. you know, the the terminology of fertilizing the future. We are starting today, so we can fertilize what happens five, ten years from now. And the data's there. I can imagine you guys have that data of of so how important is data in this new journey to tell that story?

[24:42]  I again it's a if it's a fifteen year plus journey w with us with the students. And so retention is a big piece of that. If kids aren't showing up, if we're not retaining them when they get into some of those harder age levels like middle and high school, then we're not doing our job. And so one thing that we noticed about four years ago is is Charleston's really developing, it's expanding. affordability is not what it once was. And so roughly about thirty five percent of our population started moving off of it's called the peninsula, so downtown Charleston. And moving to the North Charleston area and kind of beyond. Transportation's a little tricky here. and so when we started noticing that, started having more in-depth conversations with our families, we knew that we had to shift really quickly. And so we we went into a strategic plan, decided to open up a satellite location to be able to recapture those students, but also expand our services, and that's ultimately where we'll end up. building the building to serve more students. Yep.

[24:42]  Love it. Love it. wha what what is the the budget that you guys operate now on a yearly? Is it

[24:42]  We're we're teetering at about two million. We're at about one point seven.

[24:42]  Not bad. Not bad, Lauren. I can only imagine from where you started. It wasn't that. this is this is a pretty exciting time for you, I can imagine, because there is you've seen the growth and now you know where else we need to grow. It's just going to take a lot of patience. All right. You mentioned it, just a lot of patience, a a lot of getting creative. What are some of the creative ways that you guys raise money that people may not tap into?

[24:42]  Yes.

[24:42]  I mean, you don't gotta give all your secret sauce away, you know.

[24:42]  No. I think for me, and it's probably similar to a lot of fundraisers in the build in in in this industry, is to me it's those those personal connections. It it's getting off the the computer and emails and it's making those personal phone calls, it's sitting down for coffee, it's really sharing that vision, that passion. Bring out to programs. I mean, the kids speak volumes. I mean, t if if you were to come to summer programs right now, I mean, it's just magic. And and and how do you say no to providing that magic for more students. And so we really encourage people to come out and see it in action because again, that speaks a lot louder than what I can share in a conference room.

[24:42]  Yeah. Are you utilizing AI for any of the data, any of the storytelling pieces to kind of help you become 'cause we play so many different, you know, roles and hats, to just allow you to do more of the things that you love? You talked about the meeting in person, the connections and all that. Are you using AI on on the some of the back end work stuff?

[24:42]  We do, it we're it's it's helping build out systems, it's helping build out just promotional materials a lot faster and a lot less expensive than what we would we were seeing within the organization five years ago. So it certainly has helped improve just capacity.

[24:42]  Mm. yeah, I'm I'm glad you're using it. A lot of leaders still nervous and scared about it, Lauren. And I'm like, man, I love it. It really does help move the needle, I would say. especially with like event planning. You know, like right now I'm in I talked about, you know, creating this event. our ask is fifty thousand dollars, you know, at this event is where we I'll tell you some good news that you'll probably be happy about. Or I guess it'll make you feel a bit better about what we're you're building. So I was talking to this leader on Friday and he said he just had a gala.

[24:42]  It does. Okay.

[24:42]  And they raise a million dollars. I said, how many people showed up to this gallop? Like he said two it was like two hundred, two hundred and fifty people. I'm like, wow, I'm trying to get two hundred, two hundred and fifty people, you know, to this it's kind of called Eagle Eagle Legacy Night. So we'll have the Hall of Fame, we'll have like a marketplace, we'll have Sil Nox really huge event that we're going to have. And I was like, Well, maybe fifty thousand is actually too small. You made a million dollars? Like, that is so good, but that is good storytelling, that is good relationship. That is, you know, getting the right people in the room. but listening to yours, Lauren, sometimes it just seems so far out, but when I heard that gentleman say we made a million dollars in a year, it's like, man, it's possible. Right? So Lauren, I believe that you you probably have a plan to do it in so many years, but I think it comes even sooner, you know. So let's cross our fingers that it happens, Lauren. Yes, yes, Lauren.

[24:42]  it's manifesting all the things. I'm listening to all the inspiration about about manifesting.

[24:42]  You you know, it it I've had to I think I'm really tapping into that. A lot of the things that I've seen in my life is because I've I've said it. I've said it to people, you know, I've said it out loud, and it's been years that I've said and now kind of seeing my life unfold the way it is, can imagine you're probably seeing it too as Lauren. It's like, man, it is just saying it to people. 'Cause you don't know who could actually get you to the next chapter in your life. You know, I and that it could be that thing they say, it could be the relationship they provide you, it could be the connection they you know, whatever that may look like, really get you to the next level. And I've seen so many times where I've shared what my idea was or my plan and the next day I'm sitting in a room with someone I didn't think was even possible. You know, so

[24:42]  Yeah. I mean the wor the worst thing that someone can say is no, right?

[24:42]  Yeah. That's hard though. How do you how do you deal with the nose?

[24:42]  I mean, you just I think failure helps

[24:42]  Does it hurt does it sting a little bit or like sometime at the point where it stings, I don't even want to hear it. I I let someone else deal with the nose. Tell when they said yeah.

[24:42]  yeah. Listen, that it it definitely hurts, but it also failure teaches you a lot.

[24:42]  Okay. Yeah, you're right. Yeah.

[24:43]  It teaches you how to adapt. It teaches you to look at things a little differently. Because what might speak to me as far as like my passion, and I will stand behind this organization and these kids, regardless of my role. And I really paint that picture. But it's not everyone is not gonna feel the same way that I do. And so you I you know, I've gotten a lot of no's.

[25:05]  Mm-hmm. Yeah. a hundred percent y persistence. Right? There's a lot of Ps here. Patience, persistence, paychecks, purpose, possibilities. Lauren, great conversation. Can't even believe that we've kind of already almost hit thirty minutes of of combo time. But people that want to know more, work what webs what's the website? Are you guys on social? They want to connect with you. Are you on LinkedIn?

[25:27]  You just gotta keep going back. Yes. Yeah. huh. We are. So our website is www.kidsonpoint.org. All of our social media handles are k is at kids on point CHS, which is just the abbreviation for Charleston. Check us out. We do a lot of posting on Instagram and Facebook. I c I'm I'm getting trying to get better at LinkedIn. It's kind of one of those things that falls by the wayside, but but we're putting a lot of effort into it. So you'll start seeing more posts from me there.

[25:49]  I hear you. I hear you. I hear you. Too many socials to even think of sometimes. it is a lot. I I thank you for your time, Lauren. Is there anything that you'd want I really think about people that have been watching this and it's leaders that are in this pr space of nonprofits, of higher ed, of the healthcare, where a time of government fundings, of change, of not knowing what the next day looks like. How do you leave those people with just kind of the word of wisdom?

[26:11]  It is.

[26:35]  And remembering to always remember the why. What does that look like from Lorne? Some positivity.

[26:41]  I mean, for me, I just encourage everyone to collaborate. You cannot do everything. Organizations can't solve the problems that we have in our communities on a national level. You have to partner with people. That is gonna enable you to punch above your weight. That's gonna help you expose in our case students to more opportunities to more access. Why am I gonna reinvent the wheel on something that some

[26:55]  Mm-hmm.

[27:09]  Is already doing really, really well. And so that has always been a theme for us. And I think it's something that really like limits the nonprofit sector because we're all trying to raise money. I mean, we're all trying to keep the lights on and keep paychecks going and do like the very best that we can for students and families. But I can tell you, kids on point would not be where it is today if we didn't have that mindset of collaboration and partner.

[27:36]  Yeah. Yeah. Yep. It is much needed partnership, collaboration, because it's like we could do this faster together versus chasing at the same people. But what happens if we merge and I've seen that I'm actually in that same process and I can imagine Lauren you've always looked into that direction of how can we partner with someone else to even build our resources. Right. We you mentioned we don't want we want to evolve. We want to change. So it's like if we do the same thing for the last fifteen years, are we changing or are we just doing the same are we comfortable? Right? And it's how do you get uncomfortable? It is a collaboration, it is thinking different, it is innovating. so I love it, Lauren. I really appreciate those words of wisdom for those leaders that are still watching. We're all in this together. It is a very we're all hats, you know, some days are better than others, but there's nothing like

[28:03]  Yes, yeah. Yeah.

[28:30]  knowing that you're making a difference. Nothing like you know you're fertilizing the future and that kids like us that maybe didn't have that experience can now live that experience because we are putting our money where our mouth is. So if you guys still watching, make sure you guys check out the social, make sure you guys check out their s their website to see what they're doing, but also to make sure that you can give back. My name's Ephrain. This is Lauren. We'll catch you on the next one. Latest.

[28:54]  Thank you.