We recently connected with Mariah Sammons Non-profit Organization Founder and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mariah Sammons thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Alot of people think in order to be successful that they require luck. But in all honesty it requires being driven & determined but also networking.

Mariah Sammons, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

A Starrs Initiative started off as an undergraduate assignment for my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Marygrove College. The assignment was for us to think about a problem that we could solve and write a grant proposal on the issue. We were told to use something that we really feel attached to, or hits close to home. So immediately Domestic Violence came to my mind. Reason being is because I was currently in my second consecutive domestic violence relationship, but I felt stuck. I felt that there was no place for me to run to. So, I researched things I didn’t know and looked further into things I did know in order to find issues involving Domestic Violence. The main issue I came up with is that out of all the shelters in the Metro Detroit area there are NO Domestic Violence caterer shelter in a 30-minute radius. The nearest one is in Pontiac Michigan. So, I thought of myself, and the average victim of Domestic Violence can’t travel that far safely usually and especially without a car. So, at that point, I came up with a budget & a way to build a Domestic Violence shelter near home provided things that women need when leaving a situation. When I wrote the grant proposal for that class it started off as just an assignment, but it turned into something I’m dedicated in completing. That assignment grant proposal was for 2018. Since then, A Starrs Initiative has become so much more than that. A Starrs Initiative is federally recognize as a 501c(3). Even though I haven’t raised enough money to create my vision of a home catered to DV survivors, Me and my team help all the time with shelter placements & general information. As far as A Starrs Initiative I’ve created curriculums for programs that I will have in place for women to participate in such as Financial Literacy, Recognizing red flags amongst other things. We are so small but me and my team are working hard to get recognized by our community, raise money & not only help those in need but prevent Domestic Violence as much as we can.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Because A Starrs Initiative is a non-profit 501c (3) recognize majority of our funding comes from federal grants but a lot of the other funding comes from donations from people of the community. When A Starrs Initiative first started we received donations from family & friends. Eventually, we started to throw fundraising events making awareness of domestic violence but also making the events fun and not sad for our supporters.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I wholeheartedly believe that social media is the way of time & that it made my community aware about us. People all over the world can learn about A Starrs Initiative with searches of a few hashtags. So, I definitely believe social media is an effective strategy for reaching people who need our help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sites.google.com/astarrsinitiative.org/astarrsinititative
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/astarrsinitiative?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AStarrsInitiative2020?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariah-s-598087232

Image Credits
Matthew Fortunato