We were lucky to catch up with Charon Leonard recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Charon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Let’s start with a short definition of success. The noun success refers to the achievement of an aim, goal, ambition or purpose. Such as the attainment of wealth, social status, fame, influence or power.
In order to be successful, one must first dig deep within theirselves to determine, what success means to them
For me, success, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.
We all have different perceptions on what success is based upon our upbringing and current walk in life.
My value and definition of success revolves more around generational wealth, core morals and faith based values. I don’t care about fame if it means selling my soul to get it. Whats the point of having fame and fortune if you are unable to draw happiness/joy from it? I care about being respected for who I am and the legacy that I’ll leave behind more than I care about having a million social media followers. Success to me is knowing that my daughters look up to me and see all that my husband and I have done for them with hopes that they, too, can do those same things for their children. Success for me means providing teachable moments to those around me, sharing knowledge and understanding that I’ve absorbed over the years to help people navigate more purposeful through life.
To be successful you must have grit and integrity. You must do what you love, find your purpose, stand up for others and seek wise counsel.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Perseverance. Elevation. Accountability.Change.Empathy.* isn’t just PEACE Atlanta’s’ motto, it’s the mindset that fuels Executive Director, Charon Leonard. She believed in this dream so much that she gave up a life of comfortable security to pursue her passion and truly impact hundreds of lives. In less than two years, Charon took the seed of an idea and grew it into a fully functioning organization that has already begun to change the way the community views supportive housing. She personally has taken a path to prove that you can overcome pain to pursue passion. In addition to leading PEACE Atlanta, Inc.
She also works with the Georgia Department of Human Services where she acts as an advocate for families in the northeast region of the state. Charon additionally supports continual advancement as it relates to education and professional life for men, women, adolescents of color and low income households. She has facilitated 3 leadership conferences and spoken at multiple events and community functions on the topics of leadership, diversity, goal setting, the effects of incarceration and mental health disorders.
Her work has not gone unnoticed. She has won several awards for her leadership skills, she serves as an ambassador for the Paulding Chamber of Commerce, she serves on the NSBA leadership council and has been interviewed for 3 magazines for her creativity and impactful solutions in the nonprofit sector. She continues to be a living example that no vision is too small or impossible when you work hard and pursue your purpose!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I believe what helped build the brand and our organization as a whole was our dedication and integrity. Keeping your word and being honest with your clients will take you far: if there was ever a time that our agency was unable to get something done, we expressed that clearly so that we didn’t set unrealistic expectations. I believe people respect honesty more than fluff.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
PEACE Atlanta started on 10k of my own money. I took it from a savings account and hit the ground running. The President of our Board of Directors, Eriana Wagner, and I would reach out to family and friends and ask for donations and we visited multiple thrift stores to gather housing donations when we were in the process of opening the first group home. It was a lot of hard work and sometimes we wanted to give up but at the end of the day, we persevered.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.peaceatlantainc.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peaceatlantainc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peaceatlantainc/
- Linkedin: Peaceatlantainc