We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Serle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.
Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
While pursuing a Master’s degree in Chicago, IL, I took a job working for a private learning center. It was here that I fell in love with special education and saw the potential behind intensive learning interventions for teaching children with deficits in reading, writing, and math.
After completing my Master’s degree, I worked as a special education teacher for a network that turned around failing Chicago Public Schools. To understand what I experienced here and what eventually led to the idea to start The Lellow Foundation, I need to tell you about some of the first students I ever taught:
Tashanti was a 5th grade girl. She was barely reading on a first grade level, and I spent hours trying to teach her to count money, but she couldn’t differentiate between the coins. Just when I thought she was making progress, she’d lost it all by the next day because she couldn’t retain the information. Tashanti’s mother was a prostitute in and out of prison.
Damonte was a 5th grade boy. He could read words, but he couldn’t comprehend what he was reading. Damonte was living with a foster family and they made him sleep on the porch some nights.
Lavonde was a 6th grade boy. He struggled emotionally and would often be crying or extremely angry, expressing he wanted to hurt someone. Lavonde was living with a foster family because of repeated sexual abuse by an older sibling.
The Rodriguez brothers were also in this class. The oldest brother was in 7th grade. He was in a gang and had 2 kids by 2 different women. He was unable to read. His two younger brothers were in 5th grade. They also could not read.
Each of these students presented as completely “typical.” Upon meeting them, you wouldn’t suspect any cognitive difficulties. In fact, you might even attribute their lack of progress in school to their bad attitudes and disrespectful behavior. Each of these students had a story and each of these students had a learning disability preventing them from learning the way their peers learned, from learning the way the educational system is designed. Because they were special education students, they were all put into the same class with one teacher and the teacher was expected to teach them what the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade classes were all doing, but in a small group. I would cry, spending hours trying to design some sort of lesson plan that could help them. It was especially frustrating knowing there were outside companies like the one I used to work at that were using research based strategies to remediate learning deficits.
80% of kids identified as having a specific learning disability have a specific learning disability in reading. And research shows that 95% of students are able to learn to read, but special education teachers aren’t provided with the resources (including specialized curriculum), support staff, or the classroom structure to make this possible.
Despite all the resources available, the public education system is failing to meet the needs of exceptional learners, especially those who are at an economic disadvantage. And the private resources aren’t accessible due to the high cost of their services. I realized with all that I was given, I had a responsibility to advocate for these children and their families, to bridge the gap so that these children could receive the resources and education they deserve.
Tashanti, Damonte, Lavonde, and the Rodriqguez brothers were the inspiration behind starting The Lellow Foundation. In June of 2017, The Lellow Foundation was officially recognized as a 501(c)3 organization.
Nicole, 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?
The Lellow Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization named after Uncle Johnny who had Down Syndrome. His favorite color was “lellow.” It is our mission to support economically disadvantaged children with special needs. Our goal is to help bridge the gap for children who do not have access to resources and interventions available due to their economic situation, promoting each individual’s highest potential.
Our current programs support economically disadvantaged children with special needs in two ways:
We fund scholarships for research based academic intervention with our partner, Lindamood Bell Learning Processes in Houston; And we fund Special Education classrooms with essential materials and academic resources in Houston area, title 1 public schools. To date, we have provided over $53,000 in scholarships to children with special needs, and we have funded close to $27,000 to special education classrooms in low income schools of Houston.
It is our vision to continue to expand our partnerships with reputable companies to provide academic, behavioral, and physical interventions, supplies, and equipment for children with special needs. We are currently serving Houston and its surrounding communities, with the intention of eventually expanding nationally. The public school system is missing the bar, and The Lellow Foundation is dedicated to providing exceptional learners with the support they need to reach their highest potential.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
It was 2016 and I had just moved to Texas. I took a job that I felt called to, but it was a 50% pay cut, so funds were tight for me. I began researching “how to start a non-profit,” but became completely overwhelmed with the legalities of the initial process, so through a referral, I met with an attorney. She thoroughly explained the process to me and advised me on the cost. Knowing I did not have the funds to pay her, I left and told her I would be in touch. That evening I set up a Go Fund Me page and sent it out to every person in my address book in hopes of raising enough money to cover the fees. Within 3 days, I was able to pay my attorney in full and The Lellow Foundation was officially recognized as a 501(c)3 organization in 2017.
This was one of the most terrifying and encouraging experiences of my journey. I was entering a field in which I had absolutely no experience or training. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, but my plan was extremely loose. I made myself completely vulnerable by sharing my story on Go Fund Me, having no idea if I would be successful or not. The quick and generous response I received from people was overwhelming. It was affirmation that this was going to work. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to tell people what you want to do because it holds you accountable. I’ve also learned that we might not always know how the process will unfold or feel fully equipped, but we just need to take that initial step. One of my favorite quotes is “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.”
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how you developed them?
Our primary source of income is through our annual Johnny Jam Fundraising Event. In addition to this, we have partnerships and yearly drives that bring in revenue and donated items.
We are partnered with SpindleTap Coffee Company. They brew two brands of Lellow Coffee which is for sale online. Lellow receives a portion of the proceeds from each sale. Mellow Lellow is a medium roast that’s rich & sweet with a silky smooth body. Bright Lellow is a medium roast, Mexican style coffee with organic cinnamon & cacao.
We are a Bombas Giving Partner. Bombas donates socks to those in need as socks are actually the number one requested item by the homeless community. As a Giving partner, Lellow helps disburse the socks in line with our mission.The Lellow Foundation has donated over 2,000 socks to economically disadvantaged kids with special needs!
Each year, we host a Holiday Drive to provide gifts to low income families of children with special needs. In 2021, we partnered with The Mustard Seed Farm and Market to adopt 33 families. We collected gifts for each family through an Amazon Wishlist through which over $6,000 worth of items were purchased. Each family also received a $100-$150 gift card.
Additionally, we have been privileged to be selected as the beneficiary of the Houston Paralegal Association’s annual school supply drive for 2 consecutive years. Items collected through their drive are donated to special education classrooms in low-income schools.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheLellowFoundation.org
- Instagram: @thelellowfoundation
- Facebook: @thelellowfoundation
- Other: https://www.spindletapcoffee.com/pages/shop-lellow-foundation