We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Prudence TheAuset Sneed a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Prudence TheAuset, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on as a business owner of a non profit organization was our first holiday love coat drive. It was very humbling and it’s main reason for being successful was because of the late Mr. Michael Hollywood Hernandez along with Baccus Cleaners. With those partners and our social media supporters, we were able to distribute over 250 coats to the homeless men and women of Dallas, Tx in the downtown Dallas area. It was very humbling to say the least. People were extremely open with sharing their stories. Not everyone wanted help but they were still kind. There were others making the best of where they were and sleeping and we’d gently place a coat next to their belongings to gather when the would wake up. Creatively the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my annual show GatherAroundTheThrone. She’s grown from an erotic poetry event that I created to simply entertain my city into a full stage production that benefits the annual college trunk drive sponsored by TheAuset’s Foundation Inc. The event has truly grown and took on its own creativity. I envisioned one thing and God truly saw something else. This year will be the first year the event runs a full weekend from Friday through Sunday and the marketing and promotions alone have been a rollercoaster but well worth it.
Prudence TheAuset, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
For anyone who has never heard me perform or saw my work in the community or followed me on social media I’d like them to know I’m truly just a down to earth person who is enjoying her purpose and journey through life. I would love to say that what I do professionally and creatively is easy and anyone can do it but it’s not. It takes discipline, distance, consistency, resilience and the ability to not grow weary of stopping and starting over. This isn’t the career or lifestyle for anyone who is ego driven or money hungry. Being a servant of the community can have its days. Not everyone appreciates what you do or understands your reason why and that’s truly the time you have to be your strongest and dig your deepest to connect not only with those people you’re helping but with your purpose. It is in those moments we receive affirmation on the reasons why we do what we do.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ll probably cry typing this but…lol here goes. During the course of the Texas ice storm our apartment was severely flooded and we had to relocate to a hotel for almost six months. Most people who know me also know that I do full time caretaking for my elderly mother with Alzheimer’s well to make a super long story short, I tried to continue filming my show Southern Truths while going through all of this and it resulted in being let down by a person I trusted more than anything and I had to post pone my filming. This was probably the most depressed I had ever been in my life and for this person to do what they did was just too much. But it was in that moment God revealed to me that delayed is not canceled. My focus has to be as much on my mother as it does myself and what’s for me will be there no matter when I pick it back up. The beautiful thing is that I have rewritten my script, and I shouldn’t toot my own horn but this is some GOOD stuff.
What do you find most rewarding about being creative?
The most rewarding aspect of the business is knowing that I’ve genuinely helped someone or inspired someone to be their better self. There is absolutely nothing more rewarding than that for me. There are some things that you can’t put a price on and helping others is one of them. I don’t give expecting returns. I give because there was a time that had it not been for someone feeling the need to reach out and help me, I don’t know where I’d be. It’s a reach back and pull someone up season and I’m here for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theausetsfoundationinc.com
- Instagram: TheAuset
- Facebook: PrudenceTheAuset
- Twitter: TheAuset
Image Credits
Paul S Williams of EyeDareU Photography Doraze Legington of Doraze Creationz