We recently connected with Robin Sturdivant and have shared our conversation below.

Robin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

My husband worked in Law Enforcement for 30 years and retired seven years ago. His time with the force always involved working with the youth and families. Most of the time this involved “at-risk” youth, we prefer to say “misguided.” Upon his retirement, he would continually get calls on a daily basis from a school Principal. school Counselor, or a family member needed his assistance with a youth. It was at this point, we decided it was time for our own program in working with our youth and families. For the next year or so, we begin the process of starting our own organization and we are registered as a non-profit organization with the state of North Carolina. The next couple of years was a grueling process but I can honestly say well worth it. The paperwork was endless, and it is still endless today, but you cannot put a price tag on seeing a young person life change before you. Appling for State funding is a yearly process, but it is a process we are thankful for. We are constantly having to seek funding in order to continue to do what we are called to do.
Team Up Connections Mentoring Inc, mission is to Speak Life into the hearts of our youth. Our organization tag line is “A Mentoring Lifeline for Our Youth,” and we have witness that spoken word over and over again.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In today’s society, not many people are thrilled about having the opportunity to work with troubled youth. It is sometimes very challenging but as I said before, it is well worth.

We give of ourselves, our time, our talents, our expertise, our experiences in life, but mostly our love. We expose the kids to opportunities that require them to think differently. We take kids out of their element in order to introduce them to different environments. This allows them to see something different, know something different and understand there is a different and better way to approach life.

We try to help our youth tap into their gifts and talents.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Never giving up on our youth. We fill that we have a responsibility to Speak Life into their hearts. If you youth come across out path, we truly believe it is divinely orchestrated.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That HOPE is impossible

Contact Info:

• Website: Teamupconnections.org
• Instagram: @TEAMUPCONNECTIONS
• Facebook: facebook.com/teamupconnections
• Youtube: Team Up Connections