We were lucky to catch up with Rolanda Macharia recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rolanda , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Is there a lesson you learned in school that’s stuck with you and has meaningfully impacted your journey?
Life started off challenging, from childhood to adult hood, it was riddled with domestic violence from my abusive father who raised me at the time, who was an alcoholic, this resulted in my dropping out of high school in the 8th grade. I then was a homeless teenager, sleeping on the bus benches and in abandoned buildings in Hollywood, California. By age 15, I was pregnant and had my first child at age 16. I later married at 18, and had 4 more children. My husband was abusive and after 9 years of marriage, I became a divorced mom raising my children alone. I was determined however to provide for my family but without an education, finding employment with fortune 500 companies was a far cry from possible. I found employment that that was flexible enough to allow me to go back to school, get my GED, then attend Antelope Valley College in the evenings part time. I would take my kids, to daycare at 5:30am, arrive at the vanpool by 6:00am, to commute to a job that was almost 2 hours away one way that started at 8:00am. I would pick up my children on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00PM after attending school from 7pm to 10pm. I remember I realized that at that rate it would take me 5 years to receive my AA Degree, and I felt that it would take too long for me to be able to earn an income that would allow me to properly take care of my children, so I went to my professor and told him that I would be leaving school and the reason why. He looked me in the eyes and said ” Rolanda, 5 years are coming whether you like them or not, the question is where will you be 5 years from now? Will you be walking across the stage with your degree or will you be saying, if I would have stayed the course I would be walking across the stage with my degree?”
Those words forever were etched in my heart and although I didnt take his sound advise, 23 years have come and gone so he was correct, 5 years came and went, almost 5 times over and had I stayed the course I would have had my degree. This lifelong lesson has allowed me to share it with my children, and all of them as a result, whenever they want to throw in the towel due to time, they remember what I shared from my college professor and they continue to finish their course. One of the best lessons, I’ve ever learned and it has helped me over the past 2 decades to never allow time to be the reason I don’t endure until the end.
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 background and context?
I was born in Detroit, Michigan, raised in Los Angeles, California, and moved to McKinney Texas in 2005. I am married to James Macharia, a native of Nairobi Kenya. we have 5 adult children, 1 teenager, and 20 grandchildren. I have worked at Bank of America, in management for 22 years, I have been on the Board for North Central Texas Workforce Solutions since 2013, where I currently serve as the Board Secretary. I am the Founder and Executive Director of L.I.F.T. R&R, a 501c3 Non-profit Organization that provides resources and referrals to those in need in North Texas.
I Facilitated Getting Ahead classes in McKinney Texas for 3 years and served as a Sunday school Youth Teacher. I am a published author of the book “He Heard My Cry”; A Story of Rescue, Redemption, and Revelation. I contribute any success that I have experienced, to a saving grace and a loving Heavenly Father. One of my greatest achievements is the bond my children have fostered with one another.
In 2014, my second husband of 19 years lost his life when our home in McKinney caught on fire. The level of grief that my family experienced with such a sudden tragedy, pushed me to the brink of depression. I had two weeks of bereavement, and needed to bring my family from Arizona and California for my husband’s memorial, and plan a funeral. Our youngest daughter struggled with losing her father and I went on a search to find help for us both, as my daughter didn’t want traditional counseling. In my search, I stumbled across griefshare.org. I had never heard of it before and little did I know there were 10 of them in my zip code. Also for my daughter, I found Christianworks which provided a free 3-day grief camp for children ages 5 to 18 each summer! Both of these programs were not easy to find, yet both were transformational and it helped my daughter and me overcome what could have been a very long battle with intense grief. It was during this time that my heart went towards creating a 501c3 nonprofit that would connect families with resources in the area regardless of what that need was. LIFT R&R came to be. It stood for Laboring In the Field Together Resources and Referrals. We launched several programs, including becoming a facilitator for griefshare. Our purpose was to connect the community with what it needed at no cost or low cost. Secondly it was to help the nonprofits with more visibility at no cost to them. Since the launch 4 years ago, we have consistently provided the following programs and services to help others.
Another Man’s Treasure-that amazing show of compassion and generosity to families that have experienced the perils of poverty! During the year, LIFT R&R collects new and gently used furniture, household decor, and clothing to prepare for a wonderful time of giving on Make A difference day in McKinney. We invite families in poverty to a time of connection, education, and shopping at no cost to them. Over a dozen nonprofit organizations come and share their services. Eligible families are signed up for Toys for Tots to receive a visit from Santa which otherwise their children may not have experienced. All families receive free furniture, free clothing, gift cards, and more at no cost.
A Senior’s Holiday- Each year at Christmas we have provided Northpark Nursing Home residents with their Christmas Baskets filled with essential care items and some all-around Christmas goodies and gifts! We put on a Christmas skit to bring joy and smiles to their faces! Most of the Seniors are being covered by medicare which only allows them to have $60.00 per month of their income to purchase items for themselves. We take a big burden off by supplying these essential packages during the Spring and During Christmas.
Toys for Tots! There are so many children in Collin County that are underprivileged and do not experience the exciting time of Christmas. As a Collin County distributor for the past 3 years, we provide Christmas toys for our little ones annually.
LIFT R&R microgrant awards- We honor and appreciate the nonprofits that are working hard to help our communities and each year we award 2 nonprofits with a $500.00 microgrant each that they can use to help further their cause.
Our board is made up of all volunteers, who earnestly put their heart into helping others all at no cost. This is one of the amazing things about our organization. We live by the words of Jana Stanfield ” I may not be able to do all the good, the world needs but the world needs all the good that I can do”.
As the founder, public speaker, and author, I share with people all around Texas the perils of poverty and the resources they can use to overcome it. I share my heart because I was there myself and I know that with the resources, mentorship, and willingness, things can change for the better.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
My father was a very prideful man from the south, Macon Georgia and he taught us to never ask anyone for anything. If we needed it, we would need to earn it ourselves, don’t borrow, and don’t owe. Looking back, I never wanted to ask anyone for anything, if I needed a pinch of salt I wouldn’t ask a good friend even if they lived next door, instead, I would have to buy it myself, and if I didn’t have the money I would do without. When I started running the nonprofit, a huge part of that was fundraising and seeking donors and sponsorships. That was difficult as this was an entirely new experience for me, having to seek diversified funding to be able to have a sustainable nonprofit and do the work your mission compels you to do, I knew this would be a challenge so I enrolled in Collin College for a nonprofit management certification course and learned that the ask is part of running the nonprofit business and allowing donors and sponsors to be part of contributing to something they could see was making a difference with people in their own communities, their employees, their friends, etc, was huge. We now have recurring donors and individual contributors who all want to see a smile on the face of those who they can make a difference with.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
For me, it was allowing people to know who you are, people will do business with someone they trust. I attended Chamber of Commerce Events, got involved in Leadership programs at the city level, shared our nonprofit on many platforms, and never missed the opportunity to share about other nonprofits as well. One big thing we wanted to be known for was an organization that cared about others. People, Businesses, Community Residents, those in need, and those not, and other nonprofits. Over time, our name became known to others for those reasons. Today, we have added a diversion fund to help those in need of motel charges and transportation costs such as gas cards, we have purchased refrigerators and paid utility bills for families in need. This has been made possible by those who saw our community commitment and reached out to ask if they could help us continue that work by contributing financially. It has been a wonderful thing to see so many people want to help those less fortunate than themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://liftrandr.org/
- Instagram: liftrandr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liftrandr
- Linkedin: L.I.F.T. R&R