We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shalanda Waiters. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shalanda below.
Alright, Shalanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Well I received a email from South Carolina state charity division notifying me that I needed to make my Facebook page a charity because we were interviewed by Florence morning news and it was written that we plan to give scholarships for qualified Students in the area. So I was told I had 2 weeks to make it a state charity. I informed the lady I that I just wanted to give back to the community and I didn’t know you had to have a charity to do so. She informed me that you did and that she would help me do that. She did and I had a state charity in 2 weeks.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The Asiya Jordan Foundation is a 5013c nonprofit. That was inspired by Asiya Jordan a 16 year old graduate from Wilson High school. Asiya was the reigning Miss Pee Dee Teen 2018 and Miss Elk of SC 2018 and Miss Sophomore at Wilson High School. She attended both Florence Darlington Tech and Francis Marion University as a early college student. While driving to FDTC one morning she was in a car accident that took her life instantly. Asiya one of the First stuendnts to present Peach jar for FSD1 and volunteered over 100 hours of community service for help4 kids Children’s Miracle Network and Relay for Life The American Cancer Society. Asiya also owned and operated her own tutoring program which her students ranged 6-50 years old. After he untimely death her we were giving a proclamation that October 2 will be Asiya Jordan Day. We celebrate that day by giving back to the community.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
The first year I wasn’t sure what to do being that we were heartbroken about Asiya passing so we had a prayer breakfast in her memory. Her class mates and friends wanted to keep her memory alive so the class of 2022 threw her a ballon release and so many ppl reached out to me wanted to not only know about her but to continue all the charity work she started this made me want to help them even though I was still grieving her loss. Year 2 of became something to keep me going and helping me cope with the loss. I saw how she important it was to the community to keep her memory alive and how her friends keep going it was amazing to see how much she truly impacted her community.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I used to think after death that you couldn’t go on but this has revealed my true passion and that’s helping others. I tell everyone my name has been Shalanda Waiters for a long time it was the first time I got this message that God wanted me to serve his ppl. So I will continue to do what waiters to and serve.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theasiyajordanfoundation.org
- Facebook: The Asiya Jordan Foundation
- Other: Donate at our Bank: South State Bank C/ O Asiya Jordan Foundation 130 Pamplico Hwy Florence SC 29505
Image Credits
Walter Pierce Photography