We recently connected with Shanda Roberts and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shanda , thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission the drives your brand?

I am a survivor of domestic violence and my reason for my mission is that when I was going through my abuse I didn’t have who I am trying to be to others. Support, resources, and just simply encouragement and motivation. My abuse started at 15 and ended when I was 23. I was abused as a teen and an adult. I attempted suicide and I was also molested at the age of 4 by a family friend. There were several people in my life who saw the changes in me and Noone asked “are you ok”? I want victims and survivors to know that they are not alone and we are here to support them in any way we can. I never want anyone to feel as alone as I did.

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 back background and context?

Our organization holds several events throughout the year. One is our Teen Summit. That event Is an event for teens and their parents. We discuss topics such as suicide, depression, bullying, self esteem and teen dating violence. We also have a parent talk portion where we have a clinician talk to the parents about the same topics so they know how to help their teens and themselves. We also have vendors from clinics who offer therapy to offer resources if needed. Our Survivor’s Ball is our fundraising event but it’s also the event where Survivor’s who have never shared their stories of survival until that night. This is geared to encourage them to continue to speak out so that we can help others.
#ExitPlan is a workshop where we talk about how to leave an abusive relationship safely.
We also have a Stuff-A-Purse Initiative where we collect new & slightly used purses, stuff them with hygiene products and take them to DV shelters.
Lastly, I go around to school, churches, events etc and share my story, facilitate workshops on Red Flags, Unhealthy Relationships etc.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Due to the nature of my nonprofit I am usually commenting on topics in groups that are of the same . We only have 4K followers but before we only had 100. I commented on a post where a woman was being abused. Shared my story and my mission and people started following.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

So on top of my nonprofit I own a business called Queen Crafty Designs where I make custom items. This was at 1st my side hustle until I got really busy but in a good way. Plus my job was not looking to promising so I decided to turn my hustle into my business. It wasn’t and isn’t easy. When I had my 1st $1k order I was elated and it motivated me to work harder. There are slow days so I use those days to create and promote content.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pain2purpose76.org
• Instagram: Pain2purpose76
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Pain2purpose76
• Linkedin: Pain2purpose76
• Twitter: Pain2purpose76
• Other: Facebook.com/QueenCraftyDesigns Instagram.com/QueenCraftyDesigns

Image Credits
Robi Joe Photography