We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful SHERYL CHERRY. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with SHERYL below.
SHERYL, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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?
On July 2018, Girl Power Strong was just an idea. I wanted a blog to write my thoughts, ideas, and observations on how to raise a girl. I wanted to be a great mom and have a great relationship with my daughter. I was curious about what challenges these young girls are going through. As I talked to my daughter and other girls, I noticed that one of the most significant issues was a lack of self-esteem, which makes a girl vulnerable, timid, and aloof. I saw a lot of bullying in schools; in most cases, these girls don’t communicate that with their parents. I know it happens a lot, but I was surprised it happens more often to girls. I then created a website from a blog to showcase what we do and how we can empower young girls.
In 2021, I decided to make the Girl Power Strong platform a non-profit organization to provide better outreach to young girls, particularly in underserved communities. In 2022, Girl Power Strong, Inc. became a 501 C (3) non-profit organization.
With the Girl Power Strong platform, we can help young girls and women, no matter their situation, by surrounding them with positive women and other girls who may be going through similar situations. Our non-profit organization provides activities that help them to identify and set their goals. We conduct valuable learning opportunities, such as goal-setting and vision board workshops, yoga, golfing, etiquette, and financial literacy classes.
Starting a non-profit is not an easy task. I hired a coach to help me navigate the process and to develop steps to form the organization. The coach helped me navigate the tedious process of starting a non-profit to ensure we operated properly and legally. The first assignment was finding board members who are passionate as I am. That was genuinely challenging! As I started my conversation with women I knew, I wanted to know what makes them dynamic. I realize that not everyone will devote the same time I save to this non-profit. I would stay up late at night writing the courses and planning for events. I was spending my own money because we had not raised any funds, and I had not identified how to ask for donations from donors. I was getting frustrated because I felt like I was doing all the work. I realized I had not communicated my goals with the board members. I was used to running this non-profit as if I was alone, not realizing that the board members were there to assist and help make decisions. Things got better when I finally met and communicated with the board members. We did our very first event, which was our community yoga. That first event was a success. I was so happy that we received over $200 in donations. That small victory was a success for me, and I was thankful for the board members and volunteers who came out to support me.
The hardest thing with a non-profit is finding people with the same passion and belief in our mission. This non-profit organization requires a lot of time, effort, and money because, in the beginning, there are no donors or grants. So, everything I spent came out of my funds. We are almost six months into being a 501 (C) 3 organization and are moving in the right direction! There are lessons learned, growing pains, and accepting the reality that most people won’t have the same passion as I do. That is when I found my most considerable help — my husband, family, and friends, who are believers and supporters of this life-changing non-profit organization.
The process of running a non-profit organization is similar to running a for-profit business, except we don’t profit from it. It takes a lot of hard work, teamwork, communication, and passion to have a successful non–profit organization. Our goal is to raise awareness so we can do outreach to the girls who need mentorship and be surrounded by other girls who can encourage each other and have conversations that are happening in their schools. Our mission is to develop and empower young girls to become strong, self-confident, and brilliant world leaders of tomorrow by surrounding them with role models who have overcome challenges and obstacles and are making a positive difference today!
One of the critical things I have learned so far is to find a great group of women and men who are a good fit for our organization. Time, passion, and giving hearts are what I look for in my board members. I believe I found those qualities in some of my board members. Although we are always seeking volunteers willing to lend their time and energy to help mentor and empower our young girls.
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
I was born in the Philippines. We moved to Japan when I was 13 years old. Then, we moved to the state of Washington, where I spent the last two years of high school. I was not too fond of high school, particularly as a new girl with no friends. I skipped school a lot, and as a result, my grades suffered. As much as I wanted to go to college as all my friends did, I knew I was not mature enough. Additionally, my grades were not college material, and we couldn’t afford them financially.
On March 1992, I joined the US Army. Joining the US Army was one of my best decisions because it helped shape who I am today. When I was a teenager, I didn’t have any structure. The Army taught me to be disciplined and resilient and provided me with a roadmap. I spent the next ten years serving in the military. In September 2002, I decided to finish my tour. The Army gave me a second chance in life. I got a bachelor’s and completed my master’s degree. I accomplished them while I worked and went to school at night. The skill set, discipline, and education I received from the Army are assets that helped set me apart from my peers when I transitioned into civilian life. It gave me so many opportunities, and it taught me leadership.
I started Girl Power Strong because I saw a need for young girls to be surrounded by positive mentors. I wanted a platform where they could be themselves, have an open conversation with each other, and talk about the challenges they are going through in life, at home, with their friends, or at school. I want to reach out to the young girls who are going through or may have had a similar experience as I did. I want to show them that they can be somebody and be successful if they believe in themselves. I want to provide that mentorship and guidance to these girls, teach them confidence, help them with their self-esteem and empower them. Through education, workshop, and activities, we will achieve that through our Girl Power Strong platform.
I didn’t have a positive upbringing because I was not around many women mentors. My mom worked several jobs to care for us, and I didn’t know how to talk to her about what I was going through because I knew she had immense responsibility. She had to find a way to raise and care for us. My mom worked hard to provide for my siblings and me, and there was nothing she wouldn’t do to protect us. My father left us when I was seven years old. My mother moved away to another town to find better opportunities so she could better provide for us. When I was nine years old, we stayed with my grandparents, and there, I was left to care for myself and my three siblings.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I was younger, I was bullied and teased because I was dark-skinned. Being a dark-skinned girl and living in the Philippines for the first 13 years of my youth was the most challenging part of growing up. Although I was smart, I was very self-conscious of my look and skin. In the summer of 1976, as a young girl at age five, I was bullied by boys in my neighborhood. This was before I even knew what bullying was. I felt so ashamed of my skin that I scrubbed the “darkness” off of my skin with a pumice stone and began scrubbing it until it turned red. I never told this story to anyone except my husband because I was ashamed I did that to myself, all because I lacked self-esteem.
My self-esteem and confidence were low, and it didn’t help that my father left us when I was seven. Two years later, my mother moved away to find a better job so she could care for us. We lived with our grandparents for four years. I didn’t have anyone to rely on or talk to about the thoughts and challenges I was experiencing. At age nine, and being the oldest, I felt very alone. I had to take care of myself and my three siblings. I had to grow up fast and learn to be resilient, self-reliant, and strong. Having experienced those moments in my life, I realize that being strong starts with having the right mindset. At age nine, I didn’t know what mindset, resilience, or self-reliance meant. I knew I was in survival mode and had nowhere to go but up. So, I studied while caring for my siblings. I would come home from school and never bring any homework home because I didn’t have anyone to help me with it. Many lonely nights, but I could never show my siblings I was sad. Being fatherless at age seven, I often wished my father would return home and protect me from those mean boys who used to call me ugly.
Despite my upbringing, I did well in school. I was valedictorian in elementary school and received many awards. However, my grades suffered during middle school, and I began skipping school. I tried to play sports, particularly softball, but the coach would never play me. I guess he didn’t think I was athletic enough to play.
One of the main reasons I started Girl Power Strong is to show young girls that we are strong, robust, and resilient. I want to show them that no matter what circumstances they come from or have experienced, there is hope, and they are not alone. And today, there is Girl Power Strong which will help mentor, support, and teach them how to be confident and stand up for themselves.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson that I had to unlearn is not being able to forgive. For three decades, I was angry with my biological father for leaving us. I needed him to protect and love my siblings and me, but that didn’t happen because he left us when I was seven years old. I resented him and couldn’t forgive him for a long time. Resenting my father affected me dramatically. I didn’t know how to connect with people. Growing up, I had very low self-esteem and didn’t know how to love. I didn’t know how to have emotions.
Fast forward to my adulthood, having a relationship was hard for me. I was always afraid to get close to anyone. I gave myself the nickname “runaway bride.” Not that I was getting married often, it was during the times when I was in a relationship, and the moment they got close, I would leave town or change my phone number so no one would find me. I was afraid to get close to or have any emotional attachment to a man.
When I finally forgave my father, I felt freedom. It was like a heavy load being lifted off of me. I could love again and was not afraid to get close or attached because I was no longer afraid of being abandoned. So, if I could share one thing that freed me from not loving myself and others, it would be forgiveness. We must forgive to move on with our life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.girlpowerstrong.org
- Instagram: iamgirlpowerstrong
- Facebook: Facebook.com/
iamgirlpowerstrong - Linkedin: sherylmerced
Image Credits
Photo credit: Zack Wilkinson (photographer)