September Volunteer of the Month!
Meet our September Volunteer of the Month, Crystal Clark-Chatman. She is the Visionary of 17X award-winning nonprofit organization Beautiful Spirited Women (BSW) Girls Mentoring Program founded in Memphis, TN in November of 2010. She oversees 14 serving chapters and extraordinary leaders globally that provide girls and young women with a progressive series of high-quality activities and learning experiences that help them achieve greatness in their social, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being life. She is also the business owner of Coach CC's Tribe, where she coaches women and girls in the nonprofit sector to fulfill the mission statement they have assigned to their organization.
After graduating from Fairley High School in 2001, Crystal attended Lane College (Jackson, TN), University of Phoenix (Cordova, TN), and ICU Academy (Atlanta, GA) by earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, Masters of Business in Business Administration and a CLC Certified Life Coach in Children Life Coaching.
Crystal has been named L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth Honoree, Memphis Business Journal "Super Women in Business" and Top 40 & Under 40 Urban Elite Professional for her commitment to her community. Her recent activities include working actively with programs such as the Memphis Grizzles Foundation, Volunteer Memphis, Volunteer Tennessee, Royal Neighbors of America, Peace First, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. of 18 years.
Crystal enjoys family gatherings, bowling, reading, traveling with her husband Troy, daughters Tranae, Asia, son Tristan, family, and close friends.
When interviewing Crystal, we asked her these questions about her volunteer experience at Meritan:
Why did you love to volunteer? "I only did it because it is in my heart to do so. My mother truly taught me the art of giving back. " Growing up as a little girl in a single-parent home, my mother did not have the finest of things like a lovely home, fancy car, or all the money to do what she wanted to do. My mother found a unique way to be grateful for what she had right, which was right in front of her. She did the best she could with what was in front of her, and her smile made the whole room glow when she walked in. One of those things she did that stood out to me, she served others even when she did not have it. I saw my mother feed the need of our community even when we barely had food. I saw my mother volunteering in the community, giving back clothing, taking others in even when we were not staying in a fancy home. I always had to participate when she volunteered with different community organizations because she loved what she did. I saw her smiles, her compassion for others, and how her energy was much brighter when she gave. So, being a part of her journey and seeing the smiles she put on other's faces without them knowing her background gave me the heart to volunteer even when I feel like I do not have enough to share.
How did you hear about our volunteer opportunities? I was a recent Change Maker honoree for Leadership Memphis, and I receive an e-mail to set up an account to find volunteer services to continue volunteer work. Of course, I did, and I searched for virtual assignments and noticed your company was providing a space where we can write to seniors. I was super excited to see this.
What made you want to volunteer for this specific opportunity and write letters to our senior community? Being the baby 10, I never got a chance to meet my parental grandmothers and one of my grandfathers. My other grandfather passed at a very young age, which left me with none growing up except my best friend Chanel's grandmother taking me in as her own. I do not want to imagine how some of our seniors feel without having any loved ones or grandchildren who come to see them or write to them. I do not ever want them to feel that way, so I will forever cherish those moments and take out time to write them monthly. As sweet as our grandparents probably were back in the day, they took care of our parents the best way they know-how, so we as grandchildren should do the same for them. I feel as if one of them is my grandmother or grandfather at Mertian. Meeting my husband's grandmother truly gave me the strength I needed to make sure I do my part in the senior community.