00:00I am Nicole Franklin. I am co-coach and co-creator of Cheer Image Icons. Girls will come up to me
00:15and say, you know, we want to cheer. So we're like, okay, great. You know, did you try out for
00:19your school? And they're like, no, they don't pick girls like us. So we had to just step back and,
00:26you know, like, what do you mean like us? You know, the ghetto girls, the hood girls,
00:31they don't pick us. So we decided that we were going to create something for all girls. We have
00:37boys as well, just so they can feel comfortable and know that cheerleading is for us as well. It's
00:44not just as we see a white dominated sport. It's not that like there's, it's so much more. My name
00:51is Trinket Lewis. I have a five-year-old son. Due to COVID, I started a homeschool in my basement
00:57and created a curriculum that by Georgia standards, by the end of the school year,
01:02he'll be in the second grade along with his two other classmates. So we start off with yoga. We
01:07have Spanish, English, language, reading, history, social-emotional learning. We have a chef that
01:14brings in lunch. Kids absorb whatever you give them. I have a teacher that comes in. It teaches art,
01:20but he's teaching more like African-centered art. You know, to hear my son talk about if he were in
01:27track, wouldn't he be as wealthy as Mansalusa? And I'm like, what five-year-old is talking like that?
01:33Parents is a selfless job. You don't get a lot of credit for the time and patience and dedication.
01:40I think you could just, you know, recognize the meaning, which is recognizing everyone who's doing
01:44this, who took the challenge to, like, turn their kitchen or their bedroom or their basement into a
01:50classroom. My name is Yolanda Carson, and I'm the founder of When Jade Smiles. We are a non-profit
01:58organization in Texas that provide grief support services to children who have lost a parent.
02:05I founded the organization in 2014 after my daughter, Jade, who was killed by a drunk driver
02:11in 2013. She was only 23 years old. She left behind a six-month-old son at the time, and my
02:17husband and myself were able to help him financially. God just put it in my heart to say, what about all
02:22the other parents, the single parents, the grandparents, the uncles, the aunts that are
02:27actually raising these children that have lost a mother or a father? We get involved when the
02:33counselors call us. You know, we work with a lot of social workers at schools and at hospitals as well.
02:39We get those children in, and we love on them, and, you know, we do different activities for them,
02:45whatever that child is needing, and we're actually able to provide scholarships as well. It's just a
02:50bond that we've created in the community. My name is Roslyn Sandifer. I'm a wife and mom of two,
02:58and I am the owner of Living in the Moment, better known as Lit Mom. Lit Mom is a
03:09lifestyle brand and community that is dedicated to uplifting, inspiring, and celebrating Black moms.
03:19With motherhood, right, there is no rule book. My experience as a first-time mom was completely
03:27different second go-around. When I became a mom of two under two, I created the concept of Lit Mom,
03:37and what I wanted to do was create a community and a safe space where moms could come, could fellowship,
03:46and could share their experiences, and just speak candidly about motherhood.
03:52My name is Radnisha Ross, and the name of my organization is Youth Community Agency. We mentor teenage moms,
04:01and we also do community outreach as well. I can't imagine being a teen mom trying to raise children.
04:08I just wanted to be able to make a difference and create a second chance. During the middle of COVID,
04:14we partnered together to be able to assist shelters. So that was a huge blessing for us because we were
04:21able to literally not just feed families, but we were able to put a family of five into one of our
04:28homes and kind of give them the kickstart that they needed. You never know who's watching you,
04:34who's watching what you're doing, and I always tell people anything that I do for my organization,
04:40for people, just people in the street. I never do it for any recognition, but to be recognized by
04:45Essence Magazine and Disney is just like, where do you go from here? So it's definitely a blessing.
04:53It's very exciting and I'm very appreciative. Thank you to the honorees in the parents and family
04:59category. And as a small token of appreciation for all that you do on behalf of Disney Parks,
05:06we'd like to honor you with a three-day, two-night trip to Disney World. We hope that you and your
05:12family have a wonderful time. I know I would.
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