- 20 hours ago
CTP (S3EMarSpecial9) What If Empowerment Beats Handouts Every Time
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We talk with Elaine Lankford (her husband: aka: LankChevy, LOL) about building She Steps Forward International and why small seed money grants paired with coaching can launch sustainable Christian women-led businesses. We dig into dignity, work ethic, and what real empowerment looks like in the US and across Africa.
• Elaine’s background in Virginia and a long nursing career
• What She Steps Forward International is and who it serves
• The four-part model: conference, group coaching, membership, grants
• Seed money grants at $500 and $1,000 and how eligibility works
• Why “teach them to fish” protects dignity and avoids dependency
• How small grants can trigger creativity and better decisions
• Charging reasonable fees to increase commitment and follow-through
• Lessons from nursing on self-reliance, education, and debt
• Firsthand concerns about socialized medicine and supply shortages abroad
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/JLDonBITCHUTE
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear
https://TerrorStrikes.info/charity
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We talk with Elaine Lankford (her husband: aka: LankChevy, LOL) about building She Steps Forward International and why small seed money grants paired with coaching can launch sustainable Christian women-led businesses. We dig into dignity, work ethic, and what real empowerment looks like in the US and across Africa.
• Elaine’s background in Virginia and a long nursing career
• What She Steps Forward International is and who it serves
• The four-part model: conference, group coaching, membership, grants
• Seed money grants at $500 and $1,000 and how eligibility works
• Why “teach them to fish” protects dignity and avoids dependency
• How small grants can trigger creativity and better decisions
• Charging reasonable fees to increase commitment and follow-through
• Lessons from nursing on self-reliance, education, and debt
• Firsthand concerns about socialized medicine and supply shortages abroad
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/JLDonBITCHUTE
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear
https://TerrorStrikes.info/charity
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, welcome to another episode of Perstitutionalist Podcast.
00:05I am your host, Joseph M. Leonard.
00:09That's L-E-N-A-R-D.
00:12It looks French. It's not. It's Leonard without an O.
00:17Thank you for tuning in, as Graham Norton used to say, on his show.
00:23Let's get on with the show!
00:25A special segment for February and March, mid-week drops.
00:35Normally Saturday monologues and normally a guest appearance on a Wednesday.
00:41February and March, two a week, Tuesday and Thursdays,
00:46in order to get caught up on some interviews that have been stacking up.
00:51Enjoy.
00:54Here we go again.
00:57I hit record and the mouth stops working.
01:02Back that up a try again.
01:04Joining me today is Elaine Lankford.
01:10And I first want to joke with her,
01:13Okay, E, not quite in the fat lane.
01:18Are you indeed tall and lanky and drive a Ford vehicle?
01:23Absolutely not.
01:24I am short and we prefer Chevys in this house.
01:31Yeah, my dad used to work for GM.
01:34My grandfather on my mother's side, though, was a Ford guy.
01:39In fact, he, you know, my grandfather, Keillor, worked at the Ford Rouge bomber plant during the war.
01:48So, we've had that Chevy-Ford argument divide.
01:53Well, believe it or not, quick note, my husband actually changed his email to linkchevy.
01:59At.
02:02I've been a Chevy fan all his life.
02:04So, anyway.
02:08So, officially, welcome to the show, Elaine.
02:13Thank you for having me.
02:14All right.
02:15And before we get into the why, who, what, where, when, why, and of why you're here,
02:21let's get into the who part.
02:24Where were you born and raised?
02:26Where are you now?
02:28Where, you know, significant places you've been in between.
02:31Between how much time did you spend in prison and for what?
02:35You know, that kind of stuff.
02:37That's on a need-to-know informational basis.
02:40I'm just saying.
02:42No, I am actually born and raised in Virginia.
02:45I've been here my whole life.
02:46I am here in the Hampton Roads area.
02:49We call it the 757.
02:51We're the proud place of our U.S. Navy.
02:56And so, my husband and I were both born in the city of Suffolk.
03:00And, yeah, so I have a great husband.
03:04I've been married for over 34 years.
03:06I have one son who's 27.
03:08I have some bonus kids that I helped raise along the way.
03:13And my past adventures were in the nursing profession.
03:17So, that's a little bit about me.
03:20Okay.
03:21Yeah.
03:21Well, there's an obvious joke in there somewhere about suffering fools, Suffolk fools.
03:27No offense, Suffolk.
03:30It's just a lame word association pun.
03:34It's just lame, stupid humor the way my OCD brain goes.
03:41At all.
03:43At any rate, you're here to discuss S-F-S-F.
03:50There goes the mouth again.
03:52Not cooperating with the brain.
03:56So, first, let's explain what is S-S-F-I.
04:03It's not a subdivision of former S-A-S-Nazi troopers, right?
04:09Yeah.
04:10Yeah.
04:10No.
04:12So, S-S-F-I stands for She Steps Forward International, and it is my non-profit arm.
04:20I also have She Steps Forward Coaching, which is my private coaching practice.
04:24But She Steps Forward International is our non-profit.
04:27And we are here to help Christian female entrepreneurs in that zero-to-year, three-year range of launching their
04:35businesses get off the ground, get strategic, and become sustainable.
04:39Yeah, another obvious joke, right?
04:42She Steps Forward.
04:43Be careful where you're stepping.
04:45We don't want you to step in it.
04:48Put on phone.
04:49That's it.
04:52Oh, okay.
04:54I'll try to resist the lame humor going forward.
04:58No promises.
05:02And, Bill, what most intrigued me about your profile and the program was money, grant money program supporting rising Christian
05:17female entrepreneurs in the U.S. and Africa.
05:21So, let's explain a little bit about that.
05:24Absolutely.
05:25So, we actually have a four-pronged approach.
05:28The Seed Money Grant program is one piece of our non-profit approach.
05:33We do host an annual conference.
05:35This is where we find a lot of our ladies.
05:37We have group coaching program that they can enter, and then we have an online membership.
05:42And anyone who's in our world and has been a part of our services, which are mostly mentoring and coaching
05:49services in the entrepreneurial lane, can become eligible for a Seed Money Grant.
05:54And the Seed Money Grants are either $500 for a very new startup who's just getting started and might need,
06:01you know, to pay for their LLC or pay for some registration or pay for some small supplies.
06:07Or we have a $1,000 Seed Money Grant program, and we are using that for outstanding entrepreneurs that are
06:17just rising.
06:18They may be in their second or third year, and they're really starting to have some wins and make some
06:22community impact.
06:23And we want to help them scale up a little bit.
06:25Exactly.
06:27And this being a Christian show, a big recognition of the need to provide hands up, not hands out.
06:39And do not want to create dependency, but create potential for indeed creativity and opportunity.
06:49And as you said, entrepreneurship, like Bono of U2, who is still of the left, but finally woke up under
07:04the G.W. Bush administration when he got him involved in efforts in Africa.
07:10And the distinction of we want to teach people to fish so they can feed themselves, not become dependent on
07:22us constantly needing to give them a fish.
07:25Just teaching someone and help them understand how to make an arts and crafts business with what little you have
07:34there can create growing economies, which lifts up whole communities.
07:42Yes?
07:43Yes.
07:44And I was going to say that is the exact phrase that we use, especially when we're out of country
07:49and in Africa.
07:50And they so appreciate that terminology that we're coming to teach you the fish and not give you the fish.
07:56And it is so dignifying for them to feel empowered that they do have something to share that's worthy and
08:03that they can do it with the right instruction.
08:06And so we've absolutely, that is absolutely resounded, not only here, but definitely over there.
08:12Yeah.
08:12And that is biblical community versus worldly communism.
08:18And indeed, giving them self, the word I'm looking, lack of self-esteem, giving them tools to feel good about
08:34themselves and to be able, the Bible doesn't say God helps those who help themselves, but it is implied in
08:44the context between the scriptures.
08:47You have to want to, Jesus said, the poor will always be among us.
08:53That wasn't a governance statement.
08:55It wasn't an economic statement.
08:58It was a human nature statement.
09:01And we are to be our brother's keeper.
09:05But the distinction between those who are unable to help themselves, we owe an obligation to try to help them,
09:16put them in a position where they can help themselves, as opposed to the unwilling who just aren't willing to
09:25help themselves.
09:26And we have no Christian obligation to those.
09:30Well, you know, the Bible says that the worker is worth its wages.
09:34So we need to work in order to earn our wages.
09:38And one of the things that really struck me when I was traveling to Africa, one of our outreaches that
09:44we are a part of, because we also look to support an orphanage that's there.
09:51We support something called the Moses Basket Initiative, which is a female, teenage female outreach program.
09:58And we also go to the Uma Jo Disability Center.
10:01And when I first met Wilson and Mary, I fell in love with Wilson because Wilson, who is the husband,
10:07has a little bit of a physical disability.
10:09And he said, Elaine, I'm not disabled.
10:11I'm able differently.
10:12And if we all saw ourselves that way, we're just abled differently.
10:17And how can we put those abilities to work?
10:20It's just it just makes the world better.
10:23Yeah, I did a video exclusive show because Jasmine Crockett announced a Senate run.
10:32And she said of Governor Abbott of Texas called him Governor Hot Wheels.
10:37Well, personally, with a sense of humor, I thought it was hilarious.
10:41Right.
10:42He's not handicapped.
10:44He's handicapable.
10:46He may not run a marathon anytime soon.
10:50So what?
10:51He is very capable of doing other things.
10:55And also the Bible set versus a, oh, woe is me, victimhood mentality because I can't do one thing.
11:04Just let me roll into the corner, curl up and whine and die.
11:09No, can't have that attitude.
11:11The Bible also says those who do not work shall not eat.
11:16Now, again, you can't take that out of context either.
11:21Those who are unable, we are still to take care of.
11:26So it's contextual lacking.
11:29That's why I started this show, the whole Bible in full context.
11:35Not one scripture versus another, the whole, full context.
11:41And I made the very bad, probably shouldn't have gone there, right?
11:45The S-S-F-I, the Nazi S-S joke I shouldn't have made.
11:52But this relates now.
11:54The Nazis putting work sets you free above the concentration camps.
12:03That is a biblical statement.
12:05They warped.
12:06They weren't talking work for your own and everyone's benefit's sake.
12:11They were enslaving people.
12:15That isn't work that sets you free.
12:18That's slavery.
12:20There's a big distinction in everything.
12:23And exactly the distinction you're making, wanting to help others to be able to help themselves.
12:31Absolutely.
12:32And I think from my perspective of the ladies that we're working with, they are passionate.
12:38They know that they have a purpose.
12:41Isn't it good to know that you have a purpose?
12:43I mean, God put us here for a reason.
12:45We need to find that and live that out.
12:48And when we take that first step, which is why we call it She Steps Forward.
12:53When we take that first step, God always will open the doors for us.
12:57He's waiting for us to take that first step.
13:00When you were talking earlier, I was thinking about Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda and how
13:06he asked the lame man there, do you want to get well?
13:10Right, right, right.
13:11When he asked him, do you want to get well?
13:14And what he was really saying was, do you want this?
13:18You've been here for 34 years.
13:20Do you want this?
13:22And so one of the things that when I first started my nonprofit, people were like, wow,
13:28are you going to do all these services free?
13:29And I said, no, absolutely not.
13:31And it wasn't because I don't want to give back.
13:34We give back in different ways.
13:36For instance, we do do tangible things for women led nonprofits or other organizations
13:42out of our proceeds.
13:44But the point of that was to, again, help that woman invest in herself and raise her level
13:50of dignity.
13:51And what we found is that by raising and having a small price on things, and our nonprofit is
13:56very reasonable, it's nothing crazy.
13:59We have found that level of woman who's motivated and ready to do for herself.
14:04She just wants the guidance, and then she's ready to go.
14:08Yeah, I forget what it was, a video exclusive.
14:12I was talking also.
14:14I don't remember who said it.
14:17I think it was Lincoln, but whomever, whatever, who said it is an important, that the importance
14:25is the quote, you can't lift up by tearing others down.
14:29And it's not a dirty word, capitalist, read, blah, blah, blah, for you to help yourself while
14:40helping others.
14:41You can't help others if you allow your own self to be destroyed in the process.
14:48You're then destitute and in need of help, right?
14:53It's one hand washing the other, so to speak.
14:57I mean, you think about the airplane.
14:59What did they tell you?
14:59They tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before you can help anybody else.
15:05And being a former nurse, I'll lean back into that.
15:08Like, people need that ability to be whole and healthy.
15:13How else are you going to be able to give from a cup of overflow?
15:18And so, no, I am all for empowerment and for encouragement, and I think there just needs
15:24to be more of that in the world.
15:26Because people are extremely creative when you let them be.
15:31One of the things we did with our African cohort that we just had, we had a small group
15:36of ladies that we have people on the ground in Africa, thank goodness, that helped me.
15:40But I go online with them and I train them when I'm not in country, and then I go back
15:44in country to see them.
15:45And we only gave them small seed money grants, very comparable to what we would give Americans.
15:51We're not cheating them because they're in Africa.
15:53But when they got their second-
15:55Well, money, U.S. dollars go a heck of a lot farther there, obviously.
15:59They don't need as much.
16:00Well, they go a little bit further for us, but for them, they're still struggling, but
16:04their economy.
16:05But my point is, when we gave them a small portion of the grant first, we helped them
16:11register in country.
16:12We made sure they got their paperwork straight.
16:14But the second round, they were hoping it was going to be bigger, and it wasn't.
16:18But what happened was, they had to step back and say, okay, how am I going to multiply this?
16:24And the creativity that came out of them when they were faced with that was a beautiful thing
16:31because they started putting on their own thinking cap, and they figured it out, and
16:36they started making steps that were making them go forward.
16:40And so it was so great to see that creativity and that ingenuity come out of them.
16:44But had I given them $2,000?
16:48They admittedly said later, oh, Ms. Elaine, if you'd have given us something like that,
16:52we may have squandered it.
16:53We may have squandered it.
16:55Thank you for holding the line with us and making us think for ourselves.
17:00And we're so excited, and we're so appreciative of what came out of this.
17:04And so, yeah, we have to give people a chance.
17:08Exactly.
17:10As well as a financial investment, you're using your brain and making them use their brain
17:17and creating an intellectual investment.
17:20It is why things like the projects in the past were a complete failure.
17:28If people don't have their own real skin in the game, then they don't respect it.
17:37They don't appreciate it.
17:38And it becomes a handout rather than a hand up.
17:42And they become dependent with the handout wanting more of it.
17:47And I'm so glad you used the oxygen mask thing.
17:51I thought I was potentially the only one to use that.
17:57I keep trying to spread that because it is, although I like to joke,
18:01I'm too clever for metaphors.
18:04As an author, I use meta-sixes.
18:07But I'm bummed, right?
18:08But, yeah, the oxygen mask thing is a perfect analogy.
18:13You have to put on your oxygen mask first.
18:18You have to make sure you're okay enough to then be able to help others.
18:24Because if you put a mask on someone else and you're then slopping around the floor
18:32because you've got no oxygen, you can't help others.
18:38Putting your mask on first assures you take care of yourself first.
18:44Then you're in a position to help more of others.
18:49It's a perfect analogy in so many situations in my mind.
18:55Do you got another brilliant one?
18:58Well, I just wanted to say, because, you know, within this conversation,
19:02and, again, I've been a nurse, had a longstanding nursing career of 16 years.
19:08And just to bring it to modern day, we know there's a discussion going on right now
19:12where the nursing profession is being reclassified.
19:15We are a profession.
19:17I will say that.
19:18I think the class, I understand why the reclassification is going.
19:22But what I hear is a cry for, oh, I won't be able to get loans to get through school.
19:29Ladies, I work my way from nurse's aid all the way in through nurse practitioner.
19:35No one paid for me.
19:36I worked it one year to the next until I had the money to put myself through the next level
19:40of education.
19:41And I am so excited that when I graduated, I was debt-free because I worked for it.
19:47Now, I get there are some people that may need some assistance,
19:51but I'm a little bit critical of the way that we have become dependent
19:56on someone giving us all of these loans to get through school.
20:00Now, I'm-
20:01Ever since it was net.
20:03Yeah, ever since it was net.
20:04We don't want to see our healthcare system go down, right?
20:06We want good people in the healthcare system.
20:09But, you know, there's a lot of people who've come to our country,
20:14including immigrants who got here legally, and they have worked their way up.
20:18And they are a beautiful example that the American dream is still well alive
20:21when we put our ingenuity to it.
20:24And both of these issues, the student loan and the healthcare system,
20:30both attempted to be nationalized under Barack Obama.
20:37Both.
20:38And the student loan situation, of course, got when you're just handing out free,
20:45well, it's not free money.
20:46You're supposed to be able to afford to pay it back.
20:50But when you're handing out easy money, right, like that, to get whatever degree
20:58that isn't going to ever be able to pay that amount back,
21:03then, of course, you're creating a problem.
21:06And the same with nationalizing, I hate to go there, the Wilson rule,
21:12eventually in every discussion, someone will go back to Hitler, right?
21:17But just as the Nazis nationalized healthcare in Germany in the 30s,
21:24because it wasn't about health or care, it was about power and control over people.
21:33So all of this makes perfect sense.
21:38So, yes, just handing out the money and say, whatever you want it for,
21:46we'll let you borrow it for school,
21:48just drove the inflation rate of tuitions through the roof.
21:55We need tuition reform.
21:57And I hate government federal dictates, and I hate taxation.
22:03But the left created this problem with the way they've done it,
22:09so let's use the left solution.
22:12I want endowments over $100 million to be taxed 10% a year.
22:20And the other thing they love to do, regulate, okay?
22:24We will mandate, roll back a tuition to 2020 rate, freeze it for 10 years,
22:31and then after that, it must be capped, any increase at the rate of inflation.
22:37Yeah, I don't like that solution,
22:40but it's the same type of solution that fixes the problem that was given to us.
22:47Well, I can say, I know there's this whole discussion going on in our country
22:52about socialism versus not.
22:54And I can say as someone who has been in other countries,
22:58even down to Nicaragua doing missions for nine years,
23:03we do not want socialized medicine.
23:07I've seen the backside of that.
23:09I've seen this shortage that it creates,
23:11and I know that the control that the government can have over that.
23:15And it's really, we really don't know how blessed we are to be in this country.
23:20And I challenge anyone who feels like that may be the solution,
23:26and you've not traveled to another country where that rules,
23:30that that is a life lesson that you need to go and experience.
23:34There is a reason why so many from Cuba, the UK, France, Spain, Germany,
23:41Canada, all want to come here for health care.
23:47Absolutely.
23:48When I traveled down to Nicaragua, I had the pleasure,
23:51because I had the nursing background, to go to one of their hospitals.
23:55And, you know, when I walk into an OR where there are bed sheets dividing out the rooms,
24:01when I walk into rooms where a little child has a G-tube sticking out of,
24:06a gastrointestinal tube sticking out of his chest to supplant a chest tube,
24:11when they tell me there's one ventilator in the whole hospital,
24:15who gets the ventilator in a crisis situation?
24:19And when I walk into a room and I see a mom holding her child's hand
24:23to make sure that the IV stays in because there's no tape,
24:26I promise you this is not a road that we want to go down.
24:31And we just don't understand how bad it can get if you turn down that path.
24:37Yep.
24:38Okay.
24:38To start to wrap things up, and by wrap, I don't mean boom, shakalaka,
24:45hello, let's do some bad rhymes.
24:47I've already done bad puns.
24:49Let's not do bad rhymes, especially with my bad singing.
24:52So no R-A-P-P-I-N-G-ing, wrapping in the other sense.
24:57Do you have a website for people to follow up with you?
25:02Absolutely.
25:03They can find me at shestepsforwardcoaching.com
25:07or shestepsforwardinternational.org.
25:12All right, shestepsforwardcoaching.com.
25:21Okie dokie.
25:23I will make sure that's put on a scroll for the behind-the-scenes video version.
25:29And to repeat that again, that's shestepsforwardcoaching.com
25:36for the benefit of the 25-plus audio-only platforms.
25:41And anyone who may be reading the transcript.
25:45Thank you, Elaine.
25:48We're really a Chevy family.
25:50Lankford.
25:51That's right.
25:52Thank you so much.
25:53It was a pleasure being here.
25:55Take care.
25:56God bless.
25:58God bless.
26:10If charity, we all can use a helping hand from time to time.
26:23When and where we can, we must let our kindness and giving shine.
26:34We choose to be others' keepers by choice, not by force.
26:48We honor our Christ Jesus and righteous commandments, Lord.
27:02We all get tired.
27:05We all fall down.
27:10Even the strongest hearts need a hand off the ground.
27:15If I've got a little and you're running dry, I'll share this cup of mercy, let it multiply.
27:28We choose to be others' keepers by choice, not by any sort.
27:42When and where we can, we'll meet them.
27:55If a brother or a sister can use a helping hand sometime, we will answer, we will show up.
28:16Let our kindness and our giving shine.
28:23It's not in the headlines, quiet, sacred things, groceries on a doorstep, a late night phone that rings.
28:37We're called to the corners where the hurting hide.
28:42To carry one another for the glory of Christ.
28:50Oh, we choose to be others' keepers.
28:57By choice, not by choice, not by any sort.
29:04When and where we can, we'll meet them.
29:11Let our kindness and our giving shine for you, Lord.
29:18Lord, if a brother or a sister can use a helping hand sometime, we will answer, we will show up.
29:38Let our kindness and our giving shine.
29:46Freely you gave, so freely we give, every small act says you still live.
29:53Hearts in your hands, feet on this road, honoring our Lord in the love we show.
30:00We choose to be others' keepers.
30:05We choose to be others' keepers.
30:07By choice, from a grateful heart.
30:12When and where we can
30:16We'll meet them
30:18Let our kindness and our giving shine for you
30:26Lord, if a brother or a sister
30:31Can use a helping hand sometime
30:39We will answer, we will show up
30:46Let our kindness and our giving shine
30:53Let our kindness and our giving shine
30:58We all need a helping hand
31:03Some days we just can't stand alone
31:07I've been weak, I understand
31:09How it feels to stumble on your own
31:14So when I see that tired face
31:17I remember grace that carried me
31:20We give, we share, we open our lives
31:25When and where we can, we let love rise
31:28We choose to be others' keepers
31:34By choice, side by force
31:37We let our kindness and our giving shine
31:41We honor our Lord
31:45Yeah, small seed in an open palm
31:51Turns into a forest over time
31:54Quiet word, a simple smile
31:57Can lift a heavy heart back into life
32:01Every need is holy ground
32:05I hear His voice, I hear His voice in every cry
32:10We give, we share, we open our lives
32:14When and where we can, we let love rise
32:17We choose to be others' keepers
32:23By choice, side by force
32:26We let our kindness
32:28As our giving shine
32:30We honor our Lord
32:32We honor our Lord
32:34Oh, I've been carried by a stranger's prayer
32:40I've been saved by someone being there
32:44So I'll be the answer I once looked for
32:47Hands and feet of the one I adore
32:51Hey, we give, we share, we open our lives
32:55When and where we can, we let love rise
33:03We choose to be others' keepers
33:09By choice, not by force
33:17We let our kindness
33:19And our giving shine
33:29We honor our Lord
33:37Like and subscribe to
33:40The Christitutionalist Politics Podcast
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33:45We need your help
33:47Thank you for having tuned into
33:50Another Christitutionalist Podcast Show
33:53I really appreciate that you stopped by
33:57Again, please like, share, subscribe
34:01We need you to help spread
34:04The Christitutionalist Movement
34:06Thank you again
34:08Take care
34:09God bless
34:10Love you all
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