We were lucky to catch up with Sydnee Floyd recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sydnee, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My purpose is an everyday evolving thing that changes daily. I am someone who has known her main purpose of helping others through service since the age of four. However, that does not mean I have not doubted myself, wanted to quit, and did not understand the true meaning of purpose, and all the hardships that come along with following your dreams and purpose.
I started my nonprofit at the age of 13. I am now 19, in college, a non-profit director, and a co-founder of two other organizations beyond Jumbled Dreams. My purpose now has not only changed to helping others through service but to go into the medical field as a surgeon to help people in their most trying moments.
With all that being said, I found my purpose through my mom. She took me to all the service events that she had through her work at a liberal arts college. I watched as she taught thousands of athletes and other adults that helping others is cool and that what you get out of it is so much more than what you often put into it. I fell in love with the idea of always helping others whether it was family, friends, or now the homeless and mental health community.
Once I found my purpose of helping others I continued that journey of finding my purpose and all the passions that come along with that. I am forever thankful for my mom who taught me those skills and the heart of service. There is a purpose inside of it, you just have to find it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
From the age of 4, Sydnee’s passion for helping others has only grown. From helping her mom take care packages to young children for Christmas to donating her clothes for her friends. Sydnee’s passion was sparked at a young age. Now at 18 years-old, she has only continued her passion of helping others and making a difference in her community. From being featured by Country Superstar, Dierks Bentley, in his music video Woman Amen and seeing hands-on the need in her community, Sydnee started Jumbled Dreams-Changing Lives at 13 years-old to inspire others to make a change in their community by finding their passions through various volunteer opportunities. Since beginning Jumbled Dreams in 2018, Sydnee has raised over 107,300 pounds of food, 79,000 toiletries, over 122,000 articles of clothing, 10,000 school supplies, and 20,000 dollars to help her community. She has also partnered with over 30 organizations across the world to spread the mission of Jumbled Dreams. In the past couple of years alone, Sydnee has had the opportunity to start an Anti-bullying and Suicide Awareness Podcast called Positive Dreams Project, in partnership with Positive Change Project, in order to spread awareness about key issues like bullying, suicide, and mental health. She has also a second podcast called Let’s Talk Dreams with the goal of sharing different nonprofit/individual inspiring stories throughout the world. Through all of this, Sydnee is blessed every single day to be apart of a change much larger than her.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities that are SO important in the line of nonprofit work are empathy, communication, and strength. In today’s world, a lot of times we see the “social media” lives of the “perfect world,” I think it is so important to realize that social media is not real life and it is just a highlight reel of the good often. Empathy is so important. You NEVER know the battle someone else is facing when you meet them, contact them or work with them! In the business and adult world, I understand you are supposed to be professional but to me, my empathy is my strength. Seeing someone on their level, their timeline, and their heart is something that can not be used for granted. People often are looking for someone just to listen and hear them when they are talking! Along with that comes communication, open and honest communication will take you so much further than the abrupt, non-communication style. We all have lives and priorities and some things may not happen on the timeline you envisioned, but having that communication with a coworker, friend, partner, or family member is so important and people are more likely to be understanding in that sense. The last thing is strength, this world is not easy to live in at all. We all have hardships, unplanned events, and things that are out of our control completely. The strength you build not only in yourself but in your community surrounding you will help you get through those trying times.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest area of growth over the last twelve months is setting boundaries. My whole life I have been the girl who never says no and ALWAYS is there to help and be a dependable person. However, I got really burnt out and no longer had the energy for friendships, work, school, or even for family anymore. I have worked really hard to learn it is okay to say no to things because you already have a lot on your plate. You have to protect your mental health and if that means setting those boundaries then it is 100% worth it!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jumbleddreams.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jumbleddreams/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jumbleddreams/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jumbled_dreams/status/1284295915436638209
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrUpb1i8Daoeg-sOIJ98ZVQ
