We were lucky to catch up with Cheryl Williams recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Cheryl, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I found my purpose through being a special education teacher. I was teaching elementary students who have moderate to severe disabilities for 14 years and it was during that time, I felt compelled to find a way that my students could have more access to enrichment and inclusive opportunities. Thus began the journey of the Shine Project Foundation.
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?
My name is Cheryl Williams and I have been teaching Elementary and Middle School students with moderate to severe disabilities on the Marine Corp Camp Pendleton Base for the Oceanside Unified School District for 23 years. It was in the year 2014 that my husband, Rob and I decided to take a leave of absence from our teaching careers, pull our children out of school to home school, and go on the biggest adventure ever in our lives, a road trip to Costa Rica from San Diego. We left the summer of 2014 and journeyed through Baja, Mainland Mexico, through Central America, and finally to Costa Rica to live for 10 months. During that time, it was my mission to find the local special needs families and figure out how host our very first Shine Beach Fun Day. After getting to know our community, we were able to pull the resources together to bring families with children with special needs to Playa Avellanas for a day of surfing, healing, relaxation, fun, and connection along with many local community volunteers. It was during that beautiful inaugural event that I knew how much of a difference we were making in the lives of not only our special needs families but in the lives of our volunteers and community. And when we returned to Carlsbad, California, I felt the need to create those opportunities for others to shine.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three skills that I feel are most impactful for my journey thus far are 1. creativity 2. determination and 3. gratitude. I chose creativity because the details matter when it comes to our events, brand, and content we put out. Whether you are volunteering or participating at our events, or learning about us on Instagram or our website, I want you to get a feeling of hope and joy through the music, images, connection, stories, and experiences. 2. I feel that determination is key because in my mind, what I want to happen is already going to happen. It is a matter of all things aligning for it to come into fruition. Things may not always turn out as expected but it will alway happen for the best. And last 3., gratitude, this always gives me a sense of peace knowing that I had the opportunity to try my best, help others, and. make a difference in the world.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes, the Shine Project Foundation is always looking for people, businesses, and or organizations to partner with for our free Shine events. Anything that is enriching that can be inclusive and supportive to our special needs families especially in our local communities, we want to make that available to them such as art, music, martial arts, sports, theater, ceramics, restaurants, hair salons, gyms, stores, and so forth. But also, we ultimately want to create a Shine Certified Inclusive Community Partnership Program in which we partner with our local establishments and communities to be able to spread awareness, educate, and train these businesses on what the best Inclusive practices of accommodations would be for supporting special needs families so they to can access their communities and feel supported and welcome. So if you are interested in partnering, contact us via Instagram or our website.
Contact Info:
- Website: theshineprojectfoundation.org
- Instagram: @theshineprojectfoundation
- Facebook: The Shine Project Foundation
- Youtube: The Shine Project Foundation
Image Credits
Tara Middleton
