We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aelicia “Chocolate” Watson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aelicia “Chocolate” below.
Hi Aelicia “Chocolate” , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My work ethic came from my grandparents on my father side of the family. My grandparents worked everyday until they were called home to be with Jesus. I saw them work from sun up to sun down rain, sleet or snow and they never made excuses about the unfair treatment that they would get from companies that never treated them fair. I also go back to growing up in absolute poverty. I’ve never seen my mother work a legal job in her life. I knew I did not want this for my life. I never understood not have food, water or shelter most times, but I understood that if I had money, these things could be taken care of. I wanted that for myself. Not to mention, I had a daughter at fourteen years old, I need to create a plan and employment was part of it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hello, my name is Aelicia Watson, affectionately known as Chocolate. I’m excited to be the founder & CEO of an amazing nonprofit organization called Redeemed Women. We are currently a community resource center, centrally located in the fair park neighborhood of the Sunny South Dallas. Our mission is to transform and change lives, one women at a time. We do that by fighting to break the cycle of generational poverty by providing FREE life skills class, workforce development, spiritual development, transportation assistance and more. Visit our website or social media to learn more!
www.redeemedwomen.org | @redeemedwomendallas | @watsonchocolate
Redeemed women is special because I grew up in poverty, so I can directly understand the needs many women face. There is no story that I don’t identify with. BUT, by the grace of God, I made it out and now I want to help other women do the same. I was a teen mom, raped by my father, abandoned by my mother who was a drug addict my entire life, homeless abused and such. I’ve had Cancer three other times, starting at age 10 and now I’m walking through another round. Stage four breast cancer with a spread to my left lung, which makes this now my forth time, and YES, I still believe God is not done with me yet.
Professionally, I’m focused on our new project of building affordable housing (apartments) right behind our current location. We are located right across the street from the state fair of Texas, making us accessible to the people in our community AND beyond that need our resources. We are currently in a big capital campaign of eight million dollars to see to the project take root. We’d like to break ground spring of 2025. So, I would really love for others to join our efforts by donating their time, talents and or treasure. Why, because change in the community does not happen alone and Redeemed Women is a legal nonprofit in good standing with the IRS.
In addition to the expansion happing at work, I’m also excited to be rolling out my second book by the end of the year if not before. My first book can be purchased on the Redeemed Women website, or on my Instagram via my link tree.
Finally, we just celebrated our seventh year in service and “Here We Grow Again” is our 2024 theme. Every year we host a dinner and concert fundraiser. This year our artist is Myron Butler, grammy award winning artist and we are excited. We are grateful for our partnership with Highland Park Presbyterian Church for their generosity of hosting us. Join us Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Tickets on sale now by searching Eventbrite!
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?
Read: people parish for lack of knowledge. Strong attention to detail: This will allow you to make pivots when you need to without delay.
Communication: We need to learn how to ask for what we need. Be okay with the yes and or no and set healthy boundaries because life is just too short.
The best advice I can give is to never be ashamed to ask for advice and when you do, apply it.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Necessary Endings, by Dr. Henry Cloud has been a great book for me in this season. A few good nuggets that spoke to my heart are as follows: Endings are necessary in your personal and professional life. Endings require courage and sometimes an explanation and lastly, endings will cause others to project their fears, nasty words and hurts onto you, but you have to be willing to do it anyway.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.redeemedwomen.org
- Instagram: @redeemedwomendallas
- Facebook: @redeemedwomendallas
- Youtube: Redeemed Women
- Other: @watsonchocolate
Image Credits
Storm | @hi.im.storm
