Meet Monique Wells

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Monique Wells a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Monique, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

Growing up I was always a little bigger than the other kids. I was taller until around the 5th or 6th grade. I started gaining weight around the 2nd or 3rd grade. I was bullied because my hair hung past my waist. The other kids always asked me what I was mixed with, I would tell them nothing that I was black like them. Seeing Queen Latifah growing up and being a plus-size woman and full of confidence knowing who she was helped me. My mother always told me if you don’t think no one else will. I have always known I was a superstar and destined for fame. I was also a beautiful little girl and as I grew up I owned that. I have been a little self-conscious over the years because of my weight, but even at my heaviest, I knew I was the cutest big girl in the room!!! So I owned that.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am the founder of MOMs- Mothers Overcoming Marginal Systems. MOMs was given to me when I graduated from American Baptist College in 2017. I wrote everything down in my journal at the time and laid it to the side. It wouldn’t be until years later when Covid struck the Nation that I picked the journal up and said okay God it is time to birth this vision. I started by getting my business license, started a Facebook page, and worked on a website. I had no clue what I was doing or how to do it. I had a free cookout in the park around the corner from me in August. That was my way of giving back to the community. I cooked the food, I paid for any fees out of my pocket, and I did it all. That was quite exhausting. I now know how to ask for help and for the past two years Jack’s BBQ has sponsored the food and I have gotten donations from the community. I am still working on obtaining funding but the cookouts have grown. I now give out backpacks stuffed with school supplies, socks, and diapers all free to whoever comes. I have recently relocated to the Clarksville area and am working on developing connections so that MOMS can be effective in the community in which I live. MOMs is all about empowering single mothers in the areas of education, employment, and counseling services. We have hosted free community classes monthly to educate on important topics that will help the overall family. We have hosted a MOMsGiving where MOMs can come and participate in a Thanksgiving meal and have a sip & paint. We have done vision board parties and fun events so mothers can unwind and connect with other MOMs in the community such as themselves.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that have been most impactful in my life are being resilient, open to feedback, and meeting people where they are! No matter what life throws at you, you have to know how to adapt! Things happen that are outside of our control, but we have to keep going. It is imperative to be open to feedback or constructive criticism. We don’t know everything so we can learn a lot from others when we listen. We can learn a lot from others who have gone ahead of us or from the ones we have been sent to help. We should be like Jesus and meet people where they are. Sometimes we want them to be further along, but they are not always ready and we have to be okay with that. Love them and support them where they are at and in God’s timing they will grow and become the person they are meant to be.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am most definitely looking for others to partner with. I could use some board members and others who believe in my vision. It is hard trying to build and run a nonprofit on your own. So when you have the help you need it flows so much easier. It is easy to burn out and give up when doing it all alone!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Chase Photography

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