We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Staci Stepp a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Staci, 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.
I think it is every person’s goal in life to find his or her purpose. The discovery of my purpose evolved from a long series of events from birth to my early 40’s. I was born to a young unwed mother, and experienced many adversities in my childhood, I learned very early on how important it was for a child to have positive role models and supports in their life. I realized how crucial it was to have unconditional love, and a champion that would always fight for you. A person that would give you the affirmations and encouragement you needed to succeed in life. More times than not in my young life, I did not feel like I had any of that. People such as teachers and older mentors would come along and fill those holes, but for the most part, I felt short changed on the kind of supports no child should have to do without. I knew when I got older; I wanted to be one of those people that filled in the gaps for children who had less than ideal circumstances in their lives. Kids like me! When I was in college, I signed up to be a Big Sister, through The Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Later on after forming my own family, our family signed up to be a foster family, as another way to help vulnerable children. Through the experience of being a foster parent, my eyes were opened wider to the child welfare system. A system that is designed to help and protect children, but often falls short.
Besides advocating for vulnerable children, and trying to be the person to others that I wish I had when I was young, I had another passion, Interior design! Talk about two opposite ends of the spectrum, right? Well, not really! When I was enduring the struggles during my childhood, environment was very important to me. I remember the sights, sounds, smells, and textures. When they were good they were good, but when they were not good that had an effect on me too, a negative effect! My room was always a safe haven for me. I spent a lot of time there, and I spent a lot of time trying to use the resources I had to create my own sanctuary of safety. Even if that meant tearing pictures out of Teen Beat magazine to wallpaper the walls!
Over the years, I got pretty good at decorating. Always getting compliments on my home, and others asking me to help them with theirs. I had a natural eye for design I guess you could say. I was hired at a design firm, and that was where I really started to learn the tricks of the trade. It was when I started preparing the room for my own foster children to arrive, I thought to myself, “I could do this for others”. It is something I can give a gift to the children. At the same time, it would help the busy foster parents with the task of providing a special room for the children in their care or ones coming into their care. There is SO much that foster parents have to do when it comes to taking in a child who has experienced trauma, this could be my way of helping to check one more item off of their to-do list. In October of 2019, I did just that, gifting a nursery to a single foster mom who was expecting a placement of a baby. In 2021 Home Sweet Hope became a 501c3 non-profit that has served over 35 children in foster-care or who have recently been adopted. We have also provided the fully designed and installed rooms for three visitation rooms at DSS, and three rooms for a Bridging Home that cares for children in foster care, with a model that allows bio families to visit the children in the home and be mentored by the bridge parents in hopes of a healthy reunification.
I remember the first time a gifted a room. I thought to myself, and I might have said it out loud, “I can’t believe I got to do this”!! The same holds true today, I still think those same thoughts every time we do the “big reveal” of the room. I spent the majority of my life feeling as if I did not matter or I did not have purpose. Now I can honestly say 100% without a doubt I have finally found my purpose! It may have taken a little longer than others, but I LOVE what I do! I think when a person is able to use their God given gifts and talents to help another human being; it is like winning the ultimate lottery! Our little non-profit is still very small, but I hope and pray that through the years we will continue to find the right people to support us, so we can help many more children feel loved, safe, and worthy, and I can continue my PURPOSE!
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?
Home Sweet Hope is a 501c3 non-profit based in Central NC. We gift custom designed and installed rooms to children experiencing foster care or who have recently been adopted. The purpose of giving these rooms is to let the children know they are loved, cared for, and worthy. So often, children come to foster homes with nothing or very little of their own. They come into a strange home and have to sleep in a room filled with other people’s items. We want to give them a space that is their own, filled with things they love. If the child is old enough to tell us, we interview them so we know exactly what they would want in their “dream room”. We try to the best of our ability to make those dreams come true! Another thing we get to do when we gift the rooms is to help the foster parents. It is hard work being a foster parent. (I know, because I am one!). By giving these rooms to the children in their care, we are helping the parents that have opened their hearts and homes check one more item off their “to-do” list. We are a small grass roots non-profit, but we are proud to say we have served 35 children since we started! We serve all of Central NC from Charlotte-Raleigh because we know there are children that need love everywhere, not just in our own backyard. Since we started gifting rooms in 2019, we have used our own vehicle to haul furniture to children across the state. It is our hope that in 2024, we can raise the funds needed for our own transit van or at least an enclosed trailer, which will help us to reach children and families more efficiently. Please check out our website and subscribe so you can keep up to date on the rooms we do, Exciting events and fundraisers are ways you yourself can support the mission.
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?
Resilience. Never giving up no matter how hard or how terrible things get. There is always tomorrow to get back up and try again.
Faith, I am person of strong faith, and without my faith. I would not be able to give myself and others the grace deserved.
Optimism. I have always been an optimistic person. Some may not agree that this is a strength, but to me, having a positive attitude and seeing the glass half full instead of half empty leads to a life of happiness and fulfillment.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Growing our non-profit and mission is something I have big hopes and dreams to do. We are always looking for companies or individuals that believe in our unique mission, and would be willing to support us. We particularly would love to find companies that carry furniture, textiles, or home accessories that would be able to donate to our cause. In return, we would highlight your product in our rooms and on our social media outlets. If you feel you would be a good fit to help with our mission, please reach out to us through email at info@homesweethopenc.org.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.homesweethopenc.org
- Instagram: @homesweethopenc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homesweethopenc/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staci-stepp-8a34a6213/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@homesweethope7497
- Other: Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@homesweethope
Image Credits
Madalyn Yates Photograpy Kelly Burgess Photography Flamingo Real Estate Photography
