Meet Serena Overson | Nonprofit founder
We had the good fortune of connecting with Serena Overson and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Serena, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my/ our success is, people, experience, passion, compassion, and drive. Without my passion for compassion and the experiences I went through, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today. I overall feel like the word success and or to to be successful is different in everyone’s Minds and missions. To me, success and to be successful is to know that I helped somebody in one way or another. To plant seeds in minds for them to grow, and share to others. A pay it forward method of kindness and knowledge.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My name is Serena overson and I am the founder of lending and nonprofit. Throughout my childhood years to now in my 30’s, I have helped many people and animals. I have always acted in ways to help others naturally because my heart hurt to see people and animals suffering. When covid started, I was thinking of ways I could help even more than previous years. With people passing from the illness as well as many suffering from Mental Health I was trying to think of ways I could help. After speaking with some friends to get ideas, I decided to research the nonprofit world. Throughout the time frame of the paperwork to be approved, I took it into my own hands to use what funds I was getting from stimulus checks to start up the non-profit and get it running and going. The downfall was spending a lot of my own funds when I didn’t have much to give but the amazing part was watching how many lives we helped and changed. At the beginning stages of the nonprofit We would purchase and deliver food, collect clothing, toys, furniture, school supplies for those in need. We started a free store at my one bedroom apartment and created a delivery system. After a while the donations were getting too much for my one bedroom so we moved to a storage facility and opened up eight storage units. Each storage unit consisted of different categories such as clothing in one unit, toys in another unit, furniture in another unit, baby items in another and so on and so forth. People would come into our units and take what they needed. The board, volunteers and I would spend hours going through donations and setting everything up so it looked like a store atmosphere for people to feel comfortable and Shop. We put on many events and traveled around so others were able to get the items that they need. After 2 years of the nonprofit being run out of my home, storage and traveling, putting on events, unfortunately everything came to a halt due to a local disaster known as the Marshall fire. The Marshall fire destroyed over a thousand homes and businesses including all our nonprofit storage units in Louisville and Superior Colorado. As my daughter, cats and I were being evacuated at our own home while in the process of making a live video for the nonprofit, We were helping everybody get into hotels, picking up anybody without a vehicle, animals along the way that needed rescuing. A dear friend of mine let us stay at her house during the evacuation. In the hours I spent from the moment we got into our car to evacuate to the moment we came back to our home I was on the phone with locals, firefighters, police officers, companies, hotels, storage units, emts, on ways I can help. With teamwork with my board and volunteers, we were able to find a location to open up a large free / Relief Center known as the Lionsgate Dove house in Lafayette for those affected by the fire as well as those in need. From there on out till this day we were still on a mission to help those in need as well as those affected by the Marshall fire at both Lionsgate Dove house and Tebo property at 1075 East South Boulder road unit 140 in Louisville. We have had a free store/ Relief Center/ Community Center and are now about to close our facility due to the space needing to be rented, but we will be traveling around like we were before, teaching classes on self-sufficiency, self expression and hosting giveaway/ resource events. Overall there have been many ups and downs of being a founder of a nonprofit but to be honest, for me the UP’S overrule the downs. It’s not about the funds and the publicity, status, it’s about how many people we have helped. I feel we are different than other nonprofits in ways we help one on one. We create relationships with those we help in ways they become volunteers and friends. I do know now as a founder and being in the nonprofit world for 3 years that as much as I don’t like the business part of being nonprofit it does need to be included in order to be successful. That was one of the hardest lessons that I had to learn. I wanted our nonprofit to be more based on friendship and freedom than paperwork. I’m not a fan of the interview people and having to go through the accepting and non-accepting process Etc. I wanted our non-profit to be able to accept anybody and everybody with no judgment. So our paperwork is very minimal and more based on a get to know you and how we can help with providing classes/events/ volunteer opportunities, etc. Unfortunately there’s not many resources other than shelters for emergency situations, so we as a nonprofit wanted to be the middle place where if other nonprofits were at capacity or did not have the resources, we could help. We are not only helping those in need but also helping other nonprofits thrive. We are in no competition. Lending a Hand non-profit is to help all those in need, at all capacities to achieve self-sufficiency as well as self-expression. We are still at the learning stages of being a business and absorbing all the knowledge we can from all of you and other nonprofits/ organizations. I know that we are able to be the change we want to see in world. We are determined and driven to help the world one person at a time.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would wake up at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park and head downstairs to get a cup of coffee. We would enjoy our cup of coffee on the back patio enjoying the breathtaking view of the Rocky Mountains. We would then enjoy little nibbles of all the pastries in each of the bakeries on Main Street in Estes Park. After our breakfast we would go to our local grocery store Safeway and get some groceries to pack lunches for a hike to fern lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park. We would take pictures and enjoy our lunch. On the way back to the hotel we would find a local cheese shop to buy cheeses, bread and wine to enjoy a picnic watching the sunset over the mountains. Each day would contain of eating, shopping and hiking. The last 3 days we would end up camping in the rocky mountain National park.. We would hike, swim in the river and enjoy delicious food by the campfire
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Honestly, everyone I’ve come across in my life has credit to who I am and have become today. Of course my family, especially my daughter Bella. Without her, I wouldn’t be alive today to share my story/ success.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/spreadingkindnesstotheworld?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LAHnonprofit/status/1625973847123173377?s=20
Other: teamserenaisabella on tiktok
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
