Chelsea Foster
Events & Fundraising Team
To understand why I want to join Toast for Charity, you would have to understand my background and drive for success.
I am from Oklahoma City, which you might think, “huh, not bad, larger, known city with entertainment, football (Boomer Sooner), and a growing economy”. However, that was not the Oklahoma City I grew up in. I would never say I grew up rough. However, while I was not poor in resources, I was poor in opportunities. I always knew I wanted to do cool things with music and lights like Beyoncé. I knew I had a creative mind and wanted to make ads like I saw in magazines. I knew I wanted to be a bad (censored) female entrepreneur who redefined what a “boss” looked like. I had the vision, but I didn’t know what that lights and music were aspects of production. I didn’t know ads were a part of marketing. I saw leaders in different industries, but they were mostly men, and the women wore pantsuits. I needed a road map, an outlet to get me from point a to point b, and I couldn’t even imagine where to start.
But, through a random audition, I heard about just two days before, I became an entertainer with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the rest was history. I took an internship with the organization and eventually became a full-time employee. I moved to Texas and interviewed with one company, Capital One, and got the job based on my experience in the NBA. Once I was ready to grow after three months of interviews, I got a position with Walmart Inc, largely based on my entertainment background. These positions came to me from that one audition; however, I was able to make the team because I had over a decade of competitive cheer and dance experience. That experience costs thousands of dollars annually, something most families cannot afford. I often reflect on the privilege that comes from the socioeconomic environment I grew up in and I wonder if I wasn’t born into my family, would I be where I am now? The answer, sadly, for most black youths, is no.
Lack of opportunity is systematic. My mission is to ensure all children have a fair shot at success and that their environment, school, or access to resources are no longer barriers. I want to inspire the youth in the city I love. I want to jumpstart their creative aspirations. I want to build programs that give them access to programs and connections that can positively change their course in life. I want to make sure they understand the value of education and help them get straight A’s. I want to create genuine bonds with them and make sure they see me and know everything is possible.
The reason I want to join Toast for Charity is simple: I want to inspire the youth in the DFW metroplex to dream big, fight for their dreams, and use our organization, our resources, our skills, and our connections to accomplish them. Toast for Charity serves the community in all the ways I desire to. Taking professionals and putting them in places that serve young black children. Reading programs. Our new creative mentorship program (hint hint), and the chance for them to think big and present their ideas in the M.A.D. Pitch Competition.
I am passionate about events; it is truly what God has called me to do. I am passionate about helping children and the adults who look over them. This position combines both of my passions. My strategy is bold. It will take work, and I’m not shying away from that fact. At first look it can be overwhelming, but I am confident that when we combine all of our expertise it is accomplishable.
I’ll leave you with this. When you don’t see yourself in the spaces you want to be in it is easy to give up. When you aren’t afforded the peace of mind to have big dreams because real life is taking place, your dreams become smaller. When you know what you want to do but don’t have a roadmap of how to get there, it’s easy to stick to the road you know. And that’s my why. I want to set the children of DFW ablaze with hope for a better future and let them know they now have the resources to partner with their intelligence and big dreams, and together we will get them to where they want to be.