Meet Holli Clark | Teacher and VP of Nonprofit

We had the good fortune of connecting with Holli Clark and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Holli, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
The path to success is to go to college right after high school.

Personally, I don’t regret going to college but I do regret going unprepared. I was a bit pressured into going to school immediately after I graduated high school. I don’t think I knew many other options for myself other than to go directly into college debt, making lifelong career and financial choices without a logical foundation. There is a plethora of different options for people to be successful without a college degree that are well needed in today’s society.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Our vision is to uplift the unseen communities and help in times of need. We wanted this to be broad with the specific intention of helping a broad number of individual from numerous backgrounds. We are a Christian organization, and though our goal is not to pressure people into a Christian lifestyle, we believe we are doing God’s work to meet people where they are and provide for them to the best of our abilities.

I’m proud that we have been running our What’s Your Name events for two years now! These are opportunities to meet with people experiencing homelessness on the streets and just getting them some water, food, clothing, and hygiene products. We also get to talk with many of them and learn some of their stories. We get to see exactly who is benefiting from our efforts- see their smiles and remind them that they are important.

I wouldn’t say we’ve made a huge dent in any particular area or even in what we would like to accomplish long term. However, we have learned what it takes to show up consistently through ups and downs and regardless of naysayers opinions. We’ve had many people in and out of our organization that has made it difficult to remain true to our goals. Finding people who want to consistently volunteer their time and money has been a challenge and we’ve learned patience because of it. We’ve also grown to trust those that have stuck with us. Discerning which opportunities to take advantage of has been a large lesson for us as well. With our broad vision, we want to get involved with many more opportunities in the coming years. There is definitely more to come with us in the future!

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.

Klyde Warren Park is a must! There’s always events and the food trucks there are always a great time for an afternoon. I would put the arboretum into this same attraction category with many of its own fun events for families. The Perot and DMA might also be valid suggestions but for a museum in DFW my highest suggestion would be the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.
Painting with a Twist at Reunion Tower is something I would suggest. I’ve only done it once, but it was such a fun experience. They taught us (tried to teach us) how to paint while up in the revolving ball!
Billy Bob’s is a class for the night life but Wednesday nights there’s also Swing dancing at Sons of Hermann Hall with a free lesson included in the cover fee. This might be boring for some, but one of the first places I personally would want to visit in DFW would be the Half Price Books on Northwest Hwy. It’s the largest in Texas and any book-lover should get to experience it at least once!
As for food recommendations: The Rustic, Cafe Brazil, and Simply Fondue which I haven’t been to but am very interested in it. I also think Tex-Mex and barbecue would have to happen for anyone visiting from outside of Texas.

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?
Christ, above all else, and Jeremiah 1:5!

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