Meet Val Lewis | CEO, Founder, Author & Humanitarian

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

Hi Val, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Well I was taught that you can only win by getting in the race, failure has never been an option. So getting in the ring or the race is a risk you take to win, as with anything in life. I also believe it’s important to take risks because every risk you take comes with more experience. Not only will the risk present you with new career opportunities and new perspectives, but a failure will teach you an important lesson, and a success will open the door to new possibilities. Of course, you have to be smart, being risky doesn’t mean being careless. For me when it comes to risk versus reward, its never a risk to position yourself for better. This is why I feel you should always be open to new opportunities, Embracing risk has helped me to overcome some of my greatest fears of failure. Taking those risk in my career empowered me to break through self-imposed limits as well as limits that others put on me as a woman of color, it’s what help me to build VAL’S PLACE OF HOPE INC.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
VAL’S PLACE OF HOPE has definitely evolved since our last interview, the organization was founded on the basis of restoring hope for tomorrow while impacting communities today. Our mission is to provide a safe place and services for individuals and families, as well as empower those disenfranchised families and individuals by building leadership through corroboration based programs and to create, self-sufficiency and thriving communities. It is our desire to help them gain access to and utilize the tools they need to empower them to move forward in their lives. Sadly we are in the mist of a Pandemic and our Country is experiencing social and economic stress that affect our communities. What has set us apart is the fact that we have been able to rise to the occasion, not without challenges but we have been able to be the change in our community where people are hurting and in great need. Building relationships have played a major part in overcoming the challenges I’ve faced as a woman especially a woman of color. I am most proud of our Community Outreach Programs and our Disaster Relief Efforts, we have served families from as far back as Hurricane Katrina to most recent Hurricane Laura and Delta. As I said before a lot of risk taking, falling down and getting back up, getting it wrong before getting it right, sleepless nights and sacrifices. Sticking to the plan and vision with a whole lot of Prayer is what got me where I am business wise. The most valuable lessons I’ve learned along the way has been that you never really lose until you stop trying and that the journey of your success will always begin with the small step of taking a chance, which means your education is never complete. We should always prepare for what life has to teach by being open to the lessons in everything you do and experience. I want the world to know that VALS PLACE OF HOPE INC is committed to being the Change in our community, making a difference in our fight against poverty, hunger and homelessness.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well that would be a rather interesting week and probably boring to others considering both myself and best friend are so laidback and very much homebodies. So we would definitely have breakfast at Cracker Barrell and pick up a few items from their little boutique. We both love DIY projects so we would most likely do some antique shopping which would take up the entire day. We both love a little Bistro called Le’ Madelene so we would definitely have lunch there. Because we both love Community Outreach, we would for sure volunteer at a local homeless foundation. Due to the Pandemic we most likely would binge watch our favorite movie on Netflix and order dinner.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The Biggest Shoutout and Thank you to my Lord and Savior. I definitely have to give a great big thank you to the Staff and Volunteers of VAL’S PLACE OF HOPE, that work relentlessly during some of the most challenging times. I have been extremely blessed to have Corporate Partners and Friends such as Paul Michaels and David Murphy of L&M Charities to support us with Disaster Relief Efforts, Back To School Drives, Community Outreach Block Parties, Thanksgiving & Christmas Giveaways. There is no success without accountability and someone to confide in. So I must say thank you to Elect Lady Sonia Cole for being a true friend and Prayer Partner. To Pastor Dianne Meeks for covering VAL’S PLACE OF HOPE in Prayer continually. To my family, my children and grandchildren it is because of you that I’ve been able t0 continue on this mission, thank you for your love and support and most of all for your selfless ability to share me with the community. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your hopes and dreams for the future.

Website: valsplaceofhope.org
Facebook: Facebook.com/valsplaceofhopeinc
Youtube: youtube.com/valsplaceofhope