Project CommUNITY: Nonprofit leader helps Louisville woman achieve dreams
By Alexis Mathews
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — The president and CEO of the nonprofit, SOS International, is making dreams come true by helping a Louisville woman achieve not one, but two of her life’s goals.
Months after settling into her dream home in the Algonquin neighborhood, Chauntez Williams is grateful to fulfill another goal: a thriving catering business.
“She knows I have the catering service and said, ‘I’m going to get you to cater our Christmas party.’ I said that would be amazing. I would love to do that,” said Williams.
Williams is a chef for the UofL football team, and her catering company, Real Potatoes, was hired by Denise Sears to provide the food for events hosted by the nonprofit.
The pair stayed in touch after Sears helped Williams secure her first home. Now, the nonprofit leader is trusting her to feed the stomachs and souls of guests at their holiday open house on Dec. 7.
“It’s really nice to know you have a cheerleader on the sidelines,” said Williams. “Buying her first house and working as hard as she does, I wanted her to know that if she needed anything, I was here.”
Sears says helping Williams check off her list of aspirations is about support and creating space to showcase talent.
For her, it was a no-brainer to pay it forward in the life of someone also spreading positivity in the community.
“That’s really been my story here at SOS for the past seven years — I see an opportunity to make a change and make a difference,” she said.
From helping homebuyers to delivering medical supplies, Sears says the mission of her work is to achieve health equity. But, when helping Williams, she’s also teaching another lesson: it costs nothing to be kind.
“It’s okay to do something kind for one person, because it’s a ripple effect,” said Sears. “I think if we can all step out a little bit and do a little bit more, it would make the world a better place.”
As Sears hopes to change the world one act of kindness at a time, Williams is a living testimony that a dream deferred is not a dream denied.
“Even if you feel discouraged, when you wake up, it’s a new day to start all over,” said Williams. “Don’t give up on any dream.”
Williams is dreaming even bigger with the goal of owning a food truck.
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