Donna's Story: "The impact that FareStart has had on me has been so profound, letting me see that I am limitless"

Donna (she/her) entered FareStart’s Adult Culinary Program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and is a graduate from one of the first fully virtual cohorts. After experiencing the loss of her son, as well as a period of homelessness and addiction, Donna came to FareStart hoping to build new skills and receive job training that would support her goals and values. 

Donna first heard about the Adult Culinary Program from another FareStart graduate, Rachel (she/her). The very next day, while living at an Oxford House, an employee asked residents if anyone was interested in the program and Donna immediately applied. 

“It’s not just a culinary program; it offers life skills. The program allowed me to hone my communications skills in a way that is more reflective of who I am today than who I was before,” she said. 

One of the key components to the program is the self-empowerment curriculum taught by Ms. Joan. Students learn the FareStart mantra, which concludes with the statement, “We OWN our greatness” – which reinforces the concept that everyone has greatness inside of them, they just need to let it out.

Donna quickly became a stand-out student in classes. She loved that the virtual environment allowed her to build her confidence and participate in class from home. Her bubbly personality and strong sense of self became more and more apparent as weeks passed in the program. 

“I come from the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma, and leadership has always been a part of our family in our tribe. I loved that FareStart’s mission and values of self-empowerment really fit into my own values and the goals that I set for myself in the program,” she said.

Currently, Donna works as an advocate at a homeless shelter. Since graduating from FareStart, she has been promoted twice, and she continues to set new goals for herself. 

“The impact that FareStart has had on me has been so profound, letting me see that I am limitless, and opening that door for me to walk through so I can open it for someone else,” Donna said.

Watch Donna’s story here.

FareStart Mantra

What do we do with our Greatness we…
LET IT OUT!
And from here on out we…
CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD!
Sometimes, we need a little help, so we are going to…
OPEN UP TO RECEIVE IT!
We don’t just…
TALK ABOUT IT!
We…
BE ABOUT IT!
And on the count of 3 we’re going to own our greatness
1, 2, 3
WE OWN OUR GREATNESS!