Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Nevison.
Ashley, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a 13-year-old 8th grader at Elite Performance Academy. I’ve been volunteering since I was 8 but I really started focusing my volunteer work in October 2018 when I was 11 and my cat Sargeant died of cancer. I wanted to do something to honor him and also wanted to do something about all of the fabric scraps that were in my house since my mom is a costume designer. I didn’t want all of the fabric scraps to just end up in a landfill. So, I started sewing cat toys and blankets out of the fabric scraps and donating them to animal shelters. When the Covid pandemic started in March I decided to use my sewing skills to sew and donate masks to essential workers and health care providers. I was able to sew and donate over 500 masks to hospitals and essential workers in Arizona and across the country, sending masks coast to coast from California to New York and even Hawaii. I was told in June that the homeless youth in Phoenix were in desperate need of masks so I decided to sew some for them. I started thinking how difficult it would be to be homeless and decided that I wanted to do more to help. In July I started fundraising to raise money to provide Hope Bags filled with hygiene items, sanitizer and a PPE to the homeless community. So far, I have raised over $12,000. My dream is to provide Hope Bags to every county in the state. So far, I have provided Hope bags to 6 different counties and have handed out over 1,900 bags consisting of over 14,500 items to homeless organizations throughout the state. My goal is to provide over 2,200 Hope Bags by the end of the year and then provide over 10,000 by the end of 2021. Sargeant’s Army is a 501(c)3 and just recently was designated as a Qualified Charitable Organization in Arizona. My goal with Sargeant’s Army is that I will continue to spread hope throughout Arizona, be it animals or people. My volunteer work with Sargeant’s Army was recently recognized by the Points of Light and I was awarded the Daily Point of Light Award. I am the 6,899th “point of light.”
When I am not in school or running Sargeant’s Army I am in dance. I am an aspiring ballerina so I dance 20+ hours a week in a pre-professional ballet program. After I am done with my dancing career, I hope to attend medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon. I love to travel and my dream is to visit every single Disneyland in the world. I also compete in pageants and am the Royal International Miss Arizona Preteen 2020.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I wish I could say it was a smooth road the whole time, but unfortunately, I cannot. Like so many kids, I was bullied when I was younger. It really affected my self-confidence. For years I didn’t feel like I wanted to be seen. In dance classes I would try to hide in the back so no one would notice me. I kept my head down when I walked because I was hoping that no one would see me. My parents didn’t know what to do when they got a letter in the mail inviting me to participate in a local pageant. It said that the pageant was about growing girl’s confidence and life skills so they thought I might as well try. My life changed forever from that pageant. While I only won the art contest and received 1st runner up for my volunteer work, it really was the start of building my confidence. I decided I wanted to participate in more pageants because the girls were so nice and supportive and I made so many new friends and my parents could see the changes in my confidence. I started working with a coach and started focusing on myself. In October 2019 I was honored with winning the title of Royal International Miss Arizona Preteen 2020. The year before I won, I began reading books to Kindergarten students so I decided to make my platform #friendsstandup. I visit Kindergarten through 2nd grade classrooms and read anti bullying and kindness books to the children to teach them what to do if they encounter bullying. After one of the readings I was inspired to share my story so I decided to write and illustrate an anti-bullying children’s book. Gino and the Monster Bully is now available on Amazon. If I can help just one child know what to do when they encounter bullying, then I have accomplished my goal. Being involved in pageants has changed me forever. I have more confidence than I had before and I can’t imagine what my life would be if I had not attended that very first pageant.
It also isn’t always a smooth road running a nonprofit. As a 13-year-old sometimes people don’t take you seriously and it is never easy to fundraise. The hardest thing to me is knowing the need for Hope Bags far exceeds my supply. But I keep applying for grants and with the Qualified Charitable Organization status I hope that I will continue to get even more donations in so that I can provide more Hope Bags.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Sargeant’s Army is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. We provide Hope Bags to homeless organizations around the state. We also provide hand sewn cat toys and blankets to animal shelters.
What sets us apart is that we are run by a 13-year-old teenager. Ashley sews all the cat toys and blankets and puts together all of the Hope Bags. She is currently getting other youth volunteers to help put together the Hope Bags so that we can provide even more.
We are very proud of our Qualified Charity status with the Arizona Department of Revenue. This allows donors a tax credit for donations to our organization.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was and am currently obsessed with dance and Harry Potter. I am very enthusiastic about life. I have always enjoyed living life to the fullest. I used to be a little more introverted but now I have broken out of my shell and am very outgoing. I have always wanted to dance professionally but when I was 10, I decided that I wanted to focus on ballet. I love animals, especially cats. And my life’s motto is, “leave a little sparkle wherever I go.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sargeantsarmy.org
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sargeantsarmy?igshid=tx1pqvcmupam
- Facebook: Sargeants Army
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJmt2kb4/
Image Credit:
PG Photography and Lissa Ann Photography
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