Rediscovering Joy: How Lumina of Hope Empowers Women to Thrive Amidst Challenges

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Joshua Kornitsky: Welcome back to Cherokee Business Radio. I’m your host, Joshua Kornitsky professional EOS implementer, and I’ve got an absolutely incredible guest for us to talk with today. But before I get there, I just want to remind everybody that today’s episode is brought to you in part by our community partner program, the Business RadioX Main Street Warriors Defending Capitalism, promoting small business, and supporting our local community. For more information, go to Mainstreet Warriors and a special note of thanks to our title sponsor for the Cherokee chapter of Main Street Warriors. Diesel. David. Ink. Inc. please go check them out at diesel. Com. So as I said, I’ve got somebody really special today. Uh, she and I connected a while back, and I just can’t get over all she does. So my guest today is CoCo Collier. She is the founder of Lumina of Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to creating meaningful experiences and support for women and mothers of children with special needs through retreats, mission work, and community programs. Lumina of Hope helps women step outside their comfort zones and find renewed purpose. Coco’s work blends courage, compassion, and connection, empowering women to heal, grow, and rediscover their strength. Welcome, Coco. It is truly an honor to have you here.

CoCo Collier: Thank you so much, Joshua, I appreciate it. It’s an honor to be on here.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, let’s begin at the beginning. I always wondered.

CoCo Collier: Okay.

Joshua Kornitsky: Origin story. Um, tell us a little bit about yourself and your For background, and maybe the spark that led to the creation of of Lumina of Hope.

CoCo Collier: Okay. So it’s it’s a little bit of a journey here, but I’m going to go back a little bit because it’s important. Um, it’s a part of my story. And about seven years ago, I lost my mom to cancer. And I went through the grieving process, which, as so many people know, it’s different for everyone. Right? And there’s the timing is different for everyone. How they handle it is different. Um, for me, it hit me, um, very badly. I could say I fell into this toxic relationship with grief. And, um, it was almost like he was this, this being that was in my home that was really attached to me. And every time I start to kind of get away from the grieving process and from grief, um, and I start to see, you know, my kids were little at that time and I’d start to see them and realize, you know, they’re still in this room here, and I’ve got to pull myself together. And I was start to to get out of that funk. And then it was like he would call, claw my leg, pull me back in into that relationship. And so, um, I went through quite the process to, to get to where I am today, and I had to fight for that, and I had to eventually break up with grief and and kick his butt out the door.

CoCo Collier: Trust me, it was it was much harder than I thought, um, or I ever dreamt that it would be. So I went through years in that relationship. Right? And I was living in Missouri at the time, and I knew that if I stayed where I was, that there wouldn’t be much life left in me at some point, because it was quite the struggle. And I eventually told my husband, I said, you know, the kids and I were going to go back to Georgia because I knew that I was I was kind of drowning in that grief and that misery. And and I said, I hope, you know, I hope you can make it. If not, we’ll figure out something. And because I knew I had. It was about surviving at that point. And so, um, we all we all moved back to Georgia and it wasn’t a magical, a magical, um, transformation. Right? Pop the bubble.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. If only it was.

CoCo Collier: And I’m good to go now. Right. I’m back in my beautiful Georgia, which I have no family here, but I love Georgia so much. The people here are so good to me. Um, and I just, I truly adore them. Um, and my neighborhood, my old neighbors, they became my friend family. And so I happened to when we moved back, we moved a couple doors down from my best friend and, um, you know, and so over time, things kind of got better. Um, I still knew that what was what used to work was no longer working for me. And so I needed to do something that would make me force me to put makeup on, to get dressed and to show up for somebody other than myself, because I was having a hard time showing up for myself. Right. And it was a struggle showing up to my kids school parties, you know, and just being present and acting like I live in this perfect world, when I was really struggling on the inside. And so I made another big shift from doing photography for 13 years, and I took a job at a law firm, part time in, um, accounting and within. And then that was about the same time that Covid happened, I want to say, just a few months into that, maybe half a year into that perfect storm. Right. Um, but I will say some really great things came out of that relationship at that firm and within probably about seven, six, seven. I’ll just go ahead and throw that out there for the kids, right. Six, seven months I was provided or given an opportunity to jump into the director of operations there.

Joshua Kornitsky: Obviously, you made an impression.

CoCo Collier: I did I did one that I, I wasn’t yeah. I never even dreamt of really. And so it would mean that I would actually have to go. Believe it or not, into the office during Covid. And I would be switching to full time. So some changes, right? For for me and my family. Um, but I loved it. It it just felt good. It was something new. It was something fresh. And sometimes when you are struggling to show up for yourself, you have to show up for others first. Um, that’s why I’m a pro.

Joshua Kornitsky: Very true.

CoCo Collier: Right? I’m a pro believer in that. When I hear about someone struggling, I say, well, you know, why don’t you go serve at the food pantry for a day, you know, or why don’t you go pass out food, you know, um, work with ministries or something like that. And so, um, but back to my story. So yeah, I, I did that. Things were going good. I used my commute going into the law firm. You know, this is in the middle of Covid or I mean, near the end of Covid at this point, um, a couple years into it, I’m dropping my kids off. I’ve got a decent commute, and I use that time for listening to podcasts and, you know, just trying to work on my mental health game and just grow as a being. Right? And, um, made a lot of progress. But in the meantime, my body was still kind of falling apart, like I’d had these weird symptoms that I just associated with grief.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. And that’s a very real thing that that mind body connection.

CoCo Collier: Right, right.

Joshua Kornitsky: And just assumed that it was dealing with the after effects.

CoCo Collier: Yeah. I remember even back when my mom was going through cancer, like, like clumps of my hair was falling out and I’d have these nosebleeds, you know, and I thought it was just associated with the stress and, um, you know, and then going through the grieving process. And I gained so much weight and I was just swollen and inflamed. If you go look back at my pictures from that from just a few years ago, you’ll see it. Um, so I remember these things were happening to my body, but I was so focused, I shifted my focus on everything work related or family related.

Joshua Kornitsky: You needed that distraction mentally as well.

CoCo Collier: Absolutely.

Joshua Kornitsky: But I’m sensing there’s more to that story.

CoCo Collier: There’s so much more to that story. And I will never forget that here I am in this beautiful law firm. Like living this dream that I did. I never even dreamt for myself. Right? Um. I am sitting in this incredible office space, and I’m standing at my desk and I’m starting to type, and then all of a sudden, my fingers just stop functioning, and, um. And they go completely white from, like, my knuckles down to the tips of my fingers. And, um, I had a freak out moment. Like, what? What the what is happening?

Joshua Kornitsky: Right.

CoCo Collier: Right. And, um, and I’m like, okay, I need to stop sticking my head in the sand. I need to go get some help. And I had had some other symptoms as well. And long story short, I found out I had to have a surgery from my gynecologist because I had some women issues there. And I just remember going back after that surgery thinking all is well, everything’s good. And she basically said, um, you know, wipe your hands on me. She’s like, I’m sorry. Uh, we found some suspicious things in your body during the surgery. We had to send it to the pathologist, and it came back as cancerous. And so at this point, I’m no longer going to be able to serve you. And I’m going to send you to a this oncologist, um, that specializes in gynecology. So, um, I had to have another surgery. I found out I had uterine cancer, which put this this girl who worked really hard on her mental game. It put me in a little funk for a couple months.

Joshua Kornitsky: I think that’s understandable.

CoCo Collier: I freaked out for a bit, um, for sure. And then I remembered. I remembered I think it was, um, maybe even Mel Robbins, I forget, but I remember her talking about, you know, just kind of like, whatever we shift our focus on, um, whatever we put our focus on is where all of our energy goes, right? And. And after I lived in that fear bubble, probably longer than I should have allowed myself to do, I popped it and I said, you know what? I’m I’m no longer going to do that. I’m no longer going to, um, live in that fear bubble and think, because I definitely had that moment of, oh my gosh, I don’t even know if I’m going to get to see my baby girl graduate high school, right? And so I popped through that, and I and ever since that day, I upped my faith based affirmations that I speak and believe and I claim it and receive. And I speak these every day over myself, every morning, every time I’m in my car, pretty much. And it’s the last thing I do before I go to bed. But I claim 45 years of not getting by years, but thriving years. So that’s one thing I do. Um, I as far as the uterine cancer goes, like I’m still part of that journey. I’m three years in now. Uh, I still have some hiccups. I still have some scares. I still have to see my oncologist every six months.

Joshua Kornitsky: Ongoing treatment and.

CoCo Collier: Yes.

Joshua Kornitsky: Associated.

CoCo Collier: I do. I have a apparently a five year journey. I didn’t sign up for. But that’s that’s it. And I also did a, a huge thing, which was one of the best things I ever did. That was seeking a functional health doctor, and I found out that I had all these autoimmune issues as well. And so that those autoimmune things is what caused all this inflammation in my body, which, you know, cancer loves inflammation. So I could no longer, you know, do the same physical things that I was doing. I can no longer eat the same things that I was eating. Like I had to make a lot some more radical lifestyle changes. So I had to go gluten free. I, um, I didn’t do anything overnight. So. And it’s not like, you know.

Joshua Kornitsky: You’re not going to. You do trust me on that one. It it.

CoCo Collier: Uh.

Joshua Kornitsky: It might be a gradual process.

CoCo Collier: Oh, I have a one friend, and she she went cold turkey, like, no sodas and gluten free overnight. And I’m like, oh. But one thing I loved about my doctor is like, she’s like, just do baby steps. Um, and so it’s been a long process, but, um, that’s one reason why I fight so hard for, like, people in the wellness industry. And I encourage women on that wellness journey because it is a journey. Like not always be on that journey, right? Um, but I’ve made radical lifestyle changes and here I am and I’m less inflamed and I’m just a healthier, healthier, better version. So life’s easy at this point. Okay, let me catch you up. As far as the timeline goes for the for the first time ever.

Joshua Kornitsky: You had a shift in geography. You had a shift in mentality with the role, and then you had a shift in a radical shift in your health. Um, and and somewhere in that journey, you thought, what I need to do now is take on more responsibility.

CoCo Collier: No, that was the last thing. Um.

Joshua Kornitsky: So how did we arrive at.

CoCo Collier: I know, I know, I tried to run away from it, and.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, it’s a funny thing. I think the fact that you don’t see it as anything other than the positivity you bring into the world, uh, says a great deal about who you are and how you view what you’re doing.

CoCo Collier: Thank you.

Joshua Kornitsky: Not a.

CoCo Collier: Burden.

Joshua Kornitsky: Uh, but but let me stop talking and let you.

CoCo Collier: Well, okay, so I again, once again knew I. The working full time for somebody else is not going to work because I had to focus on healing my body right, and go my wellness journey. So I shifted gears. I launched my own, um, my Coca-Cola consulting business, which still ends up working with a lot of small businesses. And the niece happens to be law firms. Uh, of course. And that was great. It was super successful, I found out, I mean, because I’ve always worked I’m a I mean, I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a little.

Joshua Kornitsky: Bit of a high energy.

CoCo Collier: Energy person. And so I’ve always joked about, um, like, I can run circles around some people and, and it’s just that I am a problem solver and I want to, you know, I want I don’t have to have someone to give me direction. I will just go out and solve the problem. And I’ll also write the book about it. Right. And let’s get some policies and procedures and. All right. We’re good to go. I just saved you, like seven days of work. So my consulting business was very successful and great things were easy in my life. I was working maybe, you know, 20 hours a week and. But making, you know, so much more money and, um, having plenty of time to go walk in the trees or in the trees, walk in the woods, which is like my favorite thing to do, and search for mushrooms and, and just have some quiet me time and self-reflection time. And so life is so easy, right? And then December comes around, um, and I will never forget the first conversation. I’m at Barnes and Nobles and this sweet older lady named Winifred, she’s 80. I find out she’s 81 years old. We’re looking at, uh, these books, the stack of books. It’s cold. She’s got, like, multiple layers on Sweetest Little Lady. And we’re looking at these these, uh, journals for next year. These affirmation books are all self-help type stuff, right? And she’s like, turns to me.

CoCo Collier: She’s like, what do you think about all this? You know? And what was funny and she didn’t know is that, um, every well, the year before, I started doing a vision board and I kind of did it in my close group circle of friends. Right? And then that next month, I was was the first time I was hosting kind of an event in my home, just opening it up to women in our community to come and do a vision board event with me, because I’ve seen how incredible and how impactful that is when you you put into words and you put those visual tools up on that vision board, right. And you actually are being proactive versus reactive to what’s happening in your life. You’re claiming things for your life. And I’ve seen it work and I’ve seen that it’s going to come into fruition. Right. Right. And so, um, so it’s hilarious that this sweet little widow friend, she turns to me and she’s asking my opinion about this. So I start talking to her and she’s like, do you mind if we get a cup of coffee? Okay, so we start talking and it’s like an hour long conversation, and she shares about some of the hardest, darkest times in her life. And so here I am talking to her. I’m also sharing contacts with some people that I think can help her. Um, you know, as far as, like, estate planning goes, like it’s just funny.

CoCo Collier: My, my tool sets are so oddly combined. This is a it’s a weird diverse, right? Yes. And so I’m connecting to her and I’m in a way kind of ministering to her, but I don’t at that time. I don’t see it that way. Right. Um, she was number one, all right. And the community of women that would start to approach me and start these conversations, and that was Winifred was the first one. And then the next day would happen again at a deli at 1:30 p.m., right down the street from me. Adelie I’ve never been to before, but decided to jump stop in there at the last second, one of the workers talks to me and she approaches me. And it’s it’s always some weird random start of the conversation, like, oh, I like your tattoo, my daughter. And this one, she was like, my daughter and I are getting ready to go to Destin, Florida. We’ve never been. I’m like, oh, that’s funny. You’ve never been to Destin, Florida. I was like, everybody here goes to Destin, right? Um, and she’s like, no, I’ve never been. And she said, in fact, we’re going to get matching tattoos in honor of my son. He I lost him last year at 17 to cancer. We talked for an hour and 30 minutes in that deli. Okay. So this continues to happen. So much so that my kids start to joke about, hey, mom, make sure if we’re about to go to the grocery store, make sure you add another hour.

CoCo Collier: You don’t know who’s going to bump into you, you know? And so it continues to happen. And in that time, I kept feeling like something’s pushing me, calling me to connect these women. Because what I know from my grief, from my dark times, is that, you know, the devil or whoever, whoever you want to believe in. Um, I mean, he’s a liar. He wants people to think that they’re the only ones going through what they’re going through. Right? Um, when you’re in that hard, dark time that no one sees you, that you should be embarrassed that you’re even thinking of, these things are shameful, that you’re going through these things. And that’s a lie. It’s it’s not the truth. Um, there’s this need that just started showing up in these conversations with women that they need to connect. They need to see that there’s other people that are in the same shoes as them, or they just went through that and they can help them. They can help pull them through that. Right. So that C started getting planted and and meanwhile I’m telling God the Universe, I’m like joking. I’m like, I don’t want to start a nonprofit. I feel like I’m being called to start a nonprofit. But that sounds like a lot of work, right?

Joshua Kornitsky: Keep getting in front of you. So.

CoCo Collier: And I’m. Yeah. And and I and I basically I’m not joking. Josh. I basically said I’m not going to do this. Like I’m telling God, the universe, whoever is pushing me this way, like, no, my life is finally easy. For once. It’s good. It’s peaceful. I’m healthy. I’m on my wellness journey. Right?

Joshua Kornitsky: We’re here today to to talk about how you didn’t do anything with that feeling. Right?

CoCo Collier: I try to run away from it, and it was almost like the universe is like, that’s so funny.

Speaker4: You just try keep running.

Joshua Kornitsky: But every.

Speaker4: Corner just turn around.

CoCo Collier: Right? And he it dialed me up. So much so that it started happening. Um, when I would go on vacation on a cruise ship, it started happening when I went on a work trip with a friend. And that final conversation, it is what led me to do this. And I went to this is kind of a weird, wild story. So you’re going to find out that I do weird, wild stuff. Um, that doesn’t probably make sense to a lot of people, but this is one of them. So my my, here we are. We’re in February. There’s a KW family reunion. You know what?

Joshua Kornitsky: Kw is not off the top of my head.

CoCo Collier: It’s real estate. It’s KW, it’s. Yeah.

Speaker4: Keller Williams real.

CoCo Collier: Estate. Okay. I’m not a real estate agent. Right? That’s one thing I’m not. Um, but my best friend was. And she had to go to that that family reunion that was in Vegas. And she hadn’t flown in over 13 years. Her husband couldn’t go with her. And I said, girlfriend, I’ll go with you, you know, because, um, Tony Robbins was going to be there, Mel Robbins was going to be there. Plus, I’ve found that when I go to these, um, other type of conventions and summits and things like that, like the tools will transfer to what I’m doing for other small businesses, right? So it’s like easy. And I was also writing some books too. So I’m like, perfect. I’ll just I’ll continue to write. It’s going to be a work trip for me as well. I’ll go with you. And so that’s what we did. We shared a hotel room, and here I am with thousands and thousands of real estate agents, which I love. The energy is so powerful, right? They’re all eager to connect, except for this one woman. And this one woman just kept looking at me kind of funny. And we were introduced at the beginning of that, that experience. And she maybe said two sentences to me at that point. But then throughout the next couple of days, even though our groups would interact, she just gave me these weird, odd looks. Meanwhile, I talked to my best friend that I went on this trip with Susan. I was I’m telling her basically what I just shared with you, that I’m feeling called to lead to start this nonprofit. And what’s wild is that, um, the days go through, right? And it’s our final day.

CoCo Collier: We’re going to fly out that night, my best friend, my roommate, and this woman who was giving me those weird looks, it’s her roommate. We all go to lunch together. So the woman that’s giving me the mean looks is. Or the odd looks. I don’t want to say mean, but just just, I don’t know, it was just off. Unusual. Thank you. Um, was not claimed she was not going to join us for lunch. Right. And we’re at this noisy, noisy diner, and it’s about 2 p.m. at this time. And we just finished eating. The waitress hasn’t cleared our plates just yet. We’re all just having a conversation, and out of the corner of my eye, I see this woman that’s been giving me these unusual looks. She comes, plops herself right next to me, and she never orders food. She just picks off, uh, the her roommate’s plate from across the table from her, and then she turns to me. She says, Coco, can I tell you something? And let me tell you, Joshua, I had chills like no other because I knew. I knew in my soul, my spirit. Like, this is going to change my life, right? And here’s what she told me. I know it was. It was the oddest thing. Like, so just imagine I’m it almost felt like I was in this movie and I’m in this busy, noisy, noisy diner. And when she says those words to me, it was like there was this hush that went through the entire restaurant. I try not to get emotional when I talk about it because I’ll never forget it.

Speaker4: Right?

CoCo Collier: And she says to me, she goes, Coco, she said, I overheard what you were talking to Sue about, which is, you know what I just shared? She said, I want to tell you, you have to do it. And here’s why. And she said, if you would have met me this time last year, you would have met a completely different version of me. She said I was hitting rock bottom. I, um, you can ask my roommate. She’s pointing across from her, and she said I was staying up till like 3 a.m. in the morning, drinking, partying, gambling. I’d come into the hotel room, I’d crash into the hotel room, a sobbing mess, and had basically a nervous breakdown. Right. She said, I go home from that, that, um, trip, and I basically do have a nervous breakdown, and I find myself on my laptop that night and I’ve got two tabs open. I’m looking at ways to end my life. Wow. And I’m and I’m also looking into mental institutions that I can check myself into because to me, that was my those were my two options. I felt so disconnected, So lonely, so just that no one understood what I was going through.

CoCo Collier: She had maybe a little bit, in my opinion, a little bit of postpartum depression. And she said, luckily I didn’t do anything. The next day my husband comes home and I tell him my struggles and he gets it as much as a husband. I mean, you know, you’re a husband to your wife, right? As much as you can get it. Um, she said, but I made some changes. I ended up seeking help, and I’ve. I’ve been on some medicine since then, and I’m in a much better place. But if I would have known about a retreat that I could have gone to just to give, take me out of my environment, that I could connect with other women that are going through the same things that I’m going through. I would have chosen that in a heartbeat because that’s what I needed. I needed to know that I’m not the only one going through what I’m going through, and that’s why you have to do it. And I remember getting on that plane that night, and I turned to my best friend Sue, and I said, well, shoot a bear. I guess I’m starting a nonprofit.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sounds like it was an inevitable path from some time back.

CoCo Collier: It it was wild. The the things that I had to go through, what I feel like was maybe going to hell and back. But there’s a reason why I did it, and it’s why I fight so hard for the women that I serve. It’s why I feel like I’m always putting on my battle gear, my warrior uniform, because I feel like so many women feel invisible and unseen, especially some of the women we serve, which is our mamas that have a child with special needs. And this this forever lifetime caregiver role that they they they were given and they accepted that assignment, right. You know, they will never be empty nesters. Like I know we will one day be empty nesters, right? Their needs are different than our needs. And so that is how and why I started Lumina of Hope Foundation.

Joshua Kornitsky: So that’s beyond incredible. And I would tell you that knew it was a journey. You told us it was a journey, and I wouldn’t ask you to cut a single thing out of that, because I think all of it was necessary to understand what brought you to creating the nonprofit. So. So you you serve moms, you serve women, you serve moms of special needs kids.

Speaker4: And yes.

Joshua Kornitsky: What way do you serve? You’ve mentioned retreats, which I.

CoCo Collier: Yes.

Joshua Kornitsky: But but what’s your overall mission? What is it you’re trying to do? You’ve talked about connection. You’ve talked about, um, helping those. I don’t think there’s a good term that exists today for the feeling of isolation other than isolation.

CoCo Collier: Right.

Joshua Kornitsky: Let me let you answer rather than me.

Speaker4: Yeah.

CoCo Collier: Well, the three words I would say that resonate the most with lumen of Hope Foundation is rest, connect and thrive. That’s our ultimate goal. Um, there’s so many women, so we serve, like I said, our mamas that have a child with special needs. We call them our anchored. Mama’s not anger anchored. Um. Anchored mama’s. And so we also serve women that are cancer warriors. Because of my mom’s journey. My journey. My VP had breast cancer at the same time I had cancer. And, um, that’s important to us, too. Um, and so those are just two of the ones. And then women that have suffered loss as well. That’s a phase that we haven’t even been able to reach just yet, because we are 100% volunteer based. Um, and so our, our volunteers, you know, we work really hard for our women and we hope to grow and be able to help those women eventually as well. Um, but we do this by providing connectable moments for them, by hosting different events in our community, for them to connect. Um, one of the things that that’s so beautiful that happened out of a February retreat of ours, which was one that was designed for our mamas that have a child with special needs, um, we were able to provide 16 women full scholarships for five days, four nights in Destin, Florida, and, um, all the food was provided. The keynote keynote speakers were provided.

CoCo Collier: I had someone donate a boat. I had a captain. A captain. Georgia is actually her name. She, um, was able to do that to to take us out on the boat throughout the day in different shifts. Um, I had a photographer that is a domestic violence survivor, and she, um, was the one that said, hey, Coco, when you bring these mamas here, I want to photograph them. And she did, and she is phenomenal. So if you look at our website, you’ll see these beautiful beach pictures of our mamas that have a child with special needs. They are they look elegant, they are photographed on the beach and they’re just stunning. And they look for new, they look refreshed, they look like they’re thriving. Um, and that retreat, so many things happened. One, there was this one lady that saw all my retreats. We do a vision board, right? Because again, you know, I talked about how important that is, and I’m a big believer in it. But this lady came up to me in the middle of that session and she’s in tears. She’s like, Coco, she said, I don’t remember the last time I allowed myself to dream for myself. It’s probably been about 21 years ago since my daughter was born. 21 years of not dreaming for your own being, your own needs. That tells you so much, right?

Joshua Kornitsky: Fathomable.

CoCo Collier: And for many of these women, it’s I mean, for some of them, it had been 15 years that she had gone away without her child. 15 years because. So everyone’s situation is different. But for this one, there was just nobody that she could trust that the child would trust as well to take care of their needs. Right. And so This same woman that came up to me, um, that was in tears. You know, she’s kind of a quiet, more reserved women out of all of this group, right? Well, what’s really incredible is that a few weeks later, she reaches out to me and texts me. She said, Coco, so many people, um, in our community around this area, saw what was happening at the retreat. And they’ve heard me talk about the retreat and all those good things have come out of it. Um, but they want to know how they can get together. And she said, basically, I think I’d like to maybe co-lead. I want to do it by myself, but if I want to do some some meetups, the women in our community that are in that special needs world and so that they can hear about some of the resources that are available and just connect with the other mamas that are going through the same things. And because at that retreat in back in February, we’ve we’ve We found that here are 16 women, much from Atlanta to Cartersville. But these women, we found out that like three of them knew about XYZ resources. Right. And these three knew.

Speaker4: About all.

Joshua Kornitsky: Live isolated to a degree. And when you discover something like that, until you came along, there was nowhere to share that.

CoCo Collier: And they realized there’s huge gaps here. Um, and what was cool at the retreat and that I’ve seen now. So this lady, um, her name’s Melanie, I’m going to tell you. And the lady that approached me, we went on a hike a month later, she’s telling me she about the women wanting to connect in our community. And she is leading our anchored mamas that meet monthly, sometimes every other month. Um, and that’s different opportunities for them to connect at, like, different churches. We’re going to McKenna farms this month, and it’s bringing women from our area around, um, just meeting other women that have already been through what they’re going through. Um, there’s some that, you know, like what I’ve seen. And when I step into this world, because I’m not so much involved in that world, that community, that space. Right? But what I’ve seen is that some of these older mamas are like, we don’t know about this program. Oh, you’ve got to get in touch with so and so. She’s the right person, the right contact at this, you know, this government office to help get your paperwork through so your child can be approved. Your adult child can be approved to have diapers, right? Um, there’s there’s connections that are happening that just desperately need to happen because the weight on these women’s shoulders are so heavy.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. And and you’re giving them that venue to connect. Now, if if someone is a special needs mom that that wants to learn more, um, I have to ask the question because I imagine it’s it’s the first question on their mind is you’ve said the organization is is run by volunteers. If if a special needs mom is listening, is there a cost for them to participate?

CoCo Collier: Not at all.

Speaker4: No, that’s I have to.

Joshua Kornitsky: Ask because.

Speaker4: I assume that’s the first.

Joshua Kornitsky: Question that.

Speaker4: Would.

Joshua Kornitsky: Come to mind. And and one would presume that their resources are spread pretty thin. So that’s an amazing thing.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Joshua Kornitsky: Available.

CoCo Collier: It’s it’s what I fight for. It’s what I it’s why I’m doing this. It’s why I spend so much of my time in and around our community and online, on social media is to bring attention to it, because we every single cent that comes to lumen of Hope Foundation is distributed to make these beautiful moments happen. Um, the McKenna farms is that experience. Next week is going to be phenomenal for our mamas because they’re also going. So McKenna farms is this horse farm. Okay. This equestrian place that, um, provides occupational, physical and, uh, physical and one other type of therapy. And so they’re a nonprofit as well. And they’re going to be doing a demonstration. They’re going to have a fire pit. They’re going to have a coffee bar, is going to turn into a s’mores bar for our mamas. And it’s just a time for them to rest and relax, but also connect and learn about this beautiful resource that’s available at McKenna farms. Um, but there’s zero cost for any of our anchored mamas or mamas of a child with special needs to attend if they want to find out more. They should find find me on social media. Find. Follow our website. Um, we have a private Facebook group called Anchored Mamas. And. And if they search in Facebook Anchored Mamas, that will pop up and they just join that group. And that’s how you get all the information of what’s happening, um, all these little connectable moments and resources as well.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you for sharing that, because I was going to ask you what’s the best way? And we’re not. We’re not at the point where I’ll get all your your.

Speaker4: Yes, yes.

Joshua Kornitsky: And I’ll ask you about that when, when we’re closer to the end of the interview. But I had a few more questions, if that’s okay. Um, so since you founded the now, did I say it wrong? Is it the Lumina of Hope Foundation?

Speaker4: It is.

Joshua Kornitsky: So I had left Foundation off my. My apologies.

CoCo Collier: No.

Joshua Kornitsky: Since you founded the Lumina of Hope Foundation has the the overall mission in who you serve. Very clear on that. Has it evolved any have you have you seen additional needs that you’ve brought in the the scope?

CoCo Collier: Oh man, that’s a great question. I definitely there’s so many needs out there. That’s the that’s the thing. Um, there are so, so many needs. And um, for the we’ve kind of gone into more of our that the mamas that have a child with special needs are anchored mamas. Right. We’ve kind of gone more heavy into that right now. Um, because there’s no roadmap for them. That’s one thing I’ve seen is there’s no just simple playbook for, oh, my child was diagnosed with XYZ. I just need to do this and I’ll be able to take care of their needs. Like that does not exist. And I see these women just struggle so much with with battles for that. Like I said, the diapers, um, adult diapers is a big need.

Speaker4: Which is something.

Joshua Kornitsky: That someone who’s not in that universe would never occur to them to be a concern one way or the other.

CoCo Collier: Right. And, um, I’ve learned that also some some I’ve learned it so many things by these women. So let me tell you my connection with the special needs community and why that was even something that I sought after. Um, so my mom that that I lost, she worked with adults with special needs because her sister was born with special needs. And her sister, my aunt, never learned to walk. And at age about age 13, they had to move her into a home because my grandmother just was not able to care for her anymore, and she passed in her 30s. And so, um, that is how I am pulled into that world. Um, it’s a way I honor my mom, um, who was so incredible, such a game changer for her community in southern Illinois as a social worker. Um, she fought for the people that couldn’t speak for themselves. And she also did crisis calls every other weekend. She was just an incredible, mighty woman. And it’s the way I honor her. And I honor my aunt is through our anchor mamas. And I try to give them a voice because, um, like I said, even this one lady was telling me about how, you know, just walking in the grocery store and she’s walking with her special needs, um, her daughter that has special needs and the wheelchair. And she just feels so invisible. There’s so many people that feel invisible and unheard. Unseen, and they need someone to fight for them because they’re fighting for their child.

Joshua Kornitsky: And it’s.

CoCo Collier: Hard. They’re exhausted.

Joshua Kornitsky: Right. And it’s hard for them to even envision the additional fight of the bigger picture, because it’s trying to get through the day.

CoCo Collier: Right. And, I mean, I cannot imagine I talked to this one, mom at this, um, dinner the other night. And she’s an older, older woman. Her and her husband are in the process of interviewing possible caretakers for their son. That’s an adult with special needs for when they pass. Like.

Joshua Kornitsky: Wow.

CoCo Collier: We never.

Joshua Kornitsky: Right.

CoCo Collier: Right. So many people don’t even think about that. And can you imagine what that’s like entrusting not I mean, they’re trying not to fight, not to use a facility and to find a caregiver in a home. But think about that game plan and oh my gosh, just so much the legal work behind it.

Joshua Kornitsky: My brain struggles to comprehend that.

CoCo Collier: Right.

Joshua Kornitsky: To have to think about that provision.

CoCo Collier: Yeah. So they have so many needs. And so, um, you know, I’ve, I’ve just started we, we launched, um, on Amazon. We have a lumen of hope kind of wish list and oh, some, some of the items are for our retreats and some of them are for our mamas as well and for the women we serve, because I’m all let me tell you, I, I see, um, I have to turn people away because I just don’t have enough. I don’t have supplies or I’m not able to help them, and I have I don’t turn them away with nothing. I, I try to steer them in the right direction. And here’s another resource that you can reach out to for help. But, um, it’s silly, but there’s just some things that that even the government won’t well, they will pay for. But man, the types of hoops.

Joshua Kornitsky: That these.

CoCo Collier: Ladies have to go.

Joshua Kornitsky: Through. Time for federal funding on anything. Um, and, and how would folks find that Amazon. Is it a wish list?

CoCo Collier: It is. Yes. So if they search Lumina of Hope, um, it should pull up Lumina of Hope Foundation. And it’s a wish list. And. Yeah, it’s on Amazon. Um, and then I know these women, um, you know, they reach out to me. Like I said, I’ve got this little running list going through. And, um, if there’s ever anybody that someone wants to give an item to specifically, directly, they just need to email me. They just need to reach out to us on our through our website and let me know. It’s my responsibility to make that connection happen. So like if they even say, hey, I’ve got a friend who is a mama, um, that desperately needs to go to like our retreat that’s coming up in December. I want to sponsor her. Give me that. So when they make that donation, they can send it anonymously. They can also reach out to the the number that’s on our website or email us on our website and let us know about that, and we will make that happen to make sure that that donation goes directly for that woman to attend that retreat. Right. So, um, we have ways to make it. To make it happen. Just to bless a mama. And that’s what we want to do. We want to spark some hope and give them that rest, connect and thrive. Bring them back home recharged.

Joshua Kornitsky: And for clarity, you are a nonprofit.

CoCo Collier: We are. We are 100% volunteer based nonprofit, 500 1C3.

Joshua Kornitsky: And and the reason that I want to to establish that is that charitable giving to a nonprofit is very different than donating to an organization you support. And as a primary office or our primary audience are business owners. And it’s important that they know that corporate giving is also potentially tax deductible. We’re not tax advisors, so we can’t say for sure. Right. Donating to a 500 1C3 is a legitimate donation. So out of curiosity, because of the reach that we both may have in our connections, Actions. Are there any specific needs that at a high level that that right now you’re trying to satisfy?

CoCo Collier: Um, yes, absolutely. So, um, we and I’ll say this, we did not do a gala this year, um, which is our big fundraiser. All right. Um, because my BP has some health stuff, and, um, was not able to spearhead that. Right. So we’ve got I’ve got a new person that is going to run a gala for us in March. Right? So we have sponsorship opportunities there. All of our retreats have sponsorship opportunities as well, and our community events as well.

Joshua Kornitsky: And so business that works predominantly with women. What a fantastic way to get in front of them.

CoCo Collier: Right. Um, what I’ve. Yeah, what I’ve learned is that there are some great little even like mortgage um, I think mortgages, there’s some special, unique things for, for our women that we serve that are out there for them. Um, and so this is a great opportunity for some of those businesses to sponsor and get y like get their name out there and their face in front of these women. Um, but gosh, we have so many, so many needs. Um, our, our, our biggest is, is to help make these retreats happen to us because it’s not a simple, easy, um, or like a little cabin in the woods, right? Like. No, because I do. I speak all the time about, you know, our, um, you know, I am faith based. I am a believer. And I’m like, our God is a God of abundance. And and I know that, you know, and whoever you believe in, like, like they’re limitless, like we are. We can be blessed like it’s theirs, ours for the taking. And so my, my whole goal is to just love on these women. When they come to our retreats, we spoil them rotten. We take care of their food. It’s all anti-inflammatory. Um, this December retreats all gluten free as well, because most of our, our women have learned that they kind of got to remove the gluten, right? And so, um, we’ve got the right speakers that are coming in to speak and pour life into these women. Um, we’ve got some fun moments happening at this retreat, but the five days, four nights is a necessary thing for these women, because we’ve learned that for so many women the first two days, they’re still trying to shake off life. Um, the stress.

Joshua Kornitsky: We equate it to a vacation from work, where it usually takes a day or two before you’re able to let go. And work is a lot simpler than than letting go of that type of a mental connection. Yes, child.

CoCo Collier: Yeah. And what we saw in the, the February 1st is that on day three, there was something so powerful is that it’s like women’s guards just finally dropped. Right. They started opening up more and more. They started connecting more. They started they looked like completely different women than when they walked through the door. The stress was off of them, you know. And they had hope again. They had hope.

Joshua Kornitsky: How how often are their retreats available?

CoCo Collier: So, uh, so this year.

Joshua Kornitsky: It’s a function of of.

CoCo Collier: Yes.

Joshua Kornitsky: Budget and donations. Uh, yes. You plan to have. Well, you you’ve mentioned both November and December, so I presume those are already planned and going to execute.

CoCo Collier: Yeah. So, um, we are a side note here. So timeline wise, we are still what I feel like is maybe not necessarily a baby nonprofit. We’re kind of in toddler stage. We got our diapers. Right. Um, so we’re about a year and a half in, uh, last year we were able to have two or last year we were able to have two retreats. This year we’ve had this December 1st will be our third one. Um, no, it’ll be our fourth one. Wow. And the December retreat was not necessarily planned. Okay, this is another one for our moms that have a child with special needs. Um, this happened because one of the ladies that attended our February 1st said Coco. Again, different woman, different community, different network. She said people are desperate to to get to experience this, to get away, to have that pause and that reset. Right. If I can help financially make this happen, and we put another retreat on the calendar for December of this year, and I will tell you, I definitely had a little freak out moment because I was like, oh my gosh, that’s a lot. All right. That’s a big that’s a big ask. Um, can we make this happen? Can my volunteers make this happen? Can I make this happen? And I said, if you can help, if you can make the funding happen, I will move mountains for these women. And so that was not planned. But we are doing it in December thanks.

Joshua Kornitsky: To the generosity of of donors. That’s.

CoCo Collier: Yes. And one of the ladies husbands works for Coca-Cola. They have the matching program, which is phenomenal. Big time, big help. And so that was such a blessing. And that retreat is actually an LJ Georgia, so very close by. So if someone a local business is listening to this and wants to sponsor like that sponsorship, you can come up and spend 15 minutes, 20 minutes talking to these mamas in person about why your business would be good for them, right? What you can do to help better their lives and get that face to face contact. Um, that one is actually at a lake, a lake house. There’s a barn next door to it. We’re going to do a country line dancing for our mamas as well. Um, but we’re able to provide for that one as a slightly smaller retreat. It’s going to be 12 women that attend that retreat. So all on scholarship. They’re not paying one single cent. Wow. Um, they are connecting on Facebook through another private Facebook group where they get to start the connection early. They get to figure out carpooling, which is also kind of purposeful because that allows them to kind of forces them to connect before they arrive, because it doesn’t matter what age of any of our women are or how successful I’ve learned any of our women are. But there’s still that fear that unknown of going to a place with a bunch of complete strangers. Right? I’m going to go spend five days with all these strangers. Um, there’s that, those nerves. And so the carpooling helps us kind of get rid of some of those nerves. I want to say, um, but, yeah, that’s. So that’s a that’s our retreat. That’ll be the third one this year. Um, we have next year’s different next year, we have on our calendar a we have our gala that’s going to be March 28th at Holbrook in downtown Acworth. Um, I don’t know if if you’ve ever been to Holbrook.

Joshua Kornitsky: Uh, I’ve certainly seen it. And I’ve met some folks from Holbrook.

CoCo Collier: So it’s an active adult facility upstairs. They have this beautiful, beautiful area, this space. Um, and so that’s where our gala is going to be. We’re going to have two artists that are teen artists that are going to be doing live demonstrations, and that’s going to be auctioned off at the end of the night, which I’m super excited. So I love seeing teenagers like, do what they are passionate about doing, and we have some talent in our area. Um, so that’s happening. And then we have a mission trip that we’re doing in April. Um, it is actually April 6th through the 11th. It’s during the Cob and it’s in Bartow County. What is Woodstock? Is what county is that?

Joshua Kornitsky: Cherokee.

CoCo Collier: It’s Cherokee. Thank you. I couldn’t think of that. Cherokee County. I think that’s during their spring break, and we have a couple spaces left for that. This is our first mission trip to Guatemala. It’s not my first time. It’s actually where my daughter was born, um, 18 years ago. And so, uh, I’ve been back on mission trips to Guatemala many times, and I had a couple women approached me about about this need to go on a mission trip like that. They were feeling they really wanted to go serve. They didn’t necessarily want to do it through like a church organization. They didn’t want to do it with a bunch of men. They didn’t want to go build a house because they were fearful they’d never been on a mission trip before. Um, and I was like, well, why don’t we do it through women of Hope Foundation? She’s like, you can do that. It’s like, I’ll move mountains. I’ll. I will move mountains to serve our women. So we’re going to serve single mamas in this community in Guatemala. Um, we’re flying to Guatemala City, and I’m so excited. We’ve got teen girls that are coming. We’ve got three teenage girls that are attending, um, we’ve got two anchored mamas that are joining us, and we’ve got space available. We’re able to add more to our group. We’re partnering with a team that’s down there living and serving your year long in Guatemala. And so we are able to customize this mission trip. And um, because I know for many it’s their first time on a mission trip, right.

Joshua Kornitsky: So I imagine that’s pretty intimidating, dating.

CoCo Collier: Right. And so I was like, and I said, let’s build this. I partnered with Serpent Life. I said, let’s build it especially for our teen girls. I want to plant that seed of of serving these other communities that, you know, are in a different world than we are in. Right? Um, their needs are different than our needs. And so we are building that. We’re going to we they have these water filtration kits that we can put together at the location we’re staying at, and then we’ll go put them into their homes. Um, their homes, you know, are basically a shack, a hut on a dirt floor. But we’re able to provide them some clean water, which is great. We wanted to do that. Um, we’re going to have some activities there for the kids to, to bring them in. We’re going to feed them, love on them, do some artwork with them, do some sports and, um, just share about what we’re doing. I love I mean, just show them some love and support. Like, who doesn’t need that, right.

Joshua Kornitsky: Absolutely. So I have one last big question. Yes. Last big question is where do you hope to bring the Lumina of Hope Foundation? What’s what’s your big goal if if there’s obviously you’re serving a diverse community of women with diverse, uh, let’s just say spectrum of needs. Um, but if if you had one big goal for the organization, what would that be? Where do you want to grow this to?

CoCo Collier: Yes. Um, that’s a great question, Josh. I would love to grow this globally, I really would, I would love to.

Joshua Kornitsky: Small aspiration. Nothing about this conversation’s been small, so.

CoCo Collier: Well, and that’s the problem with thinking without limits.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, or that’s the benefit which which I’m all about the reframe, right? Everything you, uh, leads me to believe that that will likely be the case one day. I don’t know why I even said likely it will be the case one day.

CoCo Collier: Right? I feel like I have been I popped so many fear bubbles at this time. You know, these things that used to stop me. They used to prevent me from speaking up. They used to prevent me from doing so many things, let me tell you, because I used to have a speech problem like that’s just one of them, right? And now I do public speaking, right? Like what the what? Who who would have ever dreamt that that this girl Coco would be doing that right? Um, but I’ve popped so many of them that it does not scare me anymore. Because I know this. I know, like, just like before you go to work out in the gym, right. If, let’s say that you’ve been, um, someone that the one of those people that just hate exercise, right? And you’re always stressed. You’re like, oh, I know I need to go to the gym. There’s always that little mental battle, right? That that it’s like, oh, you know, let’s just put it off one more day. You can go, you can go to the gym or, you know, there’s something in the universe that sometimes wants to battle it out with you because the, you know, because for whatever reason, there’s something amazing.

CoCo Collier: Once you do it, once you get there, once you go through it. And at the end of that exercise, you feel incredible, right? And so I have learned that by popping through and pushing through these fear bubbles, there is something so beautiful at the other end of it, the other side of it. And they don’t scare me anymore. So yeah, I do want to go global. Yes, I do want to bring hope globally. And yes, I do want to, um, I want to just shine some light on these these women that feel completely invisible. And I’m fighting for them because they don’t have a voice. So I don’t get to be meek and I don’t get to shy away. I don’t get to, um, go curl up in a fetal position in the corner and suck my thumb anymore because I went to hell and back for a reason, and I’m fighting for these women.

Joshua Kornitsky: It sounds to me like there’s a growing voice and I’m talking with her right now. Um, Coco, what’s the best way if if you want to participate, if you want to donate, if you want to just learn, or what’s the best way for someone to get in touch with you?

CoCo Collier: The best way is going to our website, Lumina ofhope. Com. Um, you. Yeah. Lumina ofhope. Com. You will find out who we are, who we serve, what we’re doing. Um, how to volunteer, how to sponsor. Um, the other best way, because I do a lot of things on my private, personal social media pages is finding me CoCo Collier. It’s just c o c o c o l l I e r um, and I you get to see a lot of behind the scenes on our journey as well. But there’s a lot of things that I do in our community to shine light on them and the, the businesses around us as well. And so, um, find me there and you will find everything.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, and we will also when we publish, we share all of those links as well. Um, I cannot thank you enough for what has been, uh, not to, to use the pun, but what has been, uh, an illuminating time.

CoCo Collier: Oh, okay.

Joshua Kornitsky: My guest today has been the absolutely incredible CoCo Collier. She is the founder of the Lumina of Hope Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to creating meaningful experiences and support for women and mothers of children with special needs through experiences, retreats, mission work, and community programs. Lumina of Hope helps women step outside their comfort zone and find renewed purpose. Coco’s work blends courage, compassion, and connection, empowering women to heal, grow, and rediscover their strength. I can’t thank you enough for the incredible time we’ve spent together. Coco.

CoCo Collier: Uh, thank you so much. I appreciate this opportunity to shine a little light on our little baby nonprofit. So thank you.

Joshua Kornitsky: I’m honored we can do to help. We’ll be happy to help. Thank you. Uh, I’d like to just remind everyone that today’s episode is brought to you in part by our community partner program, the Business RadioX Main Street Warriors defending capitalism, promoting small business, and supporting our local community. For more information, go to Main Street Warriors. Org and a special note of thanks to our title sponsor of the Cherokee chapter of Main Street Warriors. Diesel. David. Ink. Please go check them out at diesel. David comm. My name is Joshua Kornitsky. I am a professional implementer of the entrepreneurial operating system and I am your host here on Cherokee Business Radio. We’ll see you next time.