OUR STORY: TURNER FAMILY & ENCOURAGE FOLKS

Encourage Folks is a family business, actually one of a few.  We started intentionally working on encouragement, kindness, generosity projects in 2018 as a family.  We wanted to do more for our community and make a more significant impact.  A lasting impact, like my friend Ty called it. 

Like most things in life we were pushed a little.  A couple of friends died suddenly in about a year and through those tragedies good was prompted.  These events came together with other life circumstances to make me realize it's time to jump in with both feet, in different areas of life, including the people and family we wanted to be.  I was headed in that direction for a long time, but it's hard to make the jump.  Getting in the deep water so you can't see the bottom sounds scary, and it is a little.  But I remind myself often, if I am ever going to make a big impact and a big difference in my family and my community, that's where I need to be.  

We realized a couple of things pretty quickly. 

One, it's not always easy to be generous and kind! For different reasons, but here's a few. You are never going to have the time, but do it anyway.  You will let yourself down in the doing, other people will let you down, and circumstances will be hard sometimes, but do it anyway.  We had to make kindness and generosity priorities in life, and it takes daily work.  We're a family of faith, so the question was, do we want to try and live like Jesus? Really, do we?  Either we go all in and do the best we can, or we don't.  And if so, what does that look like for us, not other people, but us. 

Two, we figured out pretty quick, the Turner's can only accomplish so much on our own! It's a principle that's the same in all areas of life.  We dreamed up projects to help the less fortunate and those in need around us, kids, and the homeless.  We created encouragement projects for local police departments and public servants.  We sometimes asked a hundred of friends and family to join in and help.  Many did! People are looking for ways to be encouraging and help other people, we witnessed that.  People have feel a deep need to do good, but many don't know where it comes from or what to do with it.  We want to help fix that problem!

Encourage Folks is one part of a big plan to make a lasting impact.  We started Encourage Folks for two reasons; to make it easy for others to encourage and create a source to help fund big and bold projects that make a difference in our community and the world.

Lately, my purpose, our family's purpose, has been clarified.  Businesses that focus on more than making a profit to enrich ourselves is one part.  We've got big dreams and plans, but we know you have to take a step, or dreams stay just that, dreams.  We believe Encourage Folks is a simple means to build encouragement and kindness into people's hearts and minds. It's one simple way to help build those muscles.