Autumn’s daughter, Sydnei Page Everett is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Mother & Daughter Experience. She is currently enrolled at Tennessee State University an is majoring in Health Sciences with a concentration in Public Health. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., in the Honors College, a member of the National Honor Society of Leadership and Success and apart of the Student Government Association, Student Union Board of Governors. Sydnei is the former President of the Top Teens of America, Nashville chapter. She is also involved with The Positivity Board and Undergraduate Students National Dental Association (USNDA). In her spare time, she enjoys being a middle school cheer coach, motivational speaking, traveling, service to the community and mentoring young girls. The recipients of the services that (M.A.D.E.) offers are women and girls of all ages, races and ethnicity. “If you are a woman who is a mother-figure to a young girl and/or you had a hand in helping to raise her, our services are for you. If you are a teacher, coach, sponsor or administrator who wants to improve mother and daughter relationships, so that the quality of life for girls in your care is enhanced, our services are for you. If you are an organization that wants to partner together to bring awareness to the community for greater impact, our services are for you,” says Autumn. Autumn shares she absolutely loves tapping into an area that a lot of people tend to shy away from. The mother/daughter relationship is extremely complex and it’s not easy to navigate. “Our relationship is not perfect at all. But, we are intentional about making sure that love is in action, that wisdom is heard and respected and that understanding is felt. I love that we are impacting generations of women and girls, mothers and future mothers and are encouraging mothers to be the role model for their daughters. Healthy relationships are so very important and we believe that the mother/daughter bond sets the stage for every subsequent relationship in a girl’s life - whether romantic or platonic. My mother and her grandmother is the catalyst behind our non-profit and I love that most of all,” she says. As with any nonprofit organization, they rely heavily on donations from the general public. Along with their services, they have also established The Mrs. Linda M. Everett Arts Memorial Scholarship Fund. This fund awards monies to those who desire to obtain a degree in the Fine Arts, as Autumn’s mother was an avid proponent for the arts as a dance instructor and sound engineer. They also look to help with any arts related activities for children. Having their 501(c)(3) designation is certainly a plus, however funding has been a big challenge. Autumn shares her mother has definitely impacted her life the most. “She instilled an impeccable work ethic in me, to be graceful and authentic at all times and to simply live life on my own terms,” she says.
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Moving forward, their plan is to continue to get the word out about The Mother & Daughter Experience, its mission and purpose. “We hope to seek out opportunities to share space with other mother and daughter duos to ignite those sacred bonds. We also plan to promote our 2nd Annual Mother/ Daughter Breakfast Affair coming up in June 2020. It will be titled ‘Generational Gemstones’. We are actively seeking sponsorship at this time. Additionally, we endeavor to endow the memorial scholarship so that we can begin awarding funds to deserving students,” she says. h Nashville - January/February 2020