LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Sherita Harmon was nominated by her mother, Jackie Madlock.

Mrs. Harmon is a remote learning champion! As we all know, COVID-19 came in and took over the world back in March 2020. Life as we know it changed for all of us.  However, it did not change the magnitude of love that Mrs. Harmon has for her students.

Mrs. Harmon has always been a giver.  She has always been the kind of person to show people that she cares for them.  She has always "shown up" exactly when you needed someone. Mrs. Harmon is always looking for ways to show love, care, and kindness.  If she ever sees a need, she will try everything in her power to fulfill that need.  That has been no different since this pandemic has hit.

"Whenever I called her during that time period, she was working to make sure her students were still getting what they needed, no matter what time of day or night it was," said Madlock. "She would say that she was sitting at her computer emailing or texting students who seemed to disappear so that she could check on them and make sure they were okay."

There is so much that she does in addition to being an awesome teacher. Mrs. Harmon is a wife and mother, so she is sharing her time with many, many people.  She mentors and freely shares what she knows with other people.  She founded and operates two nonprofit organizations.  What is amazing about these organizations is that they also allow or assist her in being able to go above and beyond for her students.

"I remember the conversation that Sherita and I had about starting an organization to help others in need," said Madlock. "The first name that popped up in her head was Blessed to Be a Blessing.  She wanted to share her blessings with other people.  She has always been this way."

The mission of the Blessed to Be a Blessing Foundation is to provide a helping hand through selfless love and giving by providing fellowship, meals, personal hygiene supplies, clothing, and other essentials to those in need. Mrs. Harmon fulfills her mission by sponsoring various events throughout the year to aid in feeding and giving back to those less fortunate, such as Valentine's, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day activities and meals.  Now add that to doing special things for her students.

A couple of years after she started teaching, Mrs. Harmon saw a need and created a mentoring program called H.U.G.S. (Helping Underserved Girls Succeed) Unlimited. She works with girls aged 15-18 from underserved communities. H.U.G.S. provides these young women with opportunities to foster positive relationships and get academic, social, and personal support.  These young ladies are also her students, with whom she has formed lifelong bonds.

"When Sherita has an idea or thought about something that she wants to do, especially if it involves her students or mentees, she will give me a call or text me," said Madlock. "Over the past couple of months and throughout this Coronavirus pandemic, she has not wavered in her role as a teacher or mentor.  So it was no surprise when she said that she wanted to do something special for her graduating seniors and mentees.  I thought that it was a great idea."

Mrs. Harmon created an activity, which she called "$20 for 2020, Congratulations, Seniors." All she wanted to do was gift her 17 seniors and mentees with $20 gift cards. She was going to make a small gift basket for each of them. She took to her social media to ask her family and friends if they would like to donate to this cause, and they did! In less than three days, she raised a total of $900. That was huge.  With that, she was able to gift all 17 seniors and mentees with the gift cards and some really nice baskets of essentials and goodies.  Then, she personally delivered all of these special gifts to each of them.  Talk about going above and beyond!