Today we’d like to introduce you to Dionne Ferguson.
Hi Dionne, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, by parents who were also born and raised in St. Louis. They attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and I did the same, attending Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. I followed in my aunt’s footsteps, and in 1994 I joined the Peace Corps and moved to Maseru, Lesotho, in Southern Africa. After two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer drilling horizontal wells in rural communities, it was time to return home to St. Louis. Then, I was challenged to think about what I would create in the world. My mother had always taught me the lessons of service, so I knew I would create a way to continue serving the community. From my long desire to be a teacher and my experience engaging youth in rural communities in Lesotho, I realized that I wanted to start a youth organization. Carrying my years of experience working and volunteering with schools, service organizations, nonprofit institutions, communities, and community-based organizations, in 2004, Good Journey Development Foundation was born.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our Ancestors and Elders have shown and taught us that progress is always a struggle. Some initial and personal struggles I had with being the founder and executive director of Good Journey centered around the resources of time and money. For the formative years of Good Journey, I also had multiple jobs, did community service work, and raised my daughter. While tough, those years taught me the art of managing diverse and multi-workflow, focusing on what is important, and the power and strength that comes through accomplishment. In 2023, the past is now the foundation, allowing Good Journey to be more and do more with youth and communities.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Good Journey Development Foundation?
Good Journey Development Foundation often referred to as Good Journey, is a youth leadership nonprofit in Missouri that the IRS designates as a 501(c)(3) organization. Founded in St. Louis in 2004, Good Journey’s mission is to support and build sustainable communities and young leaders who take responsibility for improving our communities and promoting the cultural understanding that contributes to the betterment of society. We envision a society where people, regardless of economic or ethnic background, can overcome obstacles and challenges. Hence, their ability to take advantage of life’s opportunities is uninhibited, and community leaders and strong and healthy communities emerge. To accomplish the mission, Good Journey implements holistic programs that demonstrate care for the individual and collective and include four proven strategies: 1. Develop young people’s connections to their identity, culture, and community 2. Recognize youth as community assets and experts 3. Engage youth as community leaders on issues that matter to them, and 4. Bring youth and adults together as equal partners. Good Journey programs include a fun summer leadership program, a youth-led podcast, a youth community garden, a youth-led social media team, art therapy, cultural exchange, and global youth leadership development. Additionally, we offer youth internships and give scholarships to our graduating high school seniors. We work with young people ages 8 to 25.
At Good Journey, we lead with insight from an African value system, the Nguzo Saba, operating with Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work & Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith in People. We hold ourselves accountable for the quality and lasting results of our work and our commitments to young people, families, communities, and partners. We value and celebrate the unique and diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives of everyone and treat each other with sensitivity and respect. We operate with the value of Ubuntu, knowing that our humanity is inextricably wrapped up together. Our decisions consider the effects on humanity and all living creatures because we recognize that everything and everyone is connected. We hold ourselves to a high standard of practice in being humane, recognizing that we all have a right to dream, to create in our unique way, to live free, and to be here.
Can you talk to us about the role of luck?
Luck is defined as success or failure brought by chance. Nothing about my life or Good Journey is by chance. I know people, like my grandmothers, have prayed and put words of hope, faith, love, and intent into the universe on my behalf. People continue to put good energy into the universe on my behalf and on behalf of Good Journey, requesting peace, love, abundance, and success for us. So, I do the work knowing that success ,that progress is inevitable. There have certainly been and continue to be great and challenging experiences. Both provide opportunities for lessons that help us grow stronger in our intent and purpose.
Pricing:
- Most Good Journey programs are free.
- There is a cost of $225 for youth to participate in Good Journey’s seven-week-long Summer Leadership Academy (scholarships offered).
- To benefit youth and help maintain and grow our programs, we invite people to join our Good Journey and become monthly supporters at www.goodjourney.org.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodjourney.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodjourneyinc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodjourneyinc
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/good-journey-development-foundation
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/goodjourneyinc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodjourneyinc
- Other: https://anchor.fm/goodjourneyinc
