Over the past year, we’ve explored Carefully’s core values—Trust & Safety, Empowerment, Equity, Belonging, and Mutualism—celebrating the strong and brilliant women who bring them to life in our community.
Our sixth and last core value is Karma—the belief that the care we give always finds its way back.
'Karma means knowing that the cycle of giving and receiving care creates a positive impact on families and communities'
And who better to embody this than a truly inspiring leader?
Community Spotlight: Shanita Perdomo
Meet Shanita Perdomo-Carefully’s new Community Manager! Shanita's a fierce advocate creating new opportunities for young girls and building stronger, more connected communities.
Her nonprofit, Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization, empowers underserved high school girls in Northern New Jersey with college and career opportunities.An Oakland, CA native and graduate of UC Berkeley, Shanita's lived and academic experiences motivated her to explore the bridge between life skills and opportunities.
For the last 10 years, Shanita has professionally dedicated herself to therapeutic case management, developing and leading youth development programs, directing maternal shelters, and leading a nonprofit organization.
Now, she’s bringing that same passion for community and empowerment to Carefully and has officially joined our team as our Community Manager.
Welcoming Shanita to Carefully
We’re thrilled to welcome Shanita as our new Community Manager!
Her passion for community building and empowering young women aligns perfectly with Carefully’s mission, which is why we seized the opportunity to learn more about Shanita’s inspiring journey, her impactful work through Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc, and her thoughts on creating stronger, more connected communities through Carefully.
You realized that foster care and school systems weren’t doing enough to create effective and informative career exposure for underprivileged girls and young women. This helped your transition from social worker to founder of Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. Was there a defining moment that made you realize this leap was necessary?
I was a youth development specialist for a children and family organization in New Jersey, conducting life skills classes for teenagers in group homes and minors in maternity homes. As hard as I tried to introduce these young people to job skills and goal setting, they kept falling into the same unhealthy patterns, like violent relationships, short lived employment, homelessness, and unplanned pregnancies. As a youth, I was in foster care, experienced homelessness, unhealthy relationships and more but I beat the odds because I had mentors- people who kept me accountable, introduced me to sushi, and pushed me to teach my potential. Young women were close to my heart because most of my clients were young women and I didn’t want the guys getting distracted by the girls haha. Something powerful happens when women empower women.
Creating pathways for under-resourced girls is at the heart of your work. What are some of the biggest systemic barriers you’ve encountered, and how did you tackle them?
I grew up in the roughest neighborhoods in Oakland,CA. The schools were subpar, I dodged a few bullets and kidnappings. A lot of my friends were teen moms and my best friend was pregnant and gunned down in high school. The barrier was my environment. If it wasn’t for my teachers, caring adults, and mentors I would have been a statistic. In college, I got custody of my 4 siblings and had to become very resourceful. Again, I had a village of people who supported me with advice, babysitting, tutoring, summer camps, everything. In a way, I was underserved but I had so much to look forward to.
Carefully is all about creating supportive and inclusive communities. How does this mission align with your approach to empowering young women through Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc.?
Both organizations utilizes community connections while uplifting the community at the same time. Carefully is a grassroots approach to empowering families to care and educate the current and next generation. In the same vein, Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. relies heavily on the local community to care for and educate our young women, who will be the future mothers contributing their brilliance to the work force. Carefully is laying the foundation now so upcoming professionals won’t have to choose between their job and children later.
You’re introducing Carefully to Bergen County. What excites you most about how this platform could support families in the local community?
Bergen County is a great place to live and raise a family but not all families can afford quality childcare. Introducing Carefully to families, community organizations, and businesses will change that. Carefully will add structure, value and connection to the programs already offered here. I love to host and decorate for my children’s parties, so acting as a community builder gives me a great reason to plan a party!
What are some misconceptions about working with underserved communities that you’ve encountered, and how have you worked to shift those narratives?
The first misconception that comes to mind is that people from underserved communities are lazy. In my work as a therapeutic case worker, I’ve realized it’s not laziness, it’s lack of knowledge that begets fear, anxiety, and intimidation.
This is why I work hard to provide young women soft introductions to a variety of colleges and professions/professionals. Going to new environments and meeting new people can be overwhelming- the reason why many people stay within their comfort zone. As I scale Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc., my goal is to create a pipeline of motivated and empowered students into companies that champion women and acknowledge them for their hard work.
"A lot of my friends were teen moms and my best friend was pregnant and gunned down in high school. The barrier was my environment. If it wasn’t for my teachers, caring adults, and mentors I would have been a statistic."
You emphasize the untapped potential in under-resourced communities. Can you share a moment when one of your students exceeded everyone’s expectations, including their own?
During the recent career luncheon, a group of young women who lived in an out of home care group home setting attended the event with their social workers. At first, I and the professionals observed them to be disengaged and distracted. But after getting their makeup done and professional photos, they came back to the table with questions for the professionals, maintaining eye contact, and showing more interest in the event. Many people, including some professional volunteers, said they weren’t ready or didn’t want it enough, but I saw their confidence grow. They needed to get out of their shell and receive some encouragement from those around them. This is why Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. does not have any criteria for participants. I don’t want anyone to feel left out or restricted to participate.
Running a nonprofit is no small feat. What’s been your biggest learning curve as a founder, and how has it shaped the way you lead today?
Running a nonprofit is definitely not easy, and for me, the biggest challenge has been fundraising and building partnerships. I get so excited about program development and execution—that’s where my energy naturally goes—but constantly asking for money hasn’t always felt natural to me.
To get better at it, I’ve used platforms like Catchafire to connect with nonprofit fundraising consultants. They’ve helped me put together a solid fundraising plan to cover programming costs and eventually pay salaries for future employees.
Right now, I’m leading an amazing team of interns and volunteers, and my focus is on securing funding to take things to the next level. My goal is to get a space where we can host events, run after-school programs, and expand across New Jersey—and eventually the country. It’s been a big learning experience, but it’s taught me to balance my love for creating programs with the need to think strategically about growth and sustainability.
Saying 'Yes'
By simply saying YES, Shanita has transformed the YMI volunteer program, welcoming 10 college interns and mobilizing over 100 professional volunteers in impactful work-based learning initiatives.
Learn more and explore the various ways you can support Shanita through Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc.