Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebonie Trice.
Hi Ebonie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My parents taught me values for the church, helping others, and volunteering. I have never been homeless however I grew up to always offer a hand up. I have experienced hardships of my own, fired from a job, evicted from my residence, single parenting, and bad credit. Once I found a way to educate myself and use the available resources, I rose above my circumstances, and I believe that the next individual and/or family could do the absolute same. I am fortunate to see my parents still married after forty-two years. I also know that shelters and resources in Indiana were mainly for men, and if a family fell on hard times, it had to be separated, leaving the woman usually to care for the child or children.
The desire to help burned within me to help make a change for individuals and families who want to become more independent. Sharing my heart with the world, I want to afford ANY individual the same opportunity of a new beginning or a second chance. I want to help fill the gap to assist and save as many individuals and families as I can. My ultimate goal is to get people off the streets, and keep others from heading in that direction simply by offering the help they need.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wish! This has been a journey that hasn’t been easy but I understand why the bumps in the road have been necessary. When I decided on a name for the organization it had already been taken. I didn’t know what to do next because the name matched perfectly with my business goals. I was sharing my story with an employee at the Secretary of State of Texas office and she informed me to contact the owner. She stated that some people register names however they never use them. I contacted the owner and discovered the business was no longer in operation. The owner quickly dissolved the business and I immediately registered under the name Mission Accomplished in 2014.
I recruited about 17 people who were uber excited to help under-resourced communities. After about 60 days, a few people deciding to leave the organization and within six month it was five people not including myself. I was really discouraged however during that time period I was able to make connections with other organizations as well as gain more knowledge on how to run a non-profit organization. I still have the same five people who have been my rock over the years. I am so grateful for each of them. There have been other bumps in the road such as funding and partnerships. We’ve always been able to receive support from those in the community. But we’ve never been able to have sponsors within large organizations or corporations until this year.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Mission Accomplished?
Mission Accomplished is a 501(c) (3) organization established to provide individuals and families with resources to live a more prosperous, stable and healthy lifestyle. We are an organization that provides a laundry service to individuals experiencing homelessness. We are known as the Laundry Angels. For four years, we would visit various homeless camps to pick up and drop off the laundry on the same day. This year we received enough funds to purchase a mobile laundry trailer that will be a various locations to continue our program. One thing I would like for individuals to know is when you see someone who is homeless you don’t always have to give money. Anyone can give a smile, words of encouragement, a meal or even a nice conversation. Never allow what a person looks like on the outside to determine what their heart feels.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I loved when my grandfather would rally up all the families and we would have a cookout. It would be at the park, a relative’s home or even at our house. It was fun to hang out with all of my cousins. I still have so much fun when all of my cousins get together now that we are all adults with our own families.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@mission-accomplished.org
- Website: www.mission-accomplished.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missionaccomplishedtexas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionAccomplishedTexas/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/missionaccompl4
Suggest a Story: VoyageAustin is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
