- She’s a dreamer living her dreams and teaching children and adults to dream and chase every iota of their ambitions.
- During her visit to Kenya recently, she spoke to over 12,000 students, sponsored a student, donated to different schools and donated copies of her children’s book to numerous children.
- On December 14, 2023, she will be honored for her impact and contribution to leadership building, justice and advocacy.
I want so much to leave a legacy of good works and upliftment on the planet. That is the reason I started The Trueness Project
M. Teresa Lawrence, President and Executive Director, The Trueness Project.
Born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States, M. Teresa Lawrence, an accomplished attorney, publisher, educator and entrepreneur, is one of the most impactful creatives and change-makers of our time today.
She’s a dreamer living her dreams and teaching children and adults to dream and chase every iota of their ambitions.
In a recent interview with Scholar Media Africa, she explains her journey, vision, and how she is positioning herself to impact even more lives globally and help them live authentic lives.
A Creative Visionary at the Covered Wagon Nation, her office in Jackson, Wyoming, USA, Teresa has been establishing outside-the-box activities invented to showcase participants’ creativity and authentic selves.
“I express my creativity by envisioning and implementing innovative programs that empower community building, celebrate creativity and inspire all of us to live in authenticity.
This includes establishing leadership training, promoting arts and culture, and fostering connections with like-minded individuals all over the world,” she explains.
Leadership of Play
Her coaching program, dubbed Leadership of Play, trains her clients to explore their fears and seek how they can collaboratively face their fears through small steps and the desire to achieve their goals, ultimately overriding the fears.
Teresa is also an author of two books about leadership: Gloriousness and The Power of Leadership with M. Teresa Lawrence.
“I wrote Gloriousness to teach children that they have the power to choose their personal narratives. Life is challenging and children sometimes get stuck in sadness due to traumatic experiences.
I looked at what was happening in the world and realized that I had to help,” she says.
The other book is a collaboration of transformational stories from leaders around the world.
“In my chapter, I share my belief that we should maintain a child-like wonder and playfulness, which will help us become better leaders.
I also narrate how I was held at gunpoint on my first day at work as an attorney and how I escaped the ordeal and continued using the same elevator daily until my ambitions overcame my fears.
The power of the book is in the collection of leadership stories as we all learn from the experiences of others,” the creative explains.
You can get yourself a copy of any of the two books on Amazon via https://mteresalawrence.com.
She is also a co-author of the newly-released masterpiece, The Moral Compass, writing about how integrity is being true to yourself.
The Trueness Project
In October this year, her non-profit, The Trueness Project, got registered in the USA.
“I founded it to promote authentic self-expression and storytelling. Our programs aim to create spaces for people of all backgrounds to share their stories and truths.
When we live in authenticity and integrity with ourselves, we are in the best position to positively impact the world,” says the non-profit’s President and Executive Director.
It achieves this through offering various programs and initiatives to help the participants with self-discovery and is also set to offer charity services to communities.
Teresa’s service to humanity is entirely love-driven, exhibiting Mother Teresa’s belief that “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving. I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
To help children and their families tap into the power of personal narratives and master their destinies, “There will be online classes, courses, seminars, workshops, mentorship sessions, experiential events, performances, and community outreach activities to inspire children and their families and expand their appreciation for various art forms,” says Teresa.
The benefits of this life-changing non-profit extend beyond the boundaries of the USA; various countries globally stand to benefit.
“I want so much to leave a legacy of good works and upliftment on the planet. That is the reason I started The Trueness Project,” says the transformational leader.
In September 2023, Teresa visited Kenya as one of the speakers during the famed Kenya Keynote Tour organized by Top Talent Agency.
It involved about nine transformational leaders and change-makers from the USA talking to over 12,000 students across various academic institutions in Kenya.
During the tour, she also donated Gloriousness to numerous children in different schools.
Her visit to rural Kenyan communities changed her perspective on life, and, following the impulse to upgrade the lives of the young people and the communities she visited in Kenya, she has been strategizing.
The result is a program called The Kenya Initiative.
“As I traveled the country, I spoke to several educators and students about the needs they felt would uplift them. The Kenya Initiative is the result of those conversations.
I understand that the initiative is a first step. It is, however, a way to bring awareness to these issues and collectively seek a solution,” says the transformational leader.
Inside the deal
To respond to the needs of the various institutions and rural villages she longs to transform, Teresa:
1. Wants to raise funds for 10 Starlink Satellite Systems with complete installation for remote Kenyan villages.
2. Plans to raise finances for clean, green and renewable energy sources for remote Kenyan villages to keep the residents’ homes and businesses powered.
3. Desires to get laptop donations with complete operating systems for schools in Kenya. “I visited schools that had 3 computers for 2000 students and I had to hold back tears,” she remembers.
4. Wants to muster funds to pay tuition for one year at various boarding schools for 100 girls.
5. Plans to raise finances to purchase sanitary hygiene products for thousands of girls in Kenyan schools.
“Feminine Hygiene is so important. Some girls in Kenya leave school once they have their menstrual cycle because there are no feminine hygiene products in the schools for their use.
Most of the girls do not return to their education in some communities. Buying feminine hygiene products is a needed priority for these schools,” she clarifies.
Her return to Kenya to implement this initiative will also offer her a chance to fulfill her desire to donate her transformative children’s book Gloriousness to children in Kenya and around the world.
“Education is so important and I firmly believe that my story resonates with students and exemplifies the importance of education and the need for leadership education to be a part of it,” Teresa notes.
Raising the funds
Loaded with this transformative dream and the reach of her non-profit, Teresa is hopeful that more cheerful givers and transformational leaders will rally behind her to support her vision.
Are you excited to donate to the project? Donate via PayPal to yourtruenessORG@gmail.com or click https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/truenessproject?.
That is the idea behind The Grand Butterfly Gathering.
Deeply seated in the tenets of The Trueness Project on the power of leadership, transformation, and the collective strength of visionaries and change-makers, Teresa and her team began with a humble idea of gathering 400 people dressed like butterflies to break the current world record of the highest number of people ever gathered dressed as butterflies, which stands at 367.
Why butterfly?
“The butterfly symbolizes unlimited potential for growth and positive change. It’s the symbol of transformation we all make as we learn, struggle and eventually master the journey of life,” says Teresa.
The planet-shaking event will be on June 29, 2024, in Jackson, Wyoming, and is a fundraiser for The Trueness Project.
“We aim to inspire communities worldwide to embrace this symbol of change and make an impactful difference. The Grand Butterfly Gathering is a celebration of our journey.
It is also an opportunity for believers of a transformed world filled with community, creativity and love to take a stand,” says the creative visionary.
People can participate in the in-person event on June 29, 2024, in Jackson, Wyoming. The Butterfly March into the town square will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the world record attempt will be made at noon Denver Mountain Time.
“Honestly, I pray that this event will be so love-filled that we collectively lift the vibration of the planet. We can, and will break this record!” Teresa declares.
Anyone can participate virtually from their community by dressing up as a butterfly.
“We have asked community leaders all over the world to pick a local children’s charity and use this event as a fundraiser for them,” Teresa, the event convener and host, clarifies.
Encouragingly, people from across the globe have already started signing up for it via https://yourtrueness.org/epic-garden-invitation.
Honoring “Mother” Teresa
Undoubtedly, the world needs more Teresas; the essence of celebrating her goes without saying.
On December 14, 2023, Teresa will be honored with a Doctorate in Humane Letters in Leadership Development, Justice, and Advocacy by the Open Christian University USA, in collaboration with Angaza Bible College, Kenya.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Doctorate in Humane Letters in Leadership Development, Justice, and Advocacy because it recognizes my work in expanding leadership training throughout the world and promoting a transformed world filled with community, creativity and love.
It also recognizes the impact The Trueness Project has already had in Kenya. I had the privilege of mentoring over 12,000 students during the Kenya Keynote Tour.
I sponsored a student at Manga Girls High School, donated to several schools, hired Kenyan students, and actively promoted Kenyan Talent in the United States,” the honoree says.
Teresa adds that the honor will pave a clearer path for her to raise the funds for The Kenya Initiative and The Trueness Project in general.
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The event, to be held in a Nairobi-based hotel, will also see various Kenyan change-makers and transformational leaders honored with doctorates in recognition of their contributions in different spheres.
You can connect with Teresa Lawrence on LinkedIn to learn more about her and her projects.
