Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Tara Twitty
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The Hello Dear VLS initiative is dedicated to the memory of my mother, who passed away from breast cancer in 2016. She always greeted me with “Hello Dear” whenever she called, and she was truly dear to my heart. In her honor, I wanted to establish a business that would support and uplift caregivers, chemotherapy patients, and survivors alike.
Every year, our organization donates blankets and socks to the oncology department at Miami Valley Hospital and The Breast Wishes Foundation. Our goal is to provide the same love and comfort that my mother cherished whenever she received thoughtful gifts from caring individuals. We have been carrying out these initiatives for the past four years, and last year, we successfully raised $5,000.00.
Additionally, we participate in an annual walk to honor breast cancer survivors, those who have lost loved ones, and those currently undergoing treatment. Above all, our efforts are a tribute to my mother’s memory and her enduring spirit.
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?
There have certainly been challenges along the journey of starting and navigating the direction of the business. The founder and CEO primarily relied on personal savings to cover initial expenses, including inventory and vendor payments necessary for donating blankets and socks to selected organizations. Additionally, finding ways to get the organization out to networks that allow other businesses, organizations, and people donation opportunities to our organization.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am currently the Detention Program Manager at Montgomery County Juvenile Detention which serves at-risk youth. Additionally, I am the founder and CEO of Cassdayton Consulting and Mentoring Services, CASS Outreach, and Hello Dear VLS. Cassdayton helps small businesses become established and gain sustainability through networking and connecting them to business resources. CASS Outreach helps youth with independent living programming.
I am most proud that I can be a vessel in my community that helps enrich the lives of my community through mentoring, referral of resources, volunteering and consulting. Additionally, I help conduct the pantry for my church to help the community with hunger issues and desert in the 45417 area.
My heart is genuine, sincere and have a passion for helping each person become the best version of themselves without judgment. I am personable and have my own life journey as a testimony of overcoming triumph and being able to still accomplish greatness.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I view myself as a risk-taker. Being a risk-taker allows for growth and new opportunities and for you to step out of your comfort zone. A major I took was back in 2012 when I decided to open my business and leave a county job to see if I could be a full-time entrepreneur in the middle of being my mother’s caregiver. I left my job in February 2016 and my mother passed in August 2016.
In 2019, after I was able to find some normalcy after my mom passed, I looked for a school to help with that. I started school in 2019 to obtain my doctorate in business administration. The first degree to pursue and obtain without my mother. I was able to complete and graduate in December 2022.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellodearvls
- Facebook: Hello Dear VLS
