Charlena Smith says that her successful business was directly the result of one act of accidental kindness. A busy working mom and entrepreneur, Charlena was approached by a woman for help outside of a grocery store. Sensing extreme need, Charlena and her sons wound up not only buying groceries for the woman, whose name was Maria, but also accompanied her home. “I took a huge leap outside of my comfort zone, and I drove her home. That is where I met one of her children, who spoke a tiny bit more English than Maria could. I discovered the family was from Romania and was living with another family from Syria. These Romanian and Syrian refugees had been through more than I’ll ever be able to imagine,” explains Charlena, who along with her own family, remained connected to the group. “In that one event, that single step outside my comfort zone, I gained a deeper understanding of so many things.”
Through Maria, Charlena was introduced to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), where she became a volunteer. She was happily tasked with setting up a system to acclimate Syrians into U.S. culture as smoothly as possible, by teaching them to navigate not only a new landscape and different language, but also different medical, transportation, and school systems. This also inspired her to create Optio, a matched and guided accountability framework that empowers people to live their best, most inspired lives
Read more about Charlena’s interview: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/sheroes-how-charlena-smith-of-optio-is-empowering-women-to-live-their-best-lives/
