Thoughts on Leadership from Hands On Greater Richmond Day

Several Jepson students, alums and even one Dean (thanks Dean Williams!) participated in the first Hands On Richmond Day.  Our job was to provide “back-up” for Hands On staff as they checked folks in and signed them up at the kick off.  The rally actually got me awake and alert on a Saturday morning, not an easy feat.  After the kick off, I went to volunteer at Southside Child Development Center where I got to see one of my colleagues in action as true leader.

Shelia Pleasants is the Director of Southside Child Development Center, a center providing scholarships and subsidized child care to 2-12 year olds in the Richmond area.  Southside is one of the oldest child care centers in Richmond and has a long tradition of dedicating high quality services to low-income families.  I knew Shelia because Southside participates in Success By 6’s STAR project, a comprehensive quality improvement and professional development program for child care centers. 

When I arrived at Southside on Saturday, Shelia gave me a big hug and a paintbrush.  She had three projects going simultaneously– painting a room inside, laying new mulch and painting a rusty fence to give it a new look.  As I got to work on the fence, Shelia never seemed to stop.  She had a shovel of mulch in her hand while she was problem solving for the painters inside.  As soon as we finished one section of the fence, she had another section ready to go.  There was Shelia up on a ladder sweeping cobwebs.  And a second later, back off the ladder with “goop” to clean our paint-splattered hands.  Every moment she was upbeat, focused and thankful.  Every moment she made me want to work harder on the task at hand. 

Shelia is truly a servant leader.  She dedicates her days, even her weekends, to making sure the kids of Southside have the best and most nurturing experience in their early years.  She walks the walk and talks the talk of what a caring and trustworthy leader should be.  She does all of this without fanfare– just consistent, quality care and leadership.  I think Shelia is a gem in Richmond’s nonprofit community and I hope that other Jepsonites will get to experience leadership like Shelia’s during the 150 Days of Service.