Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Jolie Gunnell.
Danielle Jolie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in a small town on the west coast of Florida by a single mother of four children. For many years into adulthood, I was consumed by the effects of the hardships endured in my formative years of life. A mother battling through alcoholism and working to provide at the most basic level within the confines of poverty, I was forced to grow up quickly leaving me full of resentment, depression, and anxiety. The gravity of it all brought clearly into my awareness as I found myself utterly broken with children and a husband of my own, and desperate to break the negative emotional mindset that had become ingrained in every facet of my life. This is where God found me. Or I found Him. My story is about redemption, healing, and faith. I now believe that God allows us to walk through the dark at times, so that we may serve as His light for others. Thinking back on my life, I recall many lights along the way, perhaps not aware of their gestures and the significant impact it had on me. If we pay close enough attention, we start to recognize His subtle guidance and love all around us in the form of other broken people.
In 2015, at 30 years old, I discovered Jesus. I was led to a group of women that I believe God placed in my life to reveal himself, heal, and show His plans for my life. As I dove into the Bible with “The Queens”, as we called ourselves, I would soon discover that God had created a safe space, amongst women who ranged in their experiences, knowledge, and wisdom, to help me uncover, accept, and ultimately overcome the pain of the past. The world and my place in it was finally starting to make sense. It was during one of my first bible studies with the group that God called me to start a charity. The study was a story about a man named Gideon, an ordinary man that God called to do an extraordinary task. Much like myself, Gideon doubted his ability to fulfill what God was calling him to do and God’s response to Gideon and I, “no, you do not have the ability, but I do.” For the first time in my life, I realized this power that existed within me. But it wasn’t my power alone, so with that, I knew I needed to simply start walking holding onto the confidence that God would go before each step I took.
Without fully understanding what the charity would entail, I set out into the South Florida community to find the need. Over the next year, I served children in various areas of need including; food, clothing, baby necessities, and much more. I partnered with many local non-profits, church outreach programs, and individuals to further my reach and exposure. What I noticed was astounding, there was a constant request for the basic hygiene essentials. As I dug deeper, I discovered that a majority of low-income families struggle to afford the basic essentials. When prioritizing survival needs and financial obligations, hygiene was lower on the list resulting in an inability to maintain optimal health. I found that girls were skipping school during menstruation due to insufficient supply of feminine hygiene products, babies were sitting in reused disposable diapers, and children were shamefully suffering the embarrassment of poor oral and body hygiene.
Due to the lack of local resources and government assistance available, it was clear GIVT would serve, educate, and advocate for children facing this adversity. It was at this moment I realized what the painful upbringing was for, God had been preparing and positioning me for this cause.
GIVT comes from a combination of the words give and gift, “Your give is their gift”, based off of the scripture; Deuteronomy 16:17 which states, “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.” GIVT is a grassroots non-profit that originated out of a residential garage and is now located in a small warehouse in East Boca Raton. We distribute a high volume of diapers, pads, hygiene, socks, and underwear to children suffering the consequences of various levels of poverty. We strive to meet the need where it’s at, we are looking for the child whose family isn’t making it to the doorsteps of organizations offering help. As we look ahead into the future we hope to explore opportunities within the school system. The chances of a child’s need being met are significantly higher when under the care of a trained school faculty member with the means to immediately fill the need.
We are all designed for so much more than our current struggles. GIVT exists to create an environment that allows children to focus more on being a child and less on hardship. If we build them up with truth and confidence in their potential, we can break the vicious cycle of poverty no matter the current circumstances.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3500 NW BOCA RATON BLVD. #610
BOCA RATON, FL 33431 - Website: WWW.THEGIVT.COM
- Email: HELLO@THEGIVT.COM
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegivt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THEGIVT1
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