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Behind every good NFL player is his mother.

They are most likely teen moms, part of the high school booster club, and provided hugs and encouragement throughout their career.

Tonight, we speak to an NFL mom who is part of a unique organization meant to support and uplift players in their parents.

I'm so happy you're joining us.

I'm from Los Angeles.

This is Kelsey s PBS.

Welcome to everybody with Angela Williamson and innovation, Arts, education and public affairs program.

Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

And now your host, doctor Angela Williamson.

Cheryl Foster is our guest.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for having me.

Well, you're doing so many incredible things, not just with what you're doing in your business, but what you're doing in the community.

But before we get there, I want our audience to get to know you a little bit.

So tell us your story.

Well, I am Cheryl Foster.

I've been married for over 45 years, actually.

And, I'm the mother of two children.

I have a son.

I have a daughter, and they're both very successful.

And that's something that I'm very, very proud of because I've always told my kids to always strive for excellence and do not let anyone kill their dreams.

And how do you teach children to do that?

That seems we don't ever see a step by step way of how do we teach our children to be excellent.

And you've done that.

So how do we do that?

I think it's more or less like a buy in.

It's whatever it is that you believe.

You project that on your kids and you know the one thing about life is that we all are students of life, whether we want to be or not.

You know, we're always learning something unless you're the smartest person.

And then there's no room for you to learn anything.

But the thing is, I tried to lead by example with my children and stuff.

You know, I didn't want to fall into the trap of telling them that they should do certain things, but I wanted them to see that I am definitely leading them by the examples that I'm setting for them.

And so I think they kind of gravitated to that because even when they were younger, what I did was I went to, I went to the school that they were going to, and I actually preview the curriculum and I taught it to them.

And because I knew that they were going to be more than just students, I knew that they were going to be involved in different social clubs as well as maybe athletics, but I just kind of wanted them to have that edge.

So what I did for them, I prepared them like in the summertime.

I would do like reading programs for them, and I would also teach them at a higher level.

And you talked about the preparation and that's important too.

But you also talked about setting children up so that they can succeed.

How do we miss that sometimes as moms?

Well, because I mean, you know, sometimes we're just busy.

You know, we may have to work outside the home, which I did, but yet and still, my husband and I, we were very clever in how we parent at our kids.

He may be home in the daytime.

I may work at night.

He may work at night, or I'm there in the daytime.

So we never had to have babysitters for our kids because we we took the initiative to make sure that we were there for them, because we didn't want to have too much outside influence.

We wanted to be that influence.

And also too, we didn't have any family that was close to us.

So it was just basically the four of us.

This is what I'm here to hear is that you have a strong relationship with your husband, which is why you're married 45 years.

Yes, but also two.

I'm hearing that there is a foundation there.

So how important is that foundation?

Not only for the family unit, but to help our children move forward in life so that they can succeed.

I think the greatest lessons that kids learn is at home, and you want your kids to make mistakes at home, because then that way you can correct them.

You know there is no right and wrong and how you raise your kids.

I mean, because there's no manual out there.

You learn through trial and error.

But the one thing that I learned when I was younger, there was seven of us, and my mom gave us all journals because she said that she was not going to be perfect and that she was going to make mistakes.

She never picked up our journal.

She gave us an opportunity to have a voice and to be able to take our journals to her.

And we could just kind of talk about some of the things that was going on in our lives as well.

And I just feel that it's so important for us to understand when we're raising kids, that we're we're raising individuals.

They're not us.

You know, I may think a certain way and they may think another way.

So I think it's important for you to get to know who your kids are.

Because you're helping them develop their personality so they can take whatever gifts and talents and abilities they have.

They can take that to the next level.

Most definitely.

Well, and so how do we do that as parents?

Trust is key.

Life is about trusting.

Life is about loving.

When a person feel as though they can trust you.

What will they do?

They're going to open up to you.

And the thing is, you know, I never wanted to make the mistake of saying, you know, do as I say, because, you know, we can say that all day long.

But what does that mean?

Because if you're if you can't mirror the things that you're saying to your kids, you're a fraud.

They're not going to listen to you because they're saying, okay, well, she's doing this.

But then again, she's telling us to do the complete opposite.

So I just basically wanted to, you know, just set an example for them and show them what leadership look like.

And also, too, when you're raising kids, it's a partnership.

It's a buy in.

In order to demonstrate and be this role model for your children.

Because both your children, they've taken a little bit of different roads than mom and dad.

How do you demonstrate that?

So what were you showing your children?

Were you in the community?

You were also helping them with their schoolwork.

Understand that.

But was community also a part of this vision of showing your children how to be excellent?

Community is so important.

But I'm going to piggyback just for a second.

Of course.

It's about love.

Love covers a multitude of things.

My first love story was with my mom and dad.

I knew that I was loved.

I knew that I was love from my uncles.

You know, it wasn't something that I had to.

Once I got older, I didn't have to think about, okay, how am I going to show up in the world?

I just knew that being loved as a kid, that I had love in my heart.

And so whenever I had kids and stuff.

Think about when that kid.

I don't know if you have children or not, but when they first look at you, that's their first love story.

That's why they feel safe.

It's up to us to make sure that they're content, that they continue to feel safe and trusting.

And so what I did, with my children, I wanted them to understand that there's going to be people in this world that does not look like you.

They does not think like you.

So we had a friend that had a group home for kids that had autism.

And, I would take my kids over there because I wanted them to see that what we've been told is normal.

Is it really normal?

And so we would go over and play basketball with them.

We would have barbecues, you know, and so I just didn't want my kids to get caught up in the fact that, okay, this is my normalcy.

This is how we do things.

But someone else, they do something different.

Who's right, who's wrong.

So you're giving them an entire like, world view instead of what they are just told?

What's normal?

It's creates that tunnel vision.

But you're saying no, get rid of the tunnel vision.

Give your child the world view and they'll be successful in whatever they do.

Of course, because think about it.

Life is never going to be just about you.

It's about everyone.

This is why you have to embrace people.

You have to embrace the differences that people bring to the table.

Because you may think one way, I may think another way, but how do we bridge that gap?

How do we respect each other?

How do we love each other?

How do we trust each other?

Well, that's a good way to transition.

To my other question.

You write these really detailed and thought provoking affirmations that shows those different qualities in there.

Why did you start writing those affirmations?

You must have saw a need in the community.

And then why is it important that we have those daily affirmations?

Well, I saw a need for myself.

Oh, because anything that I write, I mean, self-talk is so important.

Most people can't even look themselves in the mirror because they don't like what's reflecting back to them.

I like Cheryl Foster, and I just basically wanted to make sure, you know, that, we don't get to see what we look like when we're talking to people.

So I wanted to make sure, that people saw the real Cheryl Foster.

You know, I needed to know how I was showing up in the world.

So I would just stand in the mirror, and I would just talk to myself, and I would just affirm who I am.

I would affirm my day, you know?

And I would ask God, what is it that you want me to learn today?

You know, so that's where the, the affirmation started.

And then I remember one time one of my friends was saying to me, you know, she would ask me, what was I doing?

And I said, I'm actually, you know, affirming my day and myself.

And so she asked me if I would send it to her, which I did.

And, so then when I became the education coordinator for the NFL, mom, well, the Professional Football Players Mothers Association, I thought it was so important for people to start their day off with some sort of motivation.

So sometimes it would just kind of happen by things that I would hear or just basically different circumstances.

And, that's where it all started from.

And it's it's growing.

And now people are asking me.

You should probably write a book, you know, but, we'll say, okay, because you never.

Know room right here for books, so.

You never know.

You talked about showing up and how important that is.

How do you use that when you're writing your affirmations?

It's just basically kind of think about, sometimes I think about just things that have happened.

And, it may be something that, my husband may have said to me.

It could be something that my kids may have said or my friends, because I'm a thinker and I think about a lot of different things, you know, because I think it's so important to, you know, peace always come to me.

What what does what does that mean?

What does that look like?

You know, to have that peace.

And when I'm writing, the motivational Monday, the affirmations, it's all about peace.

It's all about joy.

And it's all about calmness.

Those are three things that are hard to define now and this life that we live.

How do we find it?

You have to be deliberate.

You have to claim it.

You have to be willing to receive it.

We only have one life to live.

We don't get a do over.

So why not do it peacefully?

Why not have joy?

Why not sometimes.

Quiet the noise.

I'm the master acquiring the noise.

My peace is more important to me than anything else.

And so what you're telling me is that we need to make ourselves accountable for those types of feelings that we have.

100%.

You know, sometimes in life.

The things that I've learned is that, people will have a tendency to push things aside.

This is why they get triggered, because they never dealt with it.

And sometimes people look at grieving.

They just look at it as if they lost someone.

But sometimes we can lose ourselves.

So sometimes you have to maybe grieve that little kid.

Sometimes you have to grieve some of the hurt that you experienced as an adolescent, as a teenager.

Sometimes even as an adult.

But because of the fact that we have a tendency just to continue, just to move on from things instead of really confronting them.

And affirmations sometimes help you to confront those things.

And like I say, when you look in the mirror, what do you see is just you and your reflection.

This is a perfect way to end our first segment.

That went by so fast.

When we come back, I want you to share one of those affirmations with us and you'll tell us what you're doing today.

I would love that.

Thank you for coming back to hear more from Cheryl.

I don't.

Just.

Hate that.

Welcome back.

That was a phenomenal first segment.

We talked a lot about pouring into your kids, giving them positive affirmations so that they can be successful.

Now, I know our audience is probably wondering.

I want to hear some of these affirmations.

The one that I'm going to share with is, being a friend to yourself.

So I usually start out whenever I'm up for my motivational Monday by a great day.

Everybody wants to have a great day.

Do your life is a reflection of your thoughts and actions.

Only through balancing those thoughts, you are able to experience life in its fullest and abundant.

Be a friend to yourself.

My own blessed purpose is very clear to me.

I own my power.

I anchor my faith in who God is.

I am a part already in my life.

My life matters.

I'm worthy of a life that feels good to live.

I choose thoughts that feel like love to me.

I am self expressed and I am heard.

God has given me this day.

I honor God's truth.

I receive it.

I receive it.

Never forget how essential you are and how much potential you have.

Think for yourself.

Life is too short to live off course and have an amazing day.

So you start off with a great day.

You leave off having an amazing day with the affirmations.

It's not just that we read it.

Are we supposed to say these affirmations out loud too?

So we're sending it out.

It's important because the words that you speak to yourself out loud is power.

Words have power.

Believe it or not, you could say something negative and you can say something positive.

Most people pick up on the negative, but if you continue to speak to yourself in a positive way, you change your thoughts.

You change your thoughts.

You change your life.

You change your thoughts.

You change your life.

So I want to transition to how is Sheryl continuing to change lives today?

You know, the one thing about me is that I look at something and, if I can find a solution to something that I see or something that I've experienced, I think about it.

I dream about it.

And, you know, I write down certain things and I try to make it better.

So, I remember when I'm, when my kids were in school and they were playing sports.

I always wanted.

I saw where some of the kids didn't have fathers.

And I started a mentoring program which is housed at the NFL Hall of Fame.

It's called the Legacy Leadership Project.

And what I do is I take high school athletes, and I partnered them up with Hall of Famers, and they become their mentors.

So that was one thing that I wanted to do because, you know, I just think it's so important for kids to have some sort of a male figure.

And my husband was really involved in, helping kids and also coaching kids.

You know, and I have to tell you this one story, I remember this.

There was this one kid, you know, my husband was this great coach in his mind.

But we would always take the kids that no one else wanted.

We didn't even win any games.

But there was lessons to be learned.

And he taught them life lessons.

At the end of the year.

We would always give, one of the kids the banner that we had.

And so this one kid that, that we gave the banner to, he came back like maybe 30 years later and he knocked on our door and he had the banner with him, and he said to my husband, he said, I just need you to know that you saved my life.

He said I was very suicidal.

And because of the fact that you took an interest in me when no one else wanted me, you made me feel accepted.

You made me feel love.

And that right there is what I.

What I talk about.

This is what feels me to do good.

And then, even with the kids with autism, you know, I've always wanted to make a difference in a child's life, no matter what it looked like.

So when my son was, was in the NFL, he, he had a football camp, and these were for, quote unquote, as some people deemed normal kids.

And my son said to me one day, mom, look around.

What do you see?

I'm like, I see a bunch of kids.

I see people.

He goes, no, mom, I want you to look around.

What do you see?

And so some of the kids had, siblings that were that had autism.

And that was special needs.

And so my son said, mom, let's start a special needs football camp.

And I said, okay.

So I did my research, and there were no special needs camps out there.

And so we started the first special needs camp.

And that's how we basically got involved with autism.

It started early on in their life when our friends had a, a group home for kids with autism and adults with autism.

And so, this will be our 12th year this year, with this camp.

So, you know, just it's just, you know, I think sometimes you have to open up your yourself to allow life to come to you, and God will speak to you.

He'll tell you the things that you need to do.

Well, one of the things I want to ask you about this camp is how can our viewers help you support this camp?

Well, we are going to be doing this camp this year at UCLA.

But what's so interesting about it is that we don't have to advertise.

Oh, we don't have to advertise, because every single year we're at capacity.

And then what we did was we partnered up with a special needs camp in Orange County, as well as, Los Angeles County.

And so they have an actual league, and they would bring their kids there.

But we have kids waiting to come and we turn no one to no one away.

And we also have kids of all ages, including adults, no matter what their disability is.

We take them.

We also have cheerleaders too.

Oh yes.

Well, you've given us so much insight, not only with starting us with an affirmation and telling us how important it is, not only for us to read it, but to speak it and then you talk about the community involvement and how that started teaching both your son and daughter at a young age, the importance of being in the community and seeing a need which obviously worked with your son.

Kudos there.

But now I want to talk to you about because sometimes moms who have successful children, they also have their own businesses as well.

So how do you move forward in that business?

Because I'm sure our audience wants to know, what is this on our table?

These are our fans.

It's called Dixie.

And we have an interesting story.

The way that we came about with each other and the name, in actuality, someone else had actually started the business, but they were on the ground floor when they first started the business.

And I was at one of my son's games and, it just so happened it was so hot that day.

And I saw this girl Fanning, and I was like, oh my goodness, how can I get that fan?

And so I asked, where did you get the fan from?

And so, it was my partner's sister.

And she said, oh, my sister just started a hand fan business.

And it was really kind of interesting because my daughter said to me, mom, you're a woman of a particular age and you have a tendency to sweat sometimes, and we're not going to call it what it is.

And she goes, have you ever thought about starting a hand fan business?

And I'm just like, no, who has time for that?

You know, I'm running around.

I'm, you know, I'm running my race.

But anyway, I did I met with the girl.

Her name is Christine.

I met with her and, she asked me to be a partner.

And so with my marketing background, I basically just went full speed ahead, you know, with it.

And, the name the Dixie comes from the word victory.

And that means to revive in Latin.

And so we just took the word victory, which means I have lived.

And are giving meaning to anybody who uses this fan.

Wow.

Now you've done just the time that you've started this business.

You've done some incredible things with this, right?

Because you've provided these fans in the entertainment industry.

Am I right or.

Wrong in the entertainment industry?

Some of the, the entertainers basically, they wanted to coined the phrase, I am a fan.

Yes.

Oh, and so what we do is we actually, we actually print on fans.

We can actually put your logo on there, and we can do whatever.

I mean, we have.

So we could be set like.

With everybody with.

Yes.

You hear that director producer out there?

Wow.

Such thing as branding.

So we can brand your business with, with the fan?

Why not?

Wow.

Yeah.

Amazing.

And so how do you balance it all?

Because, believe it or not, our time is almost up.

So our audience probably wants to know, how do you balance all of this?

I do things my way.

Going back to the first segment.

Yeah.

Every morning I wake up, I ask, God, what is it that you want me to learn today?

Order my steps.

And I just step out on faith.

So my last question before we end our conversation today is, can you tell our audience how they can learn more about the fans?

Also, two, you're involved with several different nonprofits, how they can support you and the nonprofits.

We already know that the Football League is taking care of I. I love when I hear that because a lot of organizations, they still struggle with that.

So I love that you hear that.

And also to they may want to know how they can get these affirmations from you.

Oh yes.

So tell wrap us up and tell us how we can support you.

All right.

You can get the vaya.

The fans at advocacy brand.com.

Also on our Instagram Dixie underscore brand.

And I'm with the Professional Football Players Mothers Association.

It is p f p m a.org.

I'm also with autism and that is that the that is basically the autism community in action, as well as all the other philanthropic things that I am doing.

And as far as my, my affirmation, that book will be coming out soon.

Wonderful.

And when that book comes out, will you come back?

I would love to come back.

I would love it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you for giving all moms out there a foundation so that we can have successful children.

But thank you for showing me that you can do so many wonderful things in this community and have this community grow just by changing the way that we think and act.

I appreciate that, and you're coming back.

So we'll see you soon when that book is done.

Thank I give you something else to add to what you're doing, but I so appreciate you, Michelle.

I appreciate you, too.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

Our pleasure.

Thank you.

And thank you for joining us on everybody with Angela Williamson.

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