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Brand Lincoln
Ep 53 KB and Dr. Chatters- Visionary Youth
🎙️ Brand Lincoln Podcast | Visionary Youth – Mentorship, Mental Health, and the Power of Community Action
Sponsored by Perch Merch – Screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products for businesses that actually care. Visit Perch-Merch.com.
đź’ˇ Episode Overview:
In this episode of Brand Lincoln, we’re joined by Dr. Lawrence Chatters and KB Mensah, the co-founders of Visionary Youth—a nonprofit reshaping what community support really looks like.
What started with a simple idea—offering free back-to-school haircuts for kids—has grown into a powerful movement combining mentorship, mental health awareness, and dignity-driven giving. From Thanksgiving turkey giveaways to a mobile barbershop that doubles as a safe space for teens to talk about life, Visionary Youth is building programs that meet real needs in real time.
We dive into the MIND program, an innovative blend of grooming and guidance, the stories that inspired this mission, and the honest challenges that come with funding community work in today’s world. This episode is equal parts heart, hustle, and hope for what local action can achieve.
🎯 What You’ll Learn:
✔️ How one haircut sparked a city-wide youth empowerment movement
✔️ Why dignity matters in community outreach—especially for kids
✔️ How Visionary Youth is merging barbering with mental health support
✔️ The strategy behind events like the Thanksgiving Drive and Toy Giveaway
✔️ What it takes to build trust with underserved families
✔️ The role of volunteers, fundraising, and creative partnerships in sustaining nonprofit impact
✔️ The vision for expanding mentorship and mental health programs across Lincoln and beyond
đź’Ą Why This Episode Matters:
If you’ve ever questioned whether a small idea can make a big difference—this episode is your proof. Visionary Youth isn’t just another nonprofit. It’s a blueprint for what happens when people lead with empathy, show up consistently, and find new ways to serve the next generation.
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Keywords: Visionary Youth, community service, youth mentoring, mental health, nonprofit Lincoln Nebraska, MIND program, barbershop mentorship, local nonprofits, youth empowerment, toy drive, back to school, community engagement, Perch Merch, Brand Lincoln Podcast, Lincoln NE support programs
Welcome to the Brand Lincoln Podcast, the show where we dig into the stories behind Lincoln's most inspiring business owners and influential people. It's where big ideas and even bigger personalities collide. Proudly sponsored by Perch Merch, your one-stop shop for screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products that make your brand unforgettable. Call us at 402-217-5212 or visit us at perch-merch.com to give your business the glow up it deserves. And don't just listen, be a true Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Brand Lincoln. I am your host, Chris Beecham, joined by my co-host, Henry Schmidt. Hi, Chris. And Joe Cruz. Hello, everyone. Okay, so today in the Perch Merch studio, we have Dr. Lawrence Chatters and KB Mensah. He goes by KB because, what is it though? Because I don't even know how to say it.
SPEAKER_05:KB. Yeah. No, it's Cordina.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. I thought it was a lot more complicated. You've told me this like 10 times.
SPEAKER_05:And when I was in school... And, you know, when the teacher had to say your name, I was like, I was the first one. KB, please. KB.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's probably good. Yeah. Well, when my mom filled out my high school thing at the very beginning, she apparently decided my first name was just C instead of Chris. And my middle name was A. So all through high school, C, A, Beecham. And I'm like, no, just Chris. My mom didn't know how to spell it all out or I don't even know. So these guys are with Visionary Youth. Hi, guys. How are you doing? Okay, tell us, what
SPEAKER_05:is Visionary Youth? Visionary Youth is a nonprofit. Our mission is to serve the families and help the youth. So through programming, resources, and other, other avenues that we do. Events, Dr. Chatters, when he came up with this, he came to me and said, KB, I see you doing a lot of things in the community, but you need to turn it into a nonprofit. And I looked at him like, it's too much work. I don't want to do it. I just want to keep on being able to provide haircuts and, you know, the community's coming through with the backpacks, food and everything like that. I'm like, he's like, no, you need a nonprofit because it's help you even more. You can impact more of the community. And I was like, okay. So I put the work in.
SPEAKER_01:What year are we talking? When did this start? It started about 2019. And that was when it became official. So I think We have a lot of business people around this table, including myself, and we know the difference between amateur and professional, right? So you're amateur, you're just doing it for fun in your basement. You got, you know, something going on here and there. You turn professional, you have to follow the rules, the laws, and you have to do it officially. And I think when I saw what he had going on, it started out with a back to school haircut event. And that thing just absolutely blew up. There was a significant need. Which still is, and is a great program. Absolutely. That, I mean, it's an amazing thing. So what happened is, basically, there was more demand than we could really support. And... What I told him was, if you become a nonprofit, then what you provide is a tax opportunity for businesses to give you funding, but then get a tax deduction for it. And that wasn't necessarily the case when it wasn't official. And so that's why I really encouraged him to go in the direction of creating a nonprofit. And I had some experience in creating a nonprofit myself. And so I said, I'll help you out with it. And then, of course, anytime you tell KB you're going to help him with something, he continues to bother you for like the next like, you know, or if you tell him you're going to do anything. It's very management. Is it? Is it bothering or just guiding? So it's bothering you to get— Politely aggressive is what we learned from Rachel Bart. Right. Politely aggressive. I like that. I like that. So he was politely aggressive in making sure that I followed through on what I told him I was going to do for him. Man. And that's important, right?
SPEAKER_03:It is. It is. So for those that don't know, tell us what that back-to-school haircut program is and how it works.
SPEAKER_05:Man, like you say, it started in 2019. It was getting so big. We was on 27th and O Street. I had six barbers, six stylists, and we're on this busy street, 27th and O, if you know where it is, the crossroad, busy street. I mean, we had bouncy houses, food. It was just like a little party of everything. And I'm realizing that There's a lot of kids here. We can't have it on this busy street no more because it's the safety.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it was an accident waiting to happen. But it was a free event. It was free.
SPEAKER_05:And kids could come and get their hair cut. All the resources. No, they didn't blow up there. They just got a haircut. Wrong wording. School supplies. Parents used to drop their kids off. I'm like, you need to come back. I get it. There's a little line that you're waiting on. But you need to come back for your kid, like, they were like, I lost my mom. Where's she at? She said she'd be back. Oh, man. So, I mean, so I would say, like, we relocated to 11th and M and the College of Hair Design where they have the upstairs and downstairs. It's like they can supply about, I think about 80 to 85 barbers and stylists. So my mission was to go out there and find the best of the best barbers and stylists to come and cut and And we started out with 75. And last year, we was able to give out 1,200 haircuts. We got some hair vouchers. So I say we did like 600 haircuts, gave out 600 hair vouchers so they can come back and get the haircut again. Because when we do this, we always want to see how can we up the game even more and be more precise on what we're trying to do and be more efficient and creative.
SPEAKER_01:trying
SPEAKER_05:to...
SPEAKER_01:So tell them how long the events last for, because I mean, 600 haircuts, like... How many hours? That's literally like five hours.
SPEAKER_05:Always. Yeah. From 10 to 4, and the people are there at 8 o'clock ready to go.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:I can't make this up. 8 o'clock, they're ready to go. Lining up. Barbers and stylists together. We have a plethora of food that's just lined up. I mean, donuts. We have Hertz. We have Lamar's. We have oranges and apples. We have, I think— We close down the streets from the 12th all the way to 11th. So we have that whole block that we pit all types of activities and resources in. And I'm talking about like from Lincoln and Link to Literacy to the city libraries be there to give out books. We have
SPEAKER_01:people with like dental information, vision information. I mean, it is a it is an absolute mixture of services for folks who don't get those services, but they're there. Mainly the draw is free backpack, free haircut, right? Backpack has supplies in it for the school year. So you remember we all used to go to the store to get stuff to go back to school. Some people got more than others, right? We pack those bags with all the stuff they need for school. And then we also do shoe vouchers so they can go and get some new sneakers before they hit the classroom.
SPEAKER_05:We wanted to provide all these resources to give them, but they didn't have to make that choice on, should I get some pants or should I get your haircut? No. As a kid, when you get your hair cut, you look good, you feel good, you want to perform better. And I wanted all these... I do that now. Yes. Right. I wanted all these kids to feel good when they go to school and be on the same level as the other kids. And I didn't want them to be like, you know... to be looked at in a different way. And now they got a backpack and they got socks and underwears. I think people don't think about the undergarments. Some kids go to school with no underwear, no socks, and they just hope for the best. So we try to provide that for them.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I mean, as you can imagine, it's just a Herculean task to pull all this stuff together. and get all the sponsors. And we're talking about probably between$75,000 to$100,000 worth of stuff that we have to get for this event. And essentially, KB was doing all this stuff on his own and did not necessarily have volunteers to help with setting stuff up. And so he was just doing all this work on his own. And so as we became more official in 2019, we were able to start getting volunteers. We were able to start getting additional funding and sponsorships. And it really has just blossomed into something amazing. So this year upcoming will be the what year? 13th. 13th. 13th annual. So started in 2012 and it's just continued to grow. And again, the demand seems to grow too. And I think more people hear about it and they're like, hey, you have to go to this event because there's performances now. He didn't mention the performances. There's a DJ out there. There's a DJ? Joe's a DJ. He could do it. Are you a DJ? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:That way, you know, you can just... Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Volunteer. Volunteer. Right,
SPEAKER_03:right. I don't know if that's a necessary... Oh,
SPEAKER_05:you play music. Are you a dist? Hmm, okay. All right. No, I mean, like I said, he... No, we're both DJs, so, you know, anytime
SPEAKER_02:we hear
SPEAKER_01:somebody say they're a DJ, we're like, what kind of DJ are you? Do you just press play?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. He's a wedding DJ. I do a nice crossfade. Okay, okay, okay. You light on the crossfader You know, I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01:Are we talking haircuts? So, yeah. But it's just turned into an amazing event. And that's just one of the events that we do on a yearly basis. That's just one.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I knew about that one, but I did not know it was that big. Oh,
SPEAKER_05:it's
SPEAKER_03:big. That's why you're going to come out
SPEAKER_05:there. Come out, yeah. You're going to sponsor something.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. No, we're in. Okay. Perfect. We got some time. Yeah. So, what are the other events? We have
SPEAKER_05:a Thanksgiving event. Last year, we was able to give out 1,200 turkeys with the fixings. I'm talking about... Mashed potatoes, green beans, anything that you get things with stuffing. A pie. We had cake mix. I'm telling you, cake icing. Anything you can think of with a Thanksgiving meal. We gave out socks, underwear, gloves, hats, coats just to get them ready for the winter. We know how important that
SPEAKER_01:is. I mean, just imagine. The weight of 1,200 turkeys. That's a crazy number. So we have a semi that's refrigerated, pull up outside. Right. And there's a fraternity that helps us that they just make sure that those turkeys are ready to go. They're just unloading turkeys literally all day. Lines wrapped around the building. The people come in. We walk around with them. Each person gets a host that walks through the space with them to help carry the bag. It's that VIP treatment. We provide high-level customer service to folks. Yeah, no, I love that. It's amazing.
SPEAKER_05:And they get to walk with the people and get to hear their story. Their story. That's more important. I mean, we have at least anywhere from 75 to 100 volunteers. Volunteers.
SPEAKER_01:Yep.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. And the greatest thing about our nonprofit is that our volunteers come back. again and again each year. So, I mean, I love to see that when they can come back and they love the events. And then we do a toy drive as well. Last year, we partnered with Center for People, gave out 3,300 toys to 660 families. And why is that important to us? We know that people want to celebrate. Some of them can't. And just for them to be able to get a toy and just a gift on that special day and to see that kid just light up.
SPEAKER_01:And just to talk a little more about the toy giveaway. You know, what we really provide in that space is, again, a host for each person. And I'm kind of going back to some of the previous ones that we've done a host for each person as they walk through the space. And we have toys that are a variety of toys and they get to actually shop a bit in the space so they can point at things that they believe their kids would like. That's important because most of the time when you're receiving something now, you know,
SPEAKER_05:this
SPEAKER_01:will
SPEAKER_05:be happy with it. But
SPEAKER_01:at the same time, I mean, we know our kids, sometimes they just don't want what you're giving. And so to have some choice in that matter, we think provides more dignity. And we also feel like to be able to walk out of there with a range of things, not only the toys, but we also make sure they get those essentials again, socks, underwear, coats, you know, different things like that. Yeah. We feel that that really makes that a special holiday and it provides them with something to give to their families. So it takes, again, some of that burden off. And I think both of us have been in situations where, you know, you're young and you've got a young family. You just can't make it happen around that Christmas time, you know, trying to figure out how are you going to make it all work. And so to be able to provide that to families is an absolute blessing for us.
SPEAKER_05:See, he's talking about me. You know, I got seven kids.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. I only have two. So, you know, this man has like a basketball team and a couple of subs, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_05:That's what I was doing it for. I was like, yo, y'all gonna help me. They was like, okay. Right. We do one more thing that's near and dear to our hearts, and it's called the MIND program, where it's mentoring in new dimensions. And that came about Dr. Chatters. He's a psychologist. I'm a barber. And we wanted to put two things together. You know, when you get a cuddle, you look good, you feel good. But It's barbers that mentor these youth for 10 weeks, 45 minutes. They get to have those intentional conversations over the 10-week time. We have a curriculum that we go by. And then the next 45 minutes, they get to spend with a mental health therapist. And then they really get to dive into who they are and express themselves and what they want to do in the future. This
SPEAKER_01:program is like First of all, it's one of the most innovative counseling slash mentoring programs in the country right now because it all takes place. He forgot to tell you this part on a 35 foot bus. that was retrofitted to be a barbershop.
SPEAKER_05:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:So this thing pulls up. You go into it. It's a bonafide barbershop on wheels.
SPEAKER_05:We're talking about four chairs.
SPEAKER_01:Four chairs in there. All the mirrors, everything. I mean, the lighting. Shampoo bowl. It's amazing. That's right. There's a TV in there. There's a nice sound system. I mean, it is a barber shop on wheels. And it's also... a therapy office on wheels. And so what's really cool is that, you know, him being a barber and me being a psychologist, we talk all the time and, you know, we're really good friends too. And so I go into the shop and I just sit in there sometimes and listen to the conversations that are happening with the barbers. And I'm like, man, you know, as a psychologist, sometimes I don't even really get to some of this content with my people. Right. Because first of all, it's such a professional space. You know, people have this stigma about counseling and so on. But I said, you know, as a barber, And so, yeah. I don't have any of that stuff, but I'm sitting in an office waiting for these young people to come to my office. There's so many barriers, right? So we thought if we could create this bus and they'd get onto the bus and get a haircut and get some mentoring, and then we could bring a mental health practitioner on there to provide support, maybe they wouldn't even necessarily know they were getting counseling, right? So it was all this very innovative and strategic approach to working with these young people. And what I'll tell you all is that you would be hard pressed to find many people who in this country who have been to 10 counseling sessions in a row for 45 minutes each. It's just not something that a lot of people stick with. It's not something that they do. You could ask any professional. They don't necessarily see people that long because it's a long time. So to get these young kids who are anywhere between the ages of like 13 all the way up to 18, to get them to go to 10 sessions of counseling in the midst of their eighth grade year or their ninth grade year or they're a senior or something like that. I mean,
SPEAKER_05:they're going through a lot of things too
SPEAKER_01:as well. There's a lot of development happening for these adolescents. You all remember when you're through those ages, right? We were all pretty wild and crazy, I would imagine. You just
SPEAKER_05:figure out who you
SPEAKER_01:are. Exactly. So it's an amazing thing. So that's the mentoring and new dimensions mobile. The mind mobile is what we call it. Because it's something different about talking to like
SPEAKER_03:a barber or something. It is. My wife is a hairstylist. she calls herself a hairapist because people just... They start talking. Yeah. Man. Whether she wants to hear it or not. It's
SPEAKER_05:a subway. It's like through that haircut, when you're talking to them about their haircut, how do you want them to look? It opens up so much more.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_05:So, I mean, just to have those kids, I mean, we just had a class that graduated yesterday and some of these kids at Color, they wouldn't even talk in front of a class and they set up and... talked in front of their peers about how much it meant to just come to the MIME program.
SPEAKER_03:So you have a graduation.
SPEAKER_05:We have a graduation. We have a graduation. And we also, at the end of the sessions, we give them a gift card because we're always thinking, how can we help these kids? We gave them a SHIELD gift card,$100 gift card. They can go to SHIELDS and buy what they want. And what we've learned is they love coming in because they got someone that listens to them. Parents got a lot of stuff going on, even they might have kids, they got jobs. They're just doing stuff and they love that we can listen to them, give them advice, goals, talk to them about school, talk to them with their peers and teachers and things of that nature and really just get in touch with themselves. So
SPEAKER_01:I wanted to add something. So I just watched the video from the graduation yesterday and this young boy, middle schooler, you know, color middle schooler, He stands up there and they asked him, they said, so what did you get from this experience? This 13-year-old kid says, I got a new sense of self. That's deep. You guys, come on. At the age of 13, I wasn't even thinking in those terms of 13, right? He said, I have a new sense of self and I realized that I should help people instead of using them. And I was like... Wow. You know, I mean, and he's standing up there, this young boy who has had a mentor for like, you know, the last 10 weeks in this journey. And when I heard him say, I have a new sense of self, I was like, that's enough. Just one, one kid to be impacted, just one. But there were three other kids who were impacted during that 10 weeks here. You know, it was just amazing. And so... I mean, this is it's just a really innovative approach to something that I think we need more in our society, which is finding more ways to support the young people to reach their full potential, which is really the mission of our organization is to help young people reach their full potential. And so it was amazing to hear that.
SPEAKER_03:It was. So what is your guys's backstory? What is your why? Like, how does that all go together? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:I was one of those kids. I was the one, you know, I'm originally from St. Louis, Missouri, came down here when I was 10 to live with my stepdad and 10 other siblings. So, I mean, he was a one. It's a single parent taking care of 10 kids, working 60 hours. So I know about the powdered milk, the powdered eggs. I sit down and thinking like, man, you know, I remember vividly coming off the bus. I mean, coming from school, going home, and we're on this bus and kids looking out the window. And I'm like, what are they looking out the window for? And it's my house getting evicted, just stuff outside. And I'm just like, I'm not getting off on this stop. I'm getting off on the next stop. So just to walk up to my house and happen to grab what I needed to grab. And I mean, we lived in a mission. Other siblings live with relatives. But I used to ask my dad, why? Are you taking care of so many kids? And some of these ain't even yours. And he was like, if someone needs a hand, I'm willing to give them a hand. If someone's off worse than I am, then I'm going to try to pick them up. And they just stuck with me and just made me understand like, you know, once I can take care of my family, I wanted to do the same thing and take care of the community. So that's why I'm here today. Yeah. It's so deep of I've been in those programs. We needed that assistance. You know, that's my why. Yeah,
SPEAKER_01:that's awesome. I'm not I'm not even going to try. Yeah. Yeah. I should have went first so we could say. And now the rest of the story. So my why, honestly, you all is that, you know, I grew up in a military family. My dad was in the Air Force and we moved around a lot. And so, you know, just for me growing up with a larger family, my dad was the only one working. So my mom was at home taking care of us and my dad was enlisted. So we never really had much money at all. And so some of those same things like government cheese, peanut butter, some of those things, like my parents were getting that stuff. And we didn't even really understand just how poor we were, which is an amazing thing, right? Like if your parents can make it happen and you're just like, hey, we're doing this thing. You know, we realized we didn't get much. We didn't go many places. But my dad got up and put a uniform on every single day. And so, you know, shout out to the military. But it was... Going through that experience with a lot of family members, we adopted my youngest brother when we moved to Nebraska. So he went through the foster system and he experienced a significant amount of abuse and some other things in his life. And seeing the impact that had on him and the impact that had on our family as well when we adopted him, and we also fostered some kids and everything else, I recognize that you don't get to choose who your parents are. And for some young people in the community who don't get to choose who their parents are, they're born into situations that are not very good at all. And so if someone's not thinking about those young people, whether it be in the space of social work or psychology or whatever, health and human services, those kids are growing up some pretty challenging experiences. And so I've committed my life and my career as a mental health professional to helping people get through the challenging times they're experiencing. And when I got a chance to meet KB and we started to connect Honestly, we used to throw parties together. We used to be like two big promoters here in Lincoln, and I owned a couple of bars and stuff like that. So we used to throw... parties for people. And then what we realized is that these same people we were throwing parties for needed other support. And so we shifted all that time and energy and focus into service as opposed to taking from the people. We were giving back, right? And so fortunately, I've been able to be successful in my life as well. And just through being a mental health professional and understanding all the challenges people face, that's really what I bring to the space and what my why is. I just have always wanted to help people. Grew up in a position where I was just like, man, I didn't choose the life that I'm living as a child. You know, my parents had to give us everything that we had. And so that's what really, I think, pushes me through every day is just wanting to help people. And I love to help people and motivate people. It brings joy to my heart.
SPEAKER_05:And we get to spend some time together, you know, since it's my best friend, we get to.
SPEAKER_01:I try not, I try to limit that. Yeah, we've truly enjoyed this though. I mean, this is, you know, just imagine, you know, doing something extremely special with your best friend where you get to actually see the impact of, you know, that time and energy that we put into like creating Visionary Youth. It's actually, I mean, we just won the Lincoln's Choice Award, number one nonprofit.
SPEAKER_05:We did. That was, yeah. That was a blessing. Thank you. I mean, just for our community to recognize us and vote for us and what we do and everything in the community. I was like, man. And then we actually won number one barbershop, best barbershop, Oasis too. So it was two things that they recognize and we was truly happy about it. So, yeah. We're doing something right.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. So now what then? So like, what's the plans for the next five, 10 years? Man, just to go
SPEAKER_05:harder.
SPEAKER_03:I
SPEAKER_05:mean, just to go harder. I mean, we're working on some things right now. You know, we would love to talk about them, but they haven't came to fruition yet. So we don't want to put them out there, but it's more working with the youth. It's more being involved with them and helping that grow.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, expanding the innovation of what we're doing to more young people. Because right now through our program, we serve four people at a time because the barbershop in the bus is small, but it's quality over quantity in that regard. And so what we're trying to do is expand the program to reach more young people through the innovations that we put together with the counseling, the mentoring, and the barbering. And we're trying to figure out how to expand that. We're trying to expand our events too. And so all the events that we do, We want to get bigger. We want to do those things better. We have great advertisement and marketing, just really going after funding. If you all are familiar with the nonprofit space, right now is a challenging time for nonprofits because a lot of funding has actually dried up because of some things that are happening at the federal level. Private funding is starting to really be... overutilized because some people who are getting federal funding are not getting federal funding anymore. So these are challenging times for nonprofits, but we're going to continue to grow through it and try to continue thriving and find some of these different avenues to keep our process moving forward.
SPEAKER_03:What are some of the ways that you find funds, raise money?
SPEAKER_05:By grants, like you said, private investors.
SPEAKER_03:So if somebody wanted to give...
SPEAKER_05:If they want to give, they can give to visionaryyouth.org. We have a website that you can go in there and donate. You can come to the barbershops. Well, there's one on 33rd and Pioneer. That's mine. It's where I'll be at. You can go give to Lincoln. It's Give to Lincoln month right now. So, I mean, you can really help us by... helping us with our events that are coming up by giving to Lincoln. You can just go to lincolncommunity.org and just put it for Visionary Youth and they will match what we receive. Oh, that's
SPEAKER_01:awesome. Right, yes, yes. And so just say it in spaces where people that are influential are there and they hear about it. They can go to our website. We have, I mean, KB is an artist and as a barber, that's a really good thing, right? If you're an artist and he has just created a website that we have that is absolutely amazing. We have video on there. It's just a nice website. I encourage people to go check out our website, visionaryyouth.org. You can see some videos from our previous events. You can see some pictures. You can see who our sponsors are. It's just an amazing place to visit and see and just get some inspiration.
SPEAKER_05:Did that website over COVID. You know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Had some extra time. Had some
SPEAKER_04:extra time.
SPEAKER_05:A little extra time. Don't talk about that.
SPEAKER_00:Make it happen.
SPEAKER_05:Yes.
SPEAKER_03:Same if you want to be a volunteer because you don't have to be a barber. You don't have to be a barber. You'll
SPEAKER_05:take those too. We take barber stylists, but we love volunteers. And that's one thing that Lawrence can attest to this, that our volunteers love coming back each and every year to each event. I mean, it gets bigger and better. It
SPEAKER_03:sounds like such a rewarding event to be a part of.
SPEAKER_05:It is. It's definitely a rewarding event because, I mean, you get to hear stories that you would never hear in your life if you didn't come.
SPEAKER_01:So we always say that as volunteers at our events, the volunteers walk away with a blessing because the people who we serve are The way that they come into the space and they get to be served, I think they open up and they share, gosh, you know, this year's just been really tough. I mean, what's been interesting to us sometimes is that we've actually seen some volunteers turn to customers of ours and vice versa. We've had some people who were there the year before and then they come back the next year and volunteer because they're like, we are so grateful for this, right? And that's a unique cycle that we don't necessarily think too much about is that, of course, you know, you're down on your luck one year, but next year maybe you're ahead. And so it's amazing to see some people who we've served in the past come back and volunteer. And then some people who are volunteering at the end come to us and say, hey, is it okay if I take a couple bags just because, you know, I need to get, you know, so we're like, absolutely. Right. And it's amazing.
SPEAKER_05:Or they take them to other families that couldn't make it. Yeah. And that's.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_05:Passing it on. Yeah. Just pass it on. The blessing.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Is there anything else you guys
SPEAKER_01:want to talk about or that we want to bring up? Any questions? Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much. our name on different things and everything else, they attribute it to a service to Lincoln and helping the community in a really positive way. And it's just been amazing to, as really great friends, And so I encourage people out there who are listening, if you have an idea and you have people that can support you in it, you know, really go after that because an idea can turn into something amazing and there's nothing that can stop you when you're doing really good, positive work.
SPEAKER_05:I can't say nothing more. I mean, man, you said it all, summed it up. Wow. I'm speechless
SPEAKER_01:for once. That's
SPEAKER_03:getting
SPEAKER_05:him back for his
SPEAKER_03:past story.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. I was like, I'm going to drop the mic over here now, you know? So, yeah. But thank you, guys. We really appreciate you.
SPEAKER_05:Yes, we definitely appreciate you. And I mean, you've been trying to get me on the show for a while, and I know you're busy.
SPEAKER_03:You're one of the first people I hit up when I started this, 52 episodes ago.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_04:That sounds like a year. It wasn't
SPEAKER_05:52 episodes ago,
SPEAKER_03:but it was a while. It was a while ago. Every time, let's see, yeah. Every time we see each other talk, we say we're going to do this. We say we're going to do that. And then six months later, we run into each other and say
SPEAKER_04:we're going to do
SPEAKER_03:that. That's right. But he's a very busy man. So I understand.
SPEAKER_05:You are too. And we definitely appreciate what you're doing in the community and being able to just get the word out in this podcast. We love it. So just keep doing your thing, man, and making it happen.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you. Thank you. Well, here on the Brand Lincoln Podcast, we do like to find out what you like to do recreationally, entertainment-wise, food, venues you like to eat at. So when you're not helping the youth, what are you doing on your free time?
SPEAKER_05:Man, I love music. So I love DJing. I love to be able to make people move. I love the crowd. I mean, I love to take them high, low. And, you know, I can go take my bathroom breaks. And I know I'm about to come in and just kill it after I get done. You know what I mean? So it's to see that happen when we're at weddings or I'm at a pool party or I'm at some corporate thing. I love that. That's just show you how powerful you are. You know, you can clear the damn floor. You can pack it. You know, and I like to make it. I like to. pack it out. And you know, when it's time for a drink break, Hey, I know what music to play. So favorite food I like is, uh, you know, I like happy crab in Omaha. That's, I love
SPEAKER_03:seafood. This is called brand Lincoln.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. But listen, well, there is a seafood place now that's in Lincoln that I'm gonna go try out. That's at the mall. It's
SPEAKER_03:called like laughing crab or something,
SPEAKER_05:isn't it? That's what I heard. That's what I heard. So I heard about that. I, you know, I, I, Eat at a, what is it called? Perfect Diner. They have a nice seafood boil as well. So that's one of my restaurants. Perfect. Oh, yeah. So I love that spot right there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And for me, I love music, too. So I actually am a DJ as well. I don't DJ as much as I used to, but I taught I taught KB how to DJ, which is, you know, amazing. He's taken that to the next level, which is great. But I do public speaking. And so I'm consistently out in the space talking about how people can develop through teamwork, leadership and communication. Really, a specialty of mine is public speaking, and I work with other nonprofits as well. So I do a lot of nonprofit work. I work for a foundation actually out of Washington, D.C., the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. That's what my daytime job is now. I work remote, but just inspiring young people through and older people through like my talks and do a lot of reading. As far as like restaurants here in Lincoln are concerned, my go to always was Hacienda Real over on the south side. The guy that owns that place is a great person. And that was just the go-to for my family. The bean dip there is absolutely amazing. I don't know if you all are familiar with the bean dip there, but you should check it out. Yeah, the bean dip is awesome. But Hacienda Real. I lived in Lincoln for probably about 16 years when I was in graduate school, getting my master's and PhD here. And so, but now I actually live in Omaha, but I live on the west side of Omaha. So coming down to Lincoln to help out with all kinds of stuff and just be busy is a great thing for me to have two kids. My oldest daughter is a sophomore at UNL and then my youngest daughter is a junior at Elkhorn South. And so, you know, stay busy with them as well and married for over 20 years, which is, you know, awesome.
SPEAKER_05:I got a son that's about to graduate this year. He's going to UNL for architect. He just won an award. We was at his banquet at Lincoln Country Club. We was there and he got this award. I mean, man, he's about to do big things. So I'm looking forward to that. We'll have a graduation party for him. And yeah. He'd get out the house.
SPEAKER_03:Good stuff. From seven to zero eventually. Yeah, now he's down to two, right? Two left in the house.
SPEAKER_05:I'm only going to have one. I'm only going to have one. Yeah, so it's getting closer. Think of the free time you're going to have. I'm thinking of the free time. You just don't know how much.
SPEAKER_03:Well, thank you guys so much for coming on. That was great. Thank you. No, thank you. We'll definitely be involved. Awesome. Oh, I'm going to be on you. I know. I'm very aware. Let's make it happen. All right.
SPEAKER_05:Thanks, everybody. All right. Bye-bye.