idea that popped in my head in 2012. Here we are, two years later, with four events under our belt. This is a brand new chapter in my life personally, because the first chapter was really a partnership between my mother and me. I was her caregiver for a long time. At a very young age, I had to take on the responsibility of being a caregiver and traveling for work and all those things in IT. This is a whole new chapter. So far, so good!
James Johnson: So IT has been your career all along?
Traci S. Campbell: Yes, it was my primary career. I’m still in IT. I still have not gotten out of that realm of IT. It is a future goal of mine to retire that career.
James Johnson: That’s actually what I was getting at, whether you planned on stepping away from it at any point.
Traci S. Campbell: The desire would be to leave the field as a full time entity, but maybe keep a foot in it. I strongly believe that with our projects down the road, there’s a way to bring more technology into what we’re doing. We’re not there yet but because I feel that, I want to keep a foot in it. Definitely not full time though. It has been a great career and has served me well. I’ve experienced so many things, met so many people, and traveled, but the idea going forward would be to focus full time on BIBO and C.H.A.M.P.
James Johnson: Tell me more about the C.H.A.M.P. Community Project.
Traci S. Campbell: The C.H.A.M.P. Community Project is the name of our 501(c)(3) and the main program under that umbrella is the C.H.A.M.P. Within program. That is the book and the workbook that I authored in 2009. It is based on a lot of anecdotes and experiences I had with my mother. She was a single parent, struggling in west side Baltimore. The book is the foundation for the program. The program was designed for parents and teens struggling in a single parent environment. That is still the primary audience. We have used it in Nairobi, Kenya; Chicago, IL; and West Georgia, and we are in talks to bring it to Tampa, Florida. It has reached over 600 young people collectively.
James Johnson: In what ways have you been able to assist single moms and individuals who have taken advantage?
Traci S. Campbell: The program is primarily designed for youth. Initially, that was the target, to help bring additional emotional and mental supplemental education to youth who have unique challenges. Teens who are dealing with struggling single parents have unique challenges in comparison to their counterparts who have both parents in the household. So, I wanted to create a tool that would help a single parent provide more guidance and help to his/her teen. Often single parents are struggling to make ends meet. They’re working one, two, or even three jobs. They may not be home after school. They may not be able to be there to give a lot of the personal attention they would like to give. That’s where this program was intended to come in and fill that void. In 2011, I wanted to test this out with adults. We put 22 adults through the program to see if there was an impact on adults. It did show an impact. From that, we wrote a book called ‘Journey to the Real You’ that basically gives an account of at least 12 of those 22 adults, what they encountered, their issues, and how the program helped them. So today, we know the program is very effective with teens, young adults, and older adults.
36