What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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4 WHAT'S UP! JANUARY 9-15, 2022 PEOPLE TO WATCH Stacy Harper Activist wants to create community connections LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette T he sign on Stacy Harper's storefront office on Sunbridge Drive in Fayetteville says "The Connector" in big, bold lettering — and what an apt title that is. In her 10 years of community work, Harper — the founder of the nonprofit Lighthouse Solutions — has become proficient at meeting clients where they're at and connecting them with the resources they need to better their lives. "We're bridging the gap between resources and the community," says Harper. "This area is resource rich. But a lot of our people in Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville, the state, they don't know how to navigate the system to get to those resources. And so they get frustrated, and they tire out, mentally and emotionally. That's where I come in. I can be that liaison. So I'm out here, and I'm listening to stories and listening to people's needs, wants and desires, and I'm helping them navigate to the right resource." Harper doesn't just link folks to existing nonprofits, though. She's also out in the community providing services herself. A certified fitness instructor, she created a program called Accelerated Achievers, which links physical exercise to mental health. "Accelerated Achievers is all about helping kids become young self- starters, inspiring motivators and academic achievers," she explains. "I can take a kid from being shy to, at the end of the class, they're laughing, they're talking, they're motivating." The Lighthouse Solutions' mantra, according to the website, is "See a need, fill a need." So when food activist Nate Walls came to her with a need he had been hearing in the communities he'd been feeding, she was ready to help. "He was gaining that trust from individuals in these communities, and eventually, women started coming to him asking him, 'Do you have access to period products?'" says Harper. "So we created a program called the Life Cycle Project. Karen McClard is my project director. She jumped in. And she really took control of this program and reached out to an organization called Period Alliance — they tackle period poverty. We found out that they did not have a chapter here in Northwest Arkansas." Harper and her team held a period drive and were able to give out 40 boxes of period products. Today, they are the first chapter of the Period Alliance in Northwest Arkansas. Harper's work is particularly impressive when taken into context of her own health: she's been undergoing treatment for breast cancer since August 2020, but she refused to stop her work in the community — she's fought off two bouts of covid-19 as a result. "It was meaningful before, but I treasure every moment of it now," she says. "When I'm listening to conversations from children, individuals, family members that are in need of some type of support, I do whatever I can to bridge that gap. We are on the street every day, and I think that's what keeps me going, to not give up in my battle of ridding my body of cancer. Every day that I wake up, God is saying, 'It's your world — what are you going to do with it today?'" "I want to show people, every day, that you take authority over your life because God gave you that authority," says Stacy Harper. "God delegated this task to you — to come into this world, and be the best that you can be and uncover your jewel. And my jewel is showing people that resilience, perseverance, real power lies within you. You can get through just about anything if you put your mind, your body, your heart and your soul into it. And if you have a great support system, because I do have a very strong support system that has been with me throughout this whole entire journey." (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey) FYI Lighthouse Solutions To find out more about Stacy Harper's work, or to volunteer or donate, visit Lighthouse Solutions on Facebook at face- book.com/Light-House-Solu- tions-258443104655791 or on the web at lhsolutions.org.